Ngoepe seals derby victory for Church

Accrington no match for South African professional Lesiba

- NEAL WILKINSON & RICHARD PARTINGTON

IN the JW Lees Senior Division Two, struggling Rawtenstall gave themselves a shot in the arm with a five-wicket win at home against mid-table Nelson.

Rawtenstall skipper Dean Barlow won the toss and elected to field, visitors Nelson restricted to 127 all out inside 30 overs, N Kazir top-scoring for them with an unbeaten 29 as Cameron Holder claimed 4-36.

Barlow then produced a captain’s innings for the home side, his unbeaten knock of 76 from 70 balls steering Rawtenstall to a welcome 10 points, lifting them up a place in the table as Accrington slipped to second bottom following their loss at neighbours Church & Oswaldtwistle.

Accrington had won the toss and fielded first, making good inroads into the Church batting line-up with the exception of South African pro Lesiba Ngoepe, who struck a majestic 92 from 68 deliveries, including a dozen boundaries and three maximums. Sam Holt, 11, and Josh Scully, 12, were the only other Church batsmen to reach double figures as the home side closed on 150 all out.

Ngoepe’s innings proved decisive, Accrington lacked a batsman able to produce anything close to his achievement and despite several players seemingly playing their way in - Ali Hasham, 19, Jonathan Hayhurst 15, Graeme Sneddon, 15 - not one Accrington batter achieved a score above 20 and they were all out for 127 after 43 overs. The victory lifted Church up into fifth spot.

Sitting one place ahead of them, Enfield continued their push for promotion with a four-wicket win at home to Crompton.

Enfield captain Adam Bracewell won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first, Crompton going on to make just 106 all out, Adam Good top-scoring for them with 22 runs as Pramod Maduwantha claimed 5-19 off his ten overs.

Maduwantha then played a patient innings, hitting 38 off 68 balls, to guide Enfield home, helped in no small part by opener Lewis Wright's 34.