Hindley St. Peter’s 1st XI kept up their unbeaten start to the season with a 30-run away win at Bradshaw.

Batting first, HSP couldn’t replicate their flying starts from previous weeks as the openers Paul Delargy and Ishtiyaq Shaikh struggled to pierce the field and get the ball away. The score had only reached 15 in the ninth over when a misjudged run saw the first wicket fall, Shaikh being run out for 11. Delargy was the second man out in the 15th over when he picked out the fielder on the boundary to leave the score 35-2. Two more wickets fell quickly and HSP were on the ropes at 37-4. Phil Moorfield and Umar Shaikh set about steadying the ship and gradually started to bring HSP back into the game. Bradshaw’s slow bowling proved difficult to get away at times but Moorfield and Shaikh’s patience paid off as they began to build a partnership. They added 95 in total for the fifth wicket in 23 overs, the stand eventually being broken when Shaikh was caught behind for a well-made 21. With five overs to go and the score 132-5 HSP now had the luxury of being able to kick on in the closing stages, which they did through firstly through Mark Wood (12) and then Martin Storey (19*) They only faced ten balls each but provided the momentum that enabled HSP to take 54 runs from those last five overs. Moorfield had been at the crease since the ninth over but stuck it out right till the end, picking up the pace himself to finish with 89 not out from 106 balls as HSP finished on 186-6 from their 45 overs.

Being their first time at Bradshaw, HSP weren’t sure how competitive a total this was, and the home side’s openers did indeed give them cause for concern as they put on 67 for the first wicket in 17 overs. The HSP opening pair of Mark Wood and John Wilkinson worked hard to try to prise the batsmen out but with no luck, and it took a change of bowling for HSP’s fortunes to change with Hussnain Saeed doing the honours and making the first breakthrough after the drinks break. From then on the momentum began to swing to HSP with Ian Chesworth taking wickets in three consecutive overs as Bradshaw squandered their strong start. From a good position at 82-1 Bradshaw found themselves 101-6 as none of the incoming batsmen made much of an impression. Chesworth bowled an unbroken 14-over spell for HSP, not only picking up wickets but also keeping the runs down to finish with figures of 6-39. The run rate was increasing all the time and soon became too much for Bradshaw to handle, and they were all out for 156 with seven balls remaining.

The 2nd XI also took the points at home to Blackley. The visitors batted first but were under pressure at the start as HSP opening bowlers Adeel Hanif and Fahim Ashraf made early inroads and reduced Blackley to 37-5. HSP were unable to press home their advantage though as the second half of the Blackley order recovered strongly. Hanif and Ashraf returned to finish the innings off, ending with figures of 4-64 and 3-32 respectively, but HSP must have felt that they had let Blackley off the hook as the final score ended up being 168 all out.

In the end it proved not to be a problem as Yusuf Ellahi got the HSP reply off to a good start with 42, before Toseef Khan hit 71 from 68 balls as HSP achieved their target comfortably, reaching 171-6 with more than eleven overs to spare.

Next weekend is a league and cup double-header, with the 1st XI at home both days. They face Little Hulton on Saturday before hosting face Failsworth Macedonia in the cup on Sunday. The 2nd XI are away at Golborne on Saturday and then at Adlington on Sunday.