12:50pm Monday 3rd August 2009
By Matt Donlan
CHORLEY failed to make up ground on the leading two in the Northen League – and actually slipped to fourth place in the table after collecting just two points from a losing draw at home to Barrow at Windsor Park.
Barrow professional Pasan Wanasinghe shone with both bat and ball after a rain-delayed 26 overs-per-side game began just after 4pm.
The experienced Sri Lankan hit an unbeaten 69 off 59 balls in his side’s 148-5 against a depleted Chorley attack.
Wanasinghe smashed eight fours and three sixes in his entertaining knock – and it really was a game-breaker.
Chorley were soon reduced to 26-5 with paid man Chris Hartley failing with the bat. Wanasinghe claimed three of those early wickets and finished with 4-21 as the home side struggled to 75-7 at the close, Ian Oakes making an invaluable undefeated 41 off 48 balls to stave off defeat.
And that draw saw Chorley overtaken by Morecambe, who moved into third place after earning maximum points from their easy win over Leyland.
There were two outstanding centuries and the day’s best bowling performance as Darwen dug in for a draw at Blackpool.
Burnley professional Jeeva Kulatunga, filling in for Blackpool, hit 115 off 95 balls including 12 fours and two sixes in a superb display of batting, while Lancashire star Steven Croft – playing as an amateur for his home town club – hit 55 off 88 balls as Blackpool amassed 246-4 in their 50 overs.
The game was delayed after Darwen bowler Yakub Bhamji was injured fielding a fierce Croft drive off his own bowling and the Lancashire junior player was taken to hospital as a precaution for treatment after taking a blow to the head.
Darwen off-spinner Chris Clarke took all four wickets to fall at a cost of 69 runs to confirm his emergence as a frontline bowler this season.
Darwen’s South African professional David Wiese then hit a magnificent 129 – the highest score in the Northern League so far this season – before becoming the last of Richard Gleeson’s seven victims.
Wiese hit 13 fours and four sixes in a towering display and faced just 122 balls, receiving good support from youngsters Nathan Jackson (24) and Kamran Anwar (39).
Gleeson bowled superbly, with sustained pace and hostility to take four early wickets and three more in his second spell and finished with his best Blackpool figures of 7-68.
With Bhamji unable to bat, the last pair of Stuart Hampson and captain Andrew Cook held out for a total of 30 balls between them to salvage a draw for the visitors, who closed on 224-8 when the game finished.
At the top of the table, Preston closed the gap on leaders St Annes to 10 points after a five-wicket win at Vernon Road.
Adam Parker (71 not out) and David Fisher (43 not out) shared an unbroken sixth wicket stand of 101 to steer their side to victory after Preston had laboured to 56-5 in reply to St Annes’ 154.
In Division Two, Chorley boosted their title hopes after a convincing win at Barrow as Chris Harty took 4-9 to help bowl out the home side for just 44. Earlier Rowan Mitcham held firm with 49 in Chorley's 181 as Guy Heffernan took 7-64.
Darwen seconds, meanwhile, got home by one wicket in a low scoring game with Blackpool at Birch Hall.
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