78


I CUIHEROEADVERTISERfiraiES www.clW10roeadv0rtiser.co.uk Thursday, April 23,20( SPORT THE CRICKET SEASON IS UP AND RUNNING


'Champions off to a flying ; start thanks to Guneratne


Sri Lankan takes 7-27 and hits 34 not out as Baxenden are beaten


Janaka Guneratne picked up where he left offlast season . asCIrtheroemadeawinning


l J - ‘


startto the defence of their Houldsworth Ribblesdale League senior crown.


The Sri Lankan all-rounder fin­ ished third in the batting and bowling averages as the Chat- bum Road side made it back to


@ back titles in 2014.. And he set about improving on past performances as Clithe-


roescoredasixwickethomewin over Baxenden. Batting first, thevisitorswere dismissedfor98withGuneratne


taking 7-27. He was then unbeat­ en with 34 as the champions


passed their targetafter27overs. Clitheroe are at Euxton on


Saturday, and Oswaldtwistle


• ImmanuelonSundayinthecup. . Read were one-wicket win­ ners at Cherry Tree thanks to a defiant last wicket partnership. Elliot Lowes and Omar Hussain


.put on an unbroken 53 for the 10th wicket despite the best ef­ forts of Brandon Diplock and


wi \ Roblnce. Zimbabwean Diplock scored


71 on debut as Cherry’s overseas amateur out of 187-9 and Ince’s six wickets took Read to the


a brink of defeat However, Lowes and Hussain


came to the rescue for last year's fourth placers.


Read captain Kyle O'Connor


said: "Winning the first game is always important and the way that we secured it shows that we


Russ Thompson


Russ Thompson suffered his first retirement of the season atthe Somerset Stages Rally lastSaturday, following a crash atthe end of the third stage of 12.


The 27-year-old had just completed the Knowle 1 test when the car slipped


on loose gravel after the fly­ ing finish boards and slid into a tree.


Janaka Guneratne tookT-ZTandmadesTnotoirtasCNitheroe started tfieirhunt foratitle treble withawinoverBaxeriden^'


have alotofcharacter in theside. “I couldn’t be more proud of


the way we battled our way to victory.


"We have to improve for the


weekend though. Bamoldswick are always tough opposition to face as they have a strong bat­ ting line-up. I’m confident in the lads.”


Salesbury also got a win on


the board, seeing off Edenfield by 71 runs after bowling their hosts out for 134, with Andrew Mercer taking 5-63. Paid man Susantha Pradeep


hit 65 as the Red Caps totalled 205-7. Skipper Steve Brown said:


“It was a brilliant start, we bat­ ted well and set agood base with James Watson (43) and Liam Parkinson (20) against a decent opening partnership, and then kicked on to a good score. “It’s always good for the pro


to get a score early on, it’s a con­ fidence booster, and the rest chipped in as well.


And Andrew Mercer and


Sam Bristol bowled brilliantly.” Salesbury are at Settle on


Saturday, and Brown expects a tough test: “Settle will expect to compete forthe title.” Meanwhile, Ribblesdale


WanderersskipperlanBritcliffe lauded the influence of profes­


sional Ryan Canning after the South African’s unbeaten cen­ tury inspired the hosts to a 54- run triumph over Brinscall. “He was exceptional,” said the Church Meadowcaptain. “It’s


areallygoodstartforhim. It was superb and it was great to see us lot bat around him. “He has a positive and calm­


ing influence, hecommunicates well and he's very professional about what he does. It was mas­


sive for us to get that win.” Britcliffe, who takes his side to Edenfield this weekend, add­


ed: “At 16-years-old Sam Jackson opened the batting for the first time and helped provide a plat­ form. His performance was very mature. Mark Thompson also chipped in with five wickets to help us claim 12 points.”


Whalley's season gets under­


way on Saturday, against Great Harwood at the Cliffe.


• Runington s destiny is in their hands


Rimington’s East Lancashire League title destiny remains in their own hands with four games remaining.


The villagers drew their two games over the week, but re- main three points clear with a game in hand over The Ivy. Last Tuesday, Ter ry


® , Braithwaite’s side saw a 3-0 lead evaporate as they were held by Rock Rovers, before coming from behind to claim a 1-1 draw at Belvedere.


