CRICKET: Dunton make it three wins in a row

After putting Wigston Town into bat, Dunton dismissed them for 181 with Tom Clift (3-39) and Aaron Smalley (3-53) the pick of the bowlers.

Mayur Champac (50) and Ben Sercombe (32) got the reply off to a good start and, after wickets fell, Smalley and Clift put on a 50-run partnership to get them over the line with six wickets down and three overs to spare.

Dunton 2nd lost a high-scoring encounter with Bharat Sport 3rd.

Bharat posted 239-7 with Dave Archibald taking 3-40.

In reply, Dunton finished eight runs short of victory on 232-9, despite the efforts of Archibald (81 from 47 balls) and Simon Crane (32).

Bowden 2nd have survival in Division Eight of the Northants Cricket League in their own hands after a crushing 156-run win at Earls Barton 2nd.

The maximum points lifted Bowden out of the relegation places and ensured a victory in the final two games will see them safe.

Batting first, Charlie Standley (24) and John Lawrence put on 50 for the first wicket before

skipper Dan Wenlock (37) and Lawrence (30) added a further half-century for the second but both fell in quick succession and the hosts scented blood.

However, Fergus Kenny (68no) and Sam Gomez (44) took Bowden to an imposing 227-4 from their 45 overs.

Ten-man Barton were then bowled out for just 71 in the 28th overs with Tony Roberts (4-13) and Lee Wilson (3-6) doing the bulk of the damage.

President’s Day at Bowden saw the President’s XI beat the club XI by 48 runs on Sunday.

Batting first as is traditional, Steve Oldfield’s side racked up an impressive 247-4 before tea with a superb, chanceless 109 from young Freddie Wilson being the highlight.

He was ably supported by Karl Pollard with (70 retired) and a quickfire unbeaten 35 from Seb Fernandes-Smith.

As befitting a timed game, President’s XI skipper Fergus Kenny managed to ‘dangle the carrot’ effectively and encourage the opposition to go for the runs instead of blocking out for the draw.

The club side lost wickets regularly, particularly to Flora England who took five wickets.

The mainstay of the club’s innings was 65 from Harry Wilford but when he was dismissed with five overs to go the President’s XI became favourites and Sam Freer took the last wicket with three balls remaining.