Dukes Division Three

by Steve Shaw and Anthony Bunn

OAKAMOOR skipper Jonathan Wood hopes his side's 48-run victory over high-fliers Endon can help get their campaign back on track.

Wood's men entered the season determined to get over relegation last term by bouncing back to Division Two at the first attempt.

A poor opening, in which they lost five and drew three of their matches, seemed to have put a spanner in the works, but improved form of late has made Wood optimistic his team can rally over the second half of the season.

Matt Wolff was the inspiration for Saturday's victory, which was only the second defeat of the season for their big Moorlands rivals.

He scored 48 in Oakamoor's competitive 246 and then took 3-53 as Endon fell short on 198, despite Jordan Weaver's quickfire 81.

are trying to bounce back to Division Two at the first attempt, were thrown into bat by third-placed Endon.

They responded by knocking up a competitive innings of 246, largely thanks to weighty contributions from opener Will Leeson (47), John Edwards (41) and Matt Wolff (48).

Wolff completed a fine all-round display when the seamer grabbed 3-53 as Endon fell short on 198.

It was only Endon's second league defeat of the season arrived despite Jordan Weaver's quickfire 81.Oakamoor moved up to eighth in the table and Wood said: "It is the first time we have completed back-to-back wins after beating Hanford in our previous game.

"We've improved over the last couple of weeks and, hopefully, we can keep that momentum going.

"The most pleasing aspect was that everybody contributed to the win. We didn't just rely on our professional, Muhammad Ayub."

Opener Will Leeson (47) and John Edwards (41) both chipped in with decent scores in the Oakamoor innings, while Wood himself claimed two cheap wickets at the death to help his side claim the full 25 points and move up to mid-table.

Elsewhere, Bagnall were knocked off top spot following an unexpected eight-wicket home defeat by Hem Heath/Forsbrook.

Bagnall's 177 was built around a solid 66 from opener Simon Gordon, but visiting professional Simon Wood put the brakes on with four quick wickets and Warren Aubrey also pitched in with a three-wicket haul.

The visitors cruised home thanks to a superb unbeaten ton by Carl Colclough (16 fours, 1 six) and a rapid 56 from Wayne Glover.

Moddershall A are now level on points with second-placed Bagnall following their 147-run victory over Meir Heath/Fenton.

It looked a good toss to win for Moddershall A as they racked-up 261-8 from their 50 overs.

In-form professional Upal Indrasiri top-scored with 61, but there were also good contributions from Nazakat Ali (48) and Andrew Heard (46). Chris Jenkins, with 3-53, was the pick of the home attack.

In reply, Meir Heath/Fenton started well, but from 57-0 they crashed to 114 all out with Indrasiri completing a man-of-the-match performance by taking 6-15 from 14.3 overs.

Woore were the winners of a high-scoring game at Hanford.

The Davies brothers – Roger (78) and Ian (108) – helped Hanford make a commanding 230-4 declared.

But Ben Johnson's undefeated 115 was the mainstay of the Woore reply, and he shared in an unbeaten eighth-wicket stand of 107 with Khallid Yosofzai to edge his side home after they had been struggling at 126-7.

The win put Woore 34 points clear of the relegation places.

Eccleshall moved up to fourth after a low-scoring win at bottom club Norton in Hales.

The visitors limped to 150-9 declared after Neil Bloor bowled a miserly 3-29.

But the home side had no answer to the opening attack of Paul Cox (4-18) and Matt Pepper (4-27) as they were hustled out for 105. Only James Ruscoe showed any sort of defiance with a battling 32.

Porthill Park A were outplayed by Wedgwood/Stanields, who claimed maximum points with their 143-run victory built around a commanding score of 261-8 off just 50 overs.

Ian Addyman top scored for the victors with 71(Rich Jarvis 36, Jon Tweats 34) and Wedgwood/Stanfields then proceeded to bowl out their hosts for just 86.

Jervis completed a good all-round day for him with four wickets and there were three wickets apiece for Matt Phillips and Ade Lello.