Stone SP shine to extend Audley's winless NSSCL Premier A run

Stone SP cruised to the NSSCL Premier A points to increase the misery on struggling Audley.

It’s now seven straight defeats for Audley to kick off the campaign as they remain firmly entrenched in the bottom two.

Stone SP were set 186 for victory – and had 25 of their 55-over allocation remaining when they eased across the line.

A first-wicket stand of 110 between George Hawbrook and William Hobson broke the back of the target to end Audley’s hopes of notching a first success.

Hawbrook was at his big-hitting best with a brutal 83, which came off 42 balls and contained seven fours and six sixes.

And when he was dismissed, Hobson took over the mantle to complete an emphatic victory.

Hobson walked off unbeaten on 71, having hit 12 fours, with Warrick Fynn (24no) keeping him company.

Earlier in the day, Audley had amassed 185-9 from their allocation.

Jack Redman underpinned their effort with 51, hitting five fours along the way.

Support was forthcoming from Rob Hemmings (45), Dean Bamsey (28) and Faizan Riaz (25).

Edward Batchelor, Jack Batchelor and Cameron Sinclair all scooped two wickets before Stone SP’s top order took centre stage.

Burslem are propping up the rest as they also suffered a seventh successive loss at the weekend.

It was Moddershall & Oulton who were the latest side to triumph over them – led by Joe Hawkins’ century.

Moddershall & Oulton had already seen Callum Hawkins compile 27 at the top of the order before Joe Hawkins stole the show.

He made 107, featuring 12 fours and two sixes, to form the backbone of the Modd men’s 241-9 after they had been invited to bat.

Hawkins shared a fourth-wicket stand of 112 with skipper Sam Kelsall, who chipped in with 49.

Matt Coles and Sam Waterhouse finished with 4-53 and 3-37 respectively.

Burslem’s run chase hit early problems as they were reduced to 7-3 in the formative stages.

Coles and Ash Shaw then teamed up to steady the ship by adding 106 for the fourth wicket.

Coles hit nine fours and four sixes in his breezy 77, while Shaw contributed 38.

However, the introduction of Danushka Sandaruwan into the attack soon put paid to home hopes of a remarkable revival.

He claimed 6-16 as Burslem were eventually bowled out for 132. There were also two wickets for Dan Richardson.

Leek relinquished top spot after losing at home to Bagnall Norton.

Leek were limited to 159-8 from their 55 overs early in the piece.

Plenty of batsmen made starts, most notably Loedolff Potgieter (27), Zen Malik (26), Shamsur Rahman (25) and Josh Hudson (21no), but there wasn’t a sizeable contribution to their batting bid.

Imraan Manack helped himself to 3-28 and there were double strikes from Scott Winnington and Morgan Murray-Williams for Bagnall Norton.

Matt Kenvyn (34) and 21 apiece from Josh Cartledge and Murray-Williams, fronted Bagnall Norton’s reply.

But Ross Dearden’s 3-20, allied to two victims for Lewis Moulton, had Bagnall Norton on 120-7 at one stage.

The outcome was in the balance, but Reece White’s unbeaten 40 and 14 not out from Leek old boy Greg Willott led Bagnall Norton to a three-wicket win.

Bagnall Norton jumped up to third place in the table, with Leek dropping to fourth.

Porthill Park took over at the summit following a comprehensive win on their visit to Cheadle.

Hosts Cheadle took first use, but were only able to reach 137 all out as Porthill Park’s pace battery came to the fore.

Wily old fox Craig Barker helped himself to 4-39, with the remaining wickets being shared by new-ball pair Ben Cotton (3-26) and Matt Coxon (3-45).

Ali Khan was the main man with the bat for Cheadle as he top-scored with 66, featuring eight fours and two sixes.

Opener Tom Longworth (45) set Porthill Park on the road to victory on the resumption.

And he then passed the baton on to captain Louis Allison to complete the mission.

Allison hit nine boundaries and two maximums in his unbeaten 65 to seal an eight-wicket win as Porthill Park made it six victories in seven outings.

Checkley are five points behind in second place after winning at home against Meakins.

Visitors Meakins made their way to 233-9 in the first half of the outing. That marked a handy recovery after they were reduced to 66-4 when Michael Hill fell for 24.

However, Matt Arnold’s 51, 43 from Jack Hammond and Karl High’s 31 saw them to a competitive total.

Ben Holt claimed 3-33 for Checkley, with Diwesh Pathania adding a couple of scalps.

Checkley slid to 42-4 in their run chase, but skipper James Kettleborough kept a cool head under pressure.

Kettleborough hit 16 fours in his 117 not out as he hosts eventually managed to bank a five-wicket win with more than 10 overs to spare.

The Checkley leader forged a fifth-wicket alliance of 101 with Michael Allen (38) before putting on an unbroken 94 with Pathania for the sixth.

Pathania finished matters with a flourish with 57 not out. He faced 54 balls and struck eight fours and two sixes. High and Joe Dutton both scooped two wickets apiece for Meakins.

Champions Hem Heath won by six wickets at Longton.

Tom Hodson’s haul of 5-16, plus 3-30 from Ray Toole, left Longton all out for 151.

Anuj Jotin made the biggest impression for Longton, making 63. His knock featured nine fours and one six.

Hem Heath set sail towards the winning line with a first-wicket partnership of 105 between Matthew Hodson and Liam Banks.

Banks fell for 52, but Hodson batted through to complete a six-wicket success.

Hodson’s 64 not out included seven fours, with Zephyrn Hunte (19no) lending support after a quartet of quick wickets.

Lee Ridgway took two of the wickets to fall.