Lancashire District: Dormer hits half century to set up a Saints salvo (7 July 1999)

7 July 1999

Lancashire District: Dormer hits half century to set up a Saints salvo

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph

St Phillip's produced the surprise result of the weekend by handing B Division leaders Taverners B their first defeat of the season in one of only two matches played in Saturday's Accrington and District League programme.

The early morning downpour had left two of the pitches unplayable on Highams. Play on the Railway pitch began after a long delay. St Phillip's batted first against a Taverners B side without several key players. Openers Alistair Dormer (50no) and Lee Sculpher (40) put on 73 for the first wicket in what turned out to be a 23 overs per side match. A swift 31 not out by captain Mark Devoy took the Blackburn side to 132-4. Antony Cox was Taverners best bowler, taking 2-24.

Taverners B got off to a steady start, but after being 51-1 they collapsed to 59-6. Bill Swift and the gloveless Harold Newton dug in, and Taverners were eventually dismissed for 97. David Swift hit 23 and the Cox's, Antony (14) and Duane (10) also reached double figures. Mark Devoy took 4-51 and Alistair Dormer 3-20 as St Phillip's claimed their second victory over the season.

During the week the squares on Highams suffered further damage when a horse was ridden across the field. The other match played was on King George's where Millennium scored a convincing win over Taverners A to leapfrog them into second place in the A Division. Nadeem Ashraf scored 91 for Millennium, who totalled 180-5. In reply, Taverners were restricted to 90-9.

The forecasters, like Nostradamus, didn't quite get it right on Sunday. Although there was a stoppage for rain at Wilsons, both Harry Wood Cup ties finished. At Bullough Park, Peel Park looked on the verge of an upset when they bowled Taverners out for 67. Ian Jackson with 4-15, Safras Ali 3-18 and Nick Whittaker with 3-12 did the damage. Mark Swift, top scored for Taverners with 17. Peel Park replied cautiously, the first 14 overs yielding only 16 runs. In the end, Taverners' greater experience won the game. Mark Noble took 3-11 and Nawaz 4-8. Jack Wilson bowled nine economical overs for nine runs as the A Division side won by 16 runs.

The other quarter-final at Wilsons was just as tight, with A Division Manchester Road triumphant by three wickets over close rivals Accrington A. These matches always have something extra because Manchester Road always have several former Accrington players in their side. This game produced two unlikely heroes. Left-hander Simon Bray, one of three Manchester Roaders playing against their former team-mates, and Mark Hewison strung together a match-winning partnership of 24 when their side were almost down and out.

Accrington batted first and were dismissed in the last over for 101. Alven Burrows hit 30 before holing out in the last over. Ken Dunne took 3-21 for the A Division team. Andy Glover and David Heys put on 42 for the first wicket before both were dismissed by wily Accrington spinner Mick Donnelly.

Rick Bailey was lbw to Imran Hussain soon after and the snickometer was not required in the dismissal of Phil Hodgson which brought Simon Bray to the wicket. After several twists and turns it was left to the former second team wicket keeper to hit the winning runs for the first time in his career. Secretaries are reminded that information is still required for next year's League History Book. This week, old scorebooks from Haslingden Methodists, St Phillip's and Stop and Rest have surfaced but more are still required.

The revised semi-final draw is: Attock v Manchester Road (Bullough Park); Taverners A v Haslingden Methodists.

Results - Saturday: Millennium 180-5 (N Ashraf 91), King George's 90-9.

B Division: Taverners B 97 (D Swift 23, A Cox 14, D Cox 10, M Devoy 4-51, A Dormer 3-20), St Phillip's 132-4 (A Dormer 50no, Lee Sculpher 40, M Devoy 31no, A Cox 2-24, D Swift 2-72).

Sunday - Harry Wood Cup quarter-finals: Accrington A 101 (A Burrows 30, N Mohammed 18no, K Dunne 3-21, T Andrews 3-25), Manchester Road 103-7 (D Heys 31, S Bray 23no, M Donnelly 4-24, I Hussain 2-22); Peel Park 51 (D Lord 20, P Carter 8, A Hawaz 4-8, M Noble 3-11), Taverners A 67 (M Swift 17, J Finn 11, I Jackson 4-15, S Ali 3-18, N Whittaker 3-12).

Source :: The Lancashire Evening Telegraph