' Against Rock, Rimington started brightly and took a


sixth-minute lead, as Bagot played in Gawthorpe down the right and his cross reached


Hickling, who curling in a beauty. And just before half-time,


Dinsdale headed a corner back to Hickling, whose shot was blocked, was McLean headed the ball to Bagot, who brilliantly bicycle-kicked it into the roof of the net. In the second half, Ker­ shaw played the ball up to Ba­


got, who flicked on for McLean to fire home. Thegamewastumedonits


head on the hour, the visitors breaking down the right be­


fore crossing for the striker to pull a goal back. A minute later a specula­


tive shot was inadvertently deflected past Kershaw by Dinsdale and it was game on.


Rocklevelledas they broke


from a Rimington corner to net a third.


The club thanks match


sponsor Le Beau Cheval. On Saturday, an enthral­ ling game, which could have


been wonbyeitherside,ended 1-1 at Burnley Belvedere in a


great advert for the East Lan­ cashire League.


The home side took the


lead on the hour, as McCarthy headed out a corner, but the ball found a midfielder on the edge of the box, and his volley flew into the bottom corner. Rimington threw every­


thing at the hosts, and Sarge- son produced a moment of class on 85 minutes when he picked up the loose ball and fired an unstoppable left foot shot to level the scores.


Braithwaite was pleased with the two games: “These


werebothtoughgamesagainst top five teams, so we have to be


pleased that our destiny is still in our own hands. “We have four to play, in­


cluding Burnley Athletic at home.


If we win the next two it could be the decider, but the


nextgameis always theimpor- tantone.” Saturday sees a homegame


with Stacksteads, followed by the return home fixture with


Burnley Belvedere on Tues­ day. •


Over the first two stag­


es, a double run over the Porlock toll road, Thomp­ son was 11 seconds under his time from the same stage in 2014, and he was showing a similar improve­ ment over Knowle before a spin just prior to the finish. It was however a case


of being thankful forsmall merciesas although thecar suffered damage, the tree stopped Thompson and co driver Andy Murphy from rolling do wn a sizeable em-


" bankment and suffering more substantial damage to the car and themselves.


i JoeGarnercelebrateshisdoubleawardwin


Whalley's Joe Garner had dou­ ble cause for celebration on Sunday nightatthe Football League AwardsatThe Brew- ! ery in London.


The Preston North End striker won two awards - the League 1 playeroftjieyearaccoladeand Mitre Football League goal of the year for his memorable volley against Rotherham United in the play-off semi­ final at Deepdale last season. Garner, 27, was up against


Snooker awards


night This season's Youngs Beers


WinesandSpirits Clithe­ roe and District Snooker League presentation night is atthe Clitheroe Royal British Legion otomorrow


from 7-45 p.m. The league have secured comic Archie Kelly - Ken­ ny Senior from Phoenix Nights, and a singer. The night is free to at:


tend, with a raffle and sup­ per.


Bristol City midfielder Luke Freeman and MK Dons’ Spurs- bound Dele Alii for the player of the year gong, which was


voted for by the 24 managers in the division. Middlesbrough striker


Patrick Bamford, on loan from Chelsea, was the Cham­ pionship player of the year, with MK Dons midfielder Alii named the Football League’s young player of the year. Garner scored his 22nd


goal of the campaign in Pres­ ton’s 2-2 draw at Port Vale on Friday night, netting from the penalty spot. . He did not attend the


awards ceremony-as North End were in training on Mon­ day ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Notts County at


Meadow Lane. A boyhood North End fan,


Garner’s move to Preston has rei nvigorated his career, help­ ing push the Lilywhites into promotion contention. Last season he hit 24 goals


as Preston reached the play­ offs, and, despiteaninjury ab­ sence this term, he has again been in prolific form this sea­ son, with Simon Grayson’s men hoping to claim automat­ ic promotion behind champi- ons Bristol City - managed by one-time Burnley boss, and former Whalley resident -


Steve Cotterill. Garner’s highlights this


season include a hat-trick against' Fleetwood Town and four goals against Crewe Alex­ andra in March. Preston Chief Executive


John Kay, who collected the award on behalf of Garner, said: “Joe is very important. “He had to work hard when


he joined the club and he es­ tablished himself and started scoring goals. “As he scored goals, we


started getting results, so he was key. He is a tallisman. When he was back fit you could tell there was a rise in the dressing room, in the lads and their confidence.”


