Town denied crucial victory
Leighton Buzzard Cricket Club round-up
Leighton had to settle for a draw in their match against Banbury 2nds as they were unable to claim that all important last wicket.
The visitors asked Town to bat first and a wicket was lost at 15 when Ben Friday skied one to mid-on. Tom Light and Phil Whatmore improved things with a stand worth 38, but Light went for 23.
Whatmore continued his excellent form with two maximums and four boundary 4s in his innings of 43 off 48 balls before being lbw to Liam Manley who bowled well taking 4-43.
Jack Kempster entered the fray as the hosts were on 106-4 and was last man out for a good innings of 54 off 73 deliveries, hitting two 6s and five boundary 4s. And he received great support from Chris Thompson on 17 and skipper Antony Francis (18), and brought Leighton to 207 all out in the 52nd over.
In reply Banbury quickly lost two wickets for 19 runs with Al Priestley and Jack Kempster getting one each. A dogged effort from opener Andrew Sabin ended when Francis managed to deflect the ball on to the stumps when Sabin was out of his ground and he was run out.
Their middle order stayed around with Ali (17) and Smith (20) but the introduction of Lee Selfe turned the game Town's way as he took 4-53 off 19 overs. Kempster added another to his tally, but Leighton were unable to dislodge the last pair as Banbury finished on 156-9 off 54 overs at the 7-30pm closure time. Leighton take 16 points and Banbury 10.
Leighton Buzzard 2nds 122 Chearsley 124-4
The 2nds travelled to Chearsley hoping to put an end to their miserable start to the Cherwell League Division Three season, but it wasn't to be.
Town won the toss and decided to bat first in overcast and humid conditions. With the ball swinging about both of the openers were soon sitting back in the pavilion with not many runs behind their name in the scorebook. Andy Smith (22) and Gareth Benger (41) worked hard to add some respectability to Leighton's efforts and at 77-3 it was looking reasonable.
However the introduction of Rory Allan into the bowling attack created all sorts of problems for Town and he raced through the middle order taking 4-17 in seven overs. A final score off 122 off 38 overs was the eventual outcome for Leighton.
Town managed to take two early wickets with Will Smith taking a couple of good catches, but a 55-run partnership between Davies and Sawrey-Cookson took the home side to the verge of victory. A couple of late wickets were scant reward for the visitors as Culley and Boyce bowled well without any luck and Chearsley won by six wickets.
Kimble 2nds 186-9 Leighton 3rds 107-7
There were six changes in Leighton's team for the trip to Kimble. James Raine won the toss for Town and decided to bowl first.
The first six batsmen in the home team made decent contributions as Leighton's bowlers worked hard for their wickets. Captain Raine led by example taking 4-70 from 17 overs. Simon Anderson-Dry gave him excellent support in returning his best bowling figures of the season with 3-51 from 13 overs. He also took two catches. Joe Gillings kept up his consistent performances of late by taking two wickets and the home team ended on 186-9 off 45 overs.
Glendenning was an early loss for Leighton but Sam Culley achieved his highest league score with 38 runs. Nick Scott (25 not out) held Kimble at bay with useful support from Raine (12) and Ryan Tift (12) as Town batted out their overs and held on for a draw.
Beds League: Leighton Buzzard 199-9 Dunstable 84
Leighton claimed early season bragging rights after a comprehensive victory over Dunstable in the local derby held at Lancot Park on Sunday.
Tom Light won the toss for Leighton and decided to bat first, but together with Whatmore the usually reliable opening pair of failed on this occasion and Dunstable took an early advantage.
But Leighton's middle order then set about repairing the damage. James Bishop and Dan Scott fashioned a partnership worth 44 followed by one for 61 runs by Scott and Kempster. Sam Janes (11), Antony Francis (30), Gareth Benger (12) and David Roberts (10) all chipped in with important runs and a final score of 199-9 off 45 overs was a reasonable effort.
It then rained quite heavily during the tea interval and eight overs of play were lost. Dunstable were given a revised target of 164 to win off 37 overs.
Leighton's opening bowlers gave the opening batsmen little to attack and runs were hard to come by. Boocock went for five and Horton and Cherry put on a further 35 before the latter was adjudged lbw to leave the score on 49-2 off 15 overs. The introduction of left-arm spinner Lee Selfe into the attack provided immediate returns for the visitors when Horton skied a comfortable catch to Culley.
Some patient defending by the middle order kept wickets intact for Dunstable but they gradually fell further and further behind the required run rate. Selfe continued to wheel away and taking risks against him usually resulted in the long lonely walk back to the pavillion. He ended with figures of 5-15 from seven overs. All of Town's bowlers impressed with their line and length deliveries.
The fielding was back to the high standards achieved last season with Sam Janes running out Carr with an excellent throw from the boundary as the batsmen tried to scamper a quick two runs. A mix-up between Dunstable skipper Hill and Bhatti saw the latter also run out and Dunstable were all out for 84, leaving Leighton victorious by 79 runs.
Dunstable 3rds 148 Leighton Buzzard 2nds 150-6.
Dunstable 3rds were the visitors to Bell Close and after winning the toss decided to bat first. Simon Halhead and Fraser McJannet were soon making inroads into the visitors batting and they subsided to 29-4.
Cooper then played an excellent innings worth 61 not out as he helped his colleagues through the overs. Woods made 18, Rashid a bright 29, Copcutt 29 and Newton 10. After an indifferent start 191 all out was a good effort.
It then rained during the tea interval and 10 overs of play were lost. The calculations showed that Town needed 149 to win in 35 overs.
Leighton got off to a flyer with the ball visiting all parts of the ground via Richard Raine's bat. He hammered his way to 60 off just 36 balls with 13 boundary 4s, and with some help down the order Leighton got home with four wickets in hand.
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
