Little Stoke take big lead

The fate of the relegation candidates at the foot of the Waterworld Premier Division is proving more uncertain than Little Stoke’s hunt for the title, as they move away with a 39-point lead at the top.

Little Stoke faced a struggling Moddershall side, and Daniel Colclough (5-33) and Shabir Ahmed (3-35) tore through their line-up, dismissing them for 86 of which opener Hamza Siddique scored 50.

Little Stoke chased the runs in a professional manner as they cruised to a nine-wicket win with Richard Adams (40 not out) and Greg Massingham (29 not out) leading them home.

Stone beat second-placed Burslem to move well clear of the relegation mire. Shaun Jenkinson hit 83 in Stone’s total of 168 with Samiullah Khan taking 5-89.

In reply, all the Stone bowlers chipped in through Matt Stupples (3-26) and two wickets apiece from Johanthan McCredie (2-26), Andrew Winfield (2-25) and Michael Tudehope (2-19) as Burslem fell for 109.

Hem Heath couldn’t record the win they needed for guaranteed survival against their rivals Longton.

Will Purser hit 63 with support from Phil Adams (31) and Ben Lucas (25) in their sides 166. Stephen Atkinson (3-27) and Qasier Abbas (4-43) were the pick of the Hem Heath attack.

And it was Purser who starred with the ball, taking 7-26 as Hem Heath were rolled for 45, with John Seabridge top scoring on 17.
Porthill Park did record a well-needed win over Wood Lane to ensure they stay in next year’s top flight cricket.

Mark Bengry claimed 6-44 as Porthill dismissed Wood Lane for 110, chasing 147 for seven. Only Ashar Zaidi provided any resistance for the home side as he hit 48.

Earlier, scores from David Cotton (39) and Sohail Zaroof (30) helped Porthill to the winning total.

Knypersley edged a winning draw away from Elworth to keep them in trouble at the foot of the table.

Ben McGuire hit a swashbuckling 87 including four boundaries and four maximums. He had good support from Paul Goodwin (46) in their side’s total of 177 for seven. Yasir Ali was the pick of the Elworth attack taking 4-37.

In reply, Ali hit an unbeaten 37 but lacked support as they closed on 120 for seven, a handful of runs short of claiming the extra five points.

Audley dominated their match against Barlaston and were rewarded with a winning draw.

Sean Price hit an unbeaten 63 and scores from Richard Holloway (35), Michael Longmore (40) and Roger Sillence (31) helped them to a commanding 185 for four.

Ben Grange hit 32 in Barlaston reply but their middle order collapsed thanks to Craig Barker (3-16) which dented any hopes of a run chase as they closed on 117 for seven.