A MOMENTOUS weekend saw Prestwich spring back to the top of the league.
Their maximum 10-point return, accrued against second placed Denton and high-flying neighbours Stand, has put them in pole position.
Saturday’s 64-run victory at Denton was testament to graft and concentration as the ball had a tendency to keep low on a rain-affected wicket.
With a delayed start making it a 40-over contest, the visitors lost James Wharmby with the score on 7 but pro Danny Jones and Matt Wiley built the foundations of the innings, with a stand of exactly 100.
On a pitch where studiousness replaced flamboyance, the duo had taken the score to 80 for 1, with 10 overs left, allowing the launchpad for a late assault which doubled the team’s total.
Wiley made 38, with three sixes and one four, while Jones hit a classy 71, including five boundaries and four sixes.
But Steve Orrell’s brief innings of 11 was also of notable significance. His sweep shot for six over square leg made him the record runscorer for Prestwich, overhauling Ken Morgan’s total of 11,230.
With Denton’s pro, the Dutch international Michael Swarz unavailable, Prestwich were hoping to cash in, and Andy Bradley continued his wicket-taking form by bowling James McIlwraith with his second delivery for 0.
Jones joined the wicket trail to dismiss Jamie Garde (8) and Steve Wharton (2), but Scott Allen and Karl Taylor made progress to 62 until Bradley struck at the double, having Taylor well caught by skiipper Steven Lorenzini for 17 and Allen caught by Sam Holden for 28.
Wickets then fell at regular intervals as Bradley claimed the praiseworthy return of 6 for 43, Jones finished with 2 for 35, and Andy Taylor (2 for 13) picked up a late brace and Denton’s innings closed on 100.
Fittingly, Orrell was involved in the match-clinching wicket as Taylor’s delivery was fended off firmly by Tom Stenson, only for the veteran to take a remarkable one-handed catch at short leg.
Stand had inflicted defeat on Prestwich earlier this season, and only 11 points separated the two neighbours before the start of play on Sunday.
Prestwich batted first and Jones and Wharmby made stealthy progress until Carl Sutcliffe struck with the score on 61, trapping Wharmby l.b.w. for 21.
But Stand’s fortunes took a downturn as opening bowler Scott Butterworth limped from the field with a leg injury, and Wiley and Jones began punishing some wayward bowling.
Jones was undone by the spin of Stuart Catterall, falling three short of his half century, but Holden and Wiley carried on ticking the scoreboard over at a generous rate.
It was only after the second drinks break, and the introduction of Jack Ritchie, that Stand found some consistency in their bowling, as Ritchie and Catterall in tandem put the brakes on, keeping the Prestwich duo subdued for a vital period.
Both batsmen made fifties in their 133-run partnership, before Catterall claimed Wiley for an excellent 70 and Holden was bowled by Ritchie for an equally impressive 66.
A six from Oliver Holt and some typical end-of-innings scampering pushed the total up to 249 for 7, as Ritchie returned 3 for 47 and Catterall 3 for 75.
The Stand opening duo of Brett Ernest and Chris Holt made a solid start in the face of some tight bowling from Jones and Bradley. They reached 50 without loss in the 16th over, but Bradley, changing to the tennis court end, made the breakthrough as Holt was l.b.w. for 20, and Ernst went the same way, missing an intended sweep for 43, leaving the score on 81 for 2.
Andy Taylor clipped the top of Dave Taylor’s stumps, a rare failure against Prestwich, but former Prestwich player Pete Walters and Catterall began to build a menacing pertanership.
Bradley then claimed his third victim when Walters holed out to Chris Thomas in the deep, and Taylor grabbed the scalp of Catterall, as his skier was caught on the long-off boundary by Orrell.
With the required run rate spiralling towards 10 an over, Stand could have understandably abandoned their attack on the total, but the one-legged Butterworth thrashed a fiery 20 , an innings ended by a superb diving catch from Tom Gibson.
Matt Curphey (21 not out) and Matt Holt (26) then put together a stunning little stand to cause Prestwich to stop counting their chickens, as they started to batter the boundary boards with frequency, adding 41 runs in the space of six overs.
The game was then blighted by its second injury as Orrell’s desperate lunge to catch a lofted drive resulted in a torn hamstring.
The Curphey/Holt partnership was broken by Jones, with Bradley taking the low catch to dismiss Holt, and 183 for 6 soon became 195 all out.
Jones (3 for 47) struck twice more and Holden grabbed a wicket, while Bradley made it a 10-wicket haul for the weekend with figures of 4 for 98.
Woodbank’s loss against Thornham on the same day, combined with having 10 points deducted for disciplinary reasons, allowed Prestwich to reclaim top spot in the Lees Lancashire County League.
They hold a nine-point lead over second-placed Glossop, and make a trip to Irlam on Saturday.
* Prestwich 2nds also enjoyed a doubly-successful weekend, with victories over Denton and Stand catapulting them up to fourth place in their division.
Match Photo’s – Prestwich 1XI v Stand