Russell suffers first


retirement fsday. April 23,2015 www.clith0ro0a1lv0rtis0r.co.uk CUTHEROEADVERnSER&TIMES 79 SPORT ALL THE LATEST LOCAL SPORT BOWLER’S HAT-TRICK OF WINS!


fWhalley ace Gamer as double cause or celebration


lorth End frontman is League 1 player of the year V


Eric ends excellent season in fine style


Clitheroe bowler Eric Wal­ lace ended an excellent in- doorseasonby completing


' a unique hat-trick of wins in the veterans’ balloted pairs at Blackpool’s New­ ton Hall indoor bowling club. Having won the competi­ tion for the past two years Eric, of Henthom Road, partnered by Ken Critch- ley of Blackpool, comfort- ably won the final 15-6 to-----


take the title for a record breaking third-consecu- tiveyears. Thishat-trickwasthe cul­ mination of a very success­ ful season having reached thelasti6ofthenational ' over 60s fours, teaming up with Charlie Cowsill (Bolton) Steve Goulding (Southport) and Steve Air- ey (Blackpool), and the last 32 of the national over 60s pairs with John Schofield (Darwen).


Eric Wallace (s).


E r ic s a id : “H a v in g b e e n n a r r o w ly d e fe a te d b y th e e v e n tu a l n a t io n a l r u n n e r s -


up, it was great to go so far but falling at the final hur­ dle to reach the prestigious national finals was a big . disappointment. “It just makes me more de­ termined next winter as it is still an ambition of mine. “However, becoming club triples champions with John Schofield and Steve Airey was perhaps the best victory having over come national and British Isles champions on the way I ”


Green hit 12 in derby win Hurst Green Youth........ .12-


LongridgeTown............ ...1 Hurst Green Youth ended the season in fine style with an emphatic win against lo­ cal rivals Longridge Town. ■ The Green welcomed


back Ben Aspery follow­ ing a three-month absence due to injury and he was in­ strumental in a terrific per­ formance, as he tormented the Longridge defence along with fellow strikers Tom Jacques and Tom Reede. . Aspery helped himself to


a superb hat trick, the pick of the bunch coming midway through the second half as he expertly found the keep­ er’s top right corner from 25 yards. Aspery alsohadahandin


at least three other goals and his overall performance was worthy of a higher stage. Jacques also performed


Sabden earn cup final berth


Sabdenwill contest the Terry Cattermoletrophy with Church Town on May 24th, af- terthey beat Great Harwood Rovers at the weekend.


Sabden broke the deadlock on 15 minutes as centre back Ryan Ellis’s pinpoint cross was powered home by Jack Birkett.


And just before half-time,


David Fallon broke down the right, before squaring the ball to Charlie Collinge, who tapped the ball home. Collinge returned the fa­


vour to Fallon just after the hour mark. There was brie f cause


for concern when Harwood pulled a goal back with their


first real attempt on target, however, Sabden held firm and secured their place in the cup final. • Sabden are looking to


set up a ladies team for the 2015/16 season. It doesn’t matter whether


you have kicked a ball before or not, the club are having an open session on Saturday at 10


a.m. at Nutter Barn. . For more information or to confirmyourattendance, con­


tact Nicole on 07875723253 or e-mail the club on info@sab- denfc.co.uk • Dog Inn lost 12-0 to


Church on Sunday, having fielded only nine men for the third week ru nning. Dave De- whurst was man of the match.


admirably, combining pace and power and deservedly completed his own hat trick at the beginning of the sec­ ond half with another com­ posed finish. The mercurial Reede tor­


mented the Longridge de­ fence throughout the entire match andean count himself unlucky only to bag a brace, as Longridge Keeper Chau- han pulled off several mag­ nificent saves to deny him a deserved hat trick. Reede’s opening goal was undoubt­ edly a contender for goal of the season as there appeared to be little danger when he


received the ball on the half way line. However,'the visitors


were slow to react to the league’s fastest striker, as the lightening quick Reede pow­ ered passed four defenders before striking an unstoppa^ ble blockbuster in off the far post from 25 yards. Green’s midfield trio


comprised of home debu­ tant, Jack Burton, Will Reed and John Holden. Burton gave an assured perform­ ance whilst also helping himself to a superb goal, nonchalantly striking a half volley into Chauhan’s top left corner from the edge of the box. Stand-in skipperHold- en put in another powerful display in the centre of the park, deservedly helping himself to a couple of goals. Will Reed provided an


outstanding example of te­ nacious midfield guile and for the last 20 minutes he al­ so superbly marshalled the Green’s defence, along with Matt Farnsworth and George Riding. However, full credit to the


Longridge lads for their nev­ er say die attitude as Green keeper, Max Blewitt, had to produce a couple of fine. saves in the last 15 minutes, whilst the Green woodwork was also struck on two occa­ sions. Longridge deservedly scored a consolation goal in injury time following a neat finish by Turner.


Computers;- Sales &Repairs for Home & Business; 01282 424041 C*


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41