Town up and running
Cherwell League Division Two Long Marston 251-8 Leighton Buzzard 252-7 (Leighton win by three wickets)
A magnificent run chase enabled Leighton Buzzard to seal a three-wicket victory at local rivals Long Marston on Saturday - their first of the Cherwell League Division Two season.
Town skipper Antony Francis asked the home team to bat first after he won the toss and his players responded well as Andy Hipwell took three wickets to help reduce Long Marston to 32-3 after 10 overs.
However, former skipper Mike Lyons had other ideas and proceeded to hit Leighton all around the ground with a succession of boundaries. He hit a total of 19 boundary fours and one six in his innings of 133 off only 107 balls to bring Long Marston to declare on 251-8 off 51.1 overs.
Hipwell finished Leighton's best bowler taking 4-46 in nine overs.
Town were left with a daunting task but openers Tom Light and Kirk Brazier made a sound start to the chase, racking up 95 runs in 22 overs before Brazier was clean bowled for 46.
Phil Whatmore joined Light to carry on the fight, the latter eventually going for 61. A brief innings from Dan Scott brought Chris Thompson to the crease and he began to out score Whatmore by making a quick 34 off 36 deliveries.
At this point Town were 223-5 and with Francis (15) it was left to Lee Selfe to hit the winning boundary. Whatmore ended on 51 not out.
The result netted Town 25 points while Long Marston took 12 for their efforts, leaving the two sitting comfortably in mid-table at this early stage of the new season.
>> It wasn't such a good afternoon for Leighton 2nds who fell to a second loss in as many games when Buckingham 2nds left Bell Close with a three-wicket win.
The visitors won the toss and decided to field first, and they soon got an early breakthrough with Andy Smith out lbw for no score.
Tim O'Leary (11) and Richard Raine (46) settled some early Leighton nerves with a 62-run second wicket stand. And Chris Hipwell (43) kept the scoreboard moving along as did David Roberts (44).
Nick Boyce and Tom Callaghan were both bowled by deliveries which kept lower than they expected. James Raine (24 not out) contributed some important runs towards the end of the innings to leave Town on 222-8 from their allocated 53 overs.
The visitors made a positive start with an opening partnership worth 76, but the loss of four wickets for just 10 runs in the space of three overs put the home team in the driving seat.
However, opener Mark Taylor (104 not out) was in determined mood and single handedly won it for Bucks.
He received plenty of support from the lower order on his way to victory, with David Pritchard (19) and Chris Coates (26no) putting in decent shifts. Although Leighton managed to take a further three wickets, Buckingham closed out on 223-7 for a comfortable three-wicket victory.
>> Defeat from the jaws of victory is the best way to describe Leighton's effort against Luton at Bell Close in the Beds Sunday League Premier Division.
Leighton won the toss and invited the visitors to bat, and they made a cautious start with just 45 runs coming from the first 15 overs.
The introduction of Lee Selfe into the bowling attack worked for Leighton as he took two wickets in his first over, and the slow accumulation of runs seemed to be the plan for Luton who reached 100 after 32 overs.
Antony Francis chipped in with 3-39 and Luton's innings closed on 170-9 off their 45 overs - presenting Leighton with a very achievable target.
But they made a poor start. Skipper Tom Light was sent packing in the third over to a smart catch at cover, James Bishop then edged one to the wicket keeper for seven, and Dan Scott was clean bowled with 11 on the board.
The score then was 67-3 mainly thanks to the efforts of opener Phil Whatmore who had not been troubled by Luton's bowlers as he smashed his way to 50 off 42 balls, including five boundary fours and three sixes.
Jack Kempster kept him company as the score moved comfortably along to 128 in the 25th over with victory seeming to be in the bag. Whatmore then tried a reverse sweep, but missed it, and was out lbw for 78.
Kempster followed in the next over for 25 and there was then a procession as Leighton's lower order batsmen were unable to cope.
The innings completely crumbled with the last seven wickets falling for just 24 runs, leaving Town on 152 all out and 18 runs short of their target.
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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
