Wins for Pikes and Park as battle hots up (From Gazette & Herald)

Wins for Pikes and Park as battle hots up

Ryedale Beckett League Division One

Duncombe Park 100 for 3 beat Cropton 96 for 8 by 7 wkts

Cropton won the toss and batted first but lost Craig Aconley to Pete Richardson's third ball in his first over. Wickets fell regularly, with only K R Aconley (29) and R E Aconley (17) putting up any resistance.

Richardson bowled superbly with figures of 2 for 7 in his four overs. Good support came from Will Mallory (1 for 18, Paul Wilkie 3 for 33 and Justin Lewis 2 for 34).

In reply, Park set off at ten an over with Pete Kent hitting 33 out of the first 36 runs before being bowled by Jason Feaster.

Brian Leckenby carried on the good start with 38 not out to see Park home. Only Andy Grayson (2 for 16) bowled well for Cropton.

Pickering 129 for 6 beat Kirkbymoorside 85 for 9

by 44 runs

After Pickering lost two wickets in successive balls to Howard Mudd, Colin Frank (42) and Mark Shepherd (31) brought their experience to the fore with an excellent stand.

A final flurry in the closing overs saw Chris Hugill make 22. Mudd (2 for 38) and Bayes (2 for 24) took the bulk of wickets. Spin king Neil Ward also kept the batsmen quiet and there was promise from teenage bowler Phil Ward.

Kirkby never got to grips with the Pickering bowlers. Young Dave Gardner (29) looked promising. Mark Shepherd bowled well, moving the ball off the pitch. Youngsters Will Curtis and Matt Hartup bowled well and veteran Chris Hugill claimed two wickets in an over.

Malt & OMalton 152 for 3 beat Harome 151 for 5 by 7 wkts

Harome got off to a great start with Olly Metcalfe (22) and Dave Greenlay (63) punishing some early wayward bowling.

The innings then slowed, thanks to Mark Yates (2 for 30) and Tony Linsley (2 for 28). Jody Robson (32) then gave the innings a big finish to push Harome over the 150 mark.

In reply, with eight overs remaining, Malton needed 101 runs to win the match. They got them, thanks to the in-form Neil Johnson (73) and Ben Nicholson (42). Malton needed four from the last over to win. Wayne Dawson completed the task, hitting the third ball for four to hand Malton the win. Charlie Marwood took 1 for 30 for Harome.

Lockton 85 for 1 beat

Burythorpe 84 for 5 by 9 wkts

Lockton's bowlers made scoring difficult for the home team, with Jim Boyes (2 for 22) and young Wendy Brown (1 for 18) being the pick. Burythorpe's Andrew Milner and Steve Towse each made 27.

Chris Nichols (52 not out) dominated the visitors reply and ensured that Lockton recorded a comfortable victory with more than an over to spare. His excellent knock included two sixes and three fours. Andrew Milner (1 for 15) bowled well for Burythorpe.

Updated: 10:46 Thursday, June 20, 2002