Oakamoor trio rise to the occasion to inspire NSSCL Division One success

Oakamoor recovered from a slow start to secure the points against Endon in NSSCL Division One.

Oakamoor were left struggling on 19-4 in the early stages, but rallied superbly thanks to half-centuries from Dilesh Gunarathne and James Smith.

They forged a 121-run alliance for the fifth wicket to spark a recovery to 192-7 from their 40 overs.

Gunarathne hit six fours and four sixes in his 65, while Smith’s 61 featured four boundaries and three maximums.

Josh Reynolds took 3-16 for Endon and there were a couple of victims for Jack Chell.

Oliver Rogerson (35) and Reynolds (23) fronted the Endon reply on the resumption.

But they fell short on 120 all out as Oakamoor skipper Paul Hammersley (5-20) weaved his magic and there were a couple of wickets for Kris Heathcote.

Bignall End maintained their perfect start to the campaign with victory on the road at Sandbach.

George Harding (44), Ahsam Zaroof (24) and Niall Hassett (20) all impressed as Bignall End stuck 173 all out on the board.

Saeed Ali (3-12) and Jack Collett (3-34) took three wickets apiece for the Cheshire hosts, with Ather Abid striking twice.

Ali the completed a fine individual day with 73, which included three fours and fives sixes.

But it wasn’t enough as Sandbach were dismissed for 144. That was thanks to Zaroof’s 3-27, 3-29 from Martin Dawson and a double from Ade Lello.

Porthill Park seconds are the only other side with an unblemished record after three rounds following their success at Meir Heath.

Meir Heath were placed on the back foot from the moment they were bowled out for 110.

Adam Ralphs and Tom Kesteven both took 4-24 and the other scalps fell to Tom Mason.

Callum Darlington (20) and Abid Hussain (18no) were the main performers with the bat for the hosts.

Matthew Shaw picked up a couple of wickets after tea, but Porthill Park managed to secure a five-wicket win with more than 10 overs remaining.

It was a solid batting performance from the high-fliers as Dan Hancock (22), Joe Bridgewater (20), Tom Timmis (19), Jake Plummer (14no) and Will Kilgariff (11no) dealt with business.

Rode Park & Lawton were in excellent form with the bat to win at home against Blythe.

The hosts were set 190 for victory and crossed the winning line, six wickets down, in the 26th over.

Zia Ul Haq Parwani led the way with 44, while Oliver Gallimore (33), Jonathan Gallimore (29no), Trent Stirk (22) and Richard Bebbington (21) also chipped away at the target.

Hamzad Shirzad claimed 3-57 for Blythe, having earlier made 48 in their 189-7.

Junaid Ali’s 32, Tom Lowe’s 31 not out and 30 from Ben Sharp were the other notable contributions.

Stirk was the pick of the Rode Park & Lawton attack, ending up with 3-58.

Cheadle seconds had a productive day as they beat their Hem Heath counterparts by two wickets.

Visitors Hem Heath posted 135 all out in the first half of the meeting.

Usama Sajjad Dar top-scored with an unbeaten 50, which came off just 36 balls and contained three fours and five sixes.

Tom Myatt chipped in with 34, while the Cheadle bowling plaudits were shared by Sam Akram (3-9), Ryan Elwell (3-16) and Matthew Degg (3-25).

Nazakat Ali (3-29) and two wickets for Rob Price were the highlights with the ball for Hem Heath after the interval.

But it was Cheadle’s day as they won with five balls for spare thanks to Ben Degg’s 50, which included five fours and one six.

Barlaston had a great time on the road as they prevailed at Stone SP seconds.

Jack Davies’ 44 was backed up by Tom Taylor’s 39, 32 from fida Hussain and Ben Grange’s unbeaten 31 as they posted 180-8.

Robert Pochwyt captured 4-30 for the home side. Drew Chandler (29), John Cheadle (25) and Richard Harvey (20) did their best to keep Stone SP in touch in reply.

But they couldn’t quite manage it as they were bowled out for 158.

Ethan Smith helped himself to 3-30 and six wickets were shared between Davies, Taylor and Matthew Myers.