Great batting by Luke Lacey and Adam McAuley helped Cronkbourne defeat Peel and St John's in a top of the table clash in the Standard Bank Premiership. The Douglas side are now in second place after Castletown's game against Valkyres was abandoned due to rain.

The title will now be decided in the final matches next Saturday with the Saints still holding a commanding lead. Victory at Tromode would have given them the championship, but they were thwarted by a fighting display by Cronkbourne.

Batting first, Peel and St John's faced tight bowling and good fielding. Greg Hawke hit a splendid 40 before being run out – the second of four such dismissals in the innings.

At 128 for 6, the game was slipping away from the western team, but a spirited knock of 42 from skipper Chris Hawke helped take the final total to 181 for 9. Max Stokoe returned 3 -42 and there were also wickets for Rowan Bird and Alex Stokoe.

In reply, Cronkbourne lost a wicket in the first over to Akkie van den Berg. However, McAuley and Lacey then hit out to great effect. They dominated the Saint's attack and had almost reached their target when McAuley fell to Ollie Webster for an excellent 71.

Lacey carried on in fine style and was there at the finish with an undefeated 96 as his side romped home by eight wickets.

There was drama at Marown where Crosby were dismissed for 134 by Ramsey. Kevin Kniveton top scored with 32, Brian Arnold took 4 for 19 and Matty Grice had 4 for 35, including three wickets in one over.


The Ramsey reply had reached 126 for 7 when Brandon Atchison came to the crease. He hit his first ball for four and took a single off the next.

The over ended with Harry Rothwell taking a wicket to leave Ramsey on 131 for 8. Brandon then crashed the next ball to the boundary to give the Northerners their first win in the Premiership this year.

# # # #

The Island Juniors had a very successful time at the Bromsgrove Festival, winning two of their three games against high quality opposition.

Their one defeat was in the opening fixture against Somerset. In an excellent game the Manx made 144 with Nathan Pope scoring 28, George Harrison 20 and George Burrows 18.

Somerset replied with 145 for 6 made in 33 overs. Eddie Beard took 3 -13, Spencer Cope 2 -18 and Nathan Pope 1 -14.

The next day the Island beat Pembroke by seven wickets. The Welsh were dismissed for 182 with top class bowling from Jack Telford (4 -17), Cope (1 -20) and Beard (1 -21).

The Manx reached their target for the loss of three wickets. Drew Buxton was 53 not out, George Burrows made 48 and Jack Telford 34.

On Saturday the Island claimed a superb win when they defeated Holland by 67 runs. Batting first the Manx scored 228 with Finlo Smith hitting 60, Nathan Pope 52 and Sam Riordan 20.

The Dutch ended on 162 for 9. Kieran Cawte took 3 -8, Bradleigh Cregeen 2 - 11 and Beard 1 -20. The weather for the festival was extremely hot, but the Juniors played very positive cricket with an excellent attitude. The future looks bright.

RESULTS

Standard Bank Premiership
Peel and St John's 181 for 9 (Chris Hawke 42, Greg Hawke 40 : Max Stokoe 3 -42, Rowan Bird 1 -14); Cronkbourne 183 for 2 (Luke Lacey 96no, Adam McAuley 71 : Akkie van den Berg 1 -32, Ollie Webster 1 -35). Cronkbourne won by eight wickets.
Crosby 134 (Kevin Kniveton 32, Dave Picken 15 : Brian Arnold 4 -19, Matt Grice 4 -35); Ramsey 135 for 8 (Matt Grice 27, Grant Atchison 24 : Harry Rothwell 2 -14, Ben Kebbell 2 -30). Ramsey won by two wickets.
Castletown 125 for 3 v Valkyres : March Abandoned (Rain). Five points to each side.

Standard Bank Cain League
Cronkbourne A 176 for 4 (Adam McAuley 99, Rowan Bird 45 : Chris Langford 2 -39, Ryan Windell 1 -25); Valkyres A 155 for 9 (Ryan Windell 56no, Ali Ansari 23 : Sam Kebbell 2 -14, Jack Gerrard 2 -23). Cronkbourne won by 21 runs.
Peel and St John's A 178 for 4 (Nick Hawke 69no, Peter Lewis 56no : Ryan Windell 2 -26, Saad Jaffary 1 -29); Valkyres A 36 for 7 (Chris Langford 22 : Russell Miller 2 -1, Akkie van den Berg 2 -5). Peel and St John's won by 142 runs.
Castletown A 131 for 6 (Wicus Wessels 56no, Greg Tomlinson 31 : Nick Hawke 3 -9, Greg Hawke 1 -16); Peel and St John's A 135 for 6 (Phil Littlejohns 34, Ollie Webster 31 : Seb Aycock 2 -27, Tom Kennaugh 2 -27). Peel and St John's won by four wickets.

Standard Bank T20 Division One
Valkyres B 92 (Auri Ghausi 36, Saad Jaffary 19 : Gareth Rowlands 3 -11, Dave Picken 1 -10); Crosby B 93 for 3 (Harry Rothwell 43, Jamie Brown 22 : Andy Coulson 1 -11, Zubair Siddiqi 1 -11). Crosby won by seven wickets.
Finch Hill A 166 for 9 (George Burrows 66, Ben Bennett 30 : Greg Wenn 3 -15, Matt Killip 2 -31); Union Mills 125 for 6 (Chris Nash 39, Greg Wenn 30no : Ben Bennett 3 -25, Sam Riordan 2 -14). Finch Hill won by 41 runs.
Finch Hill A 169 for 6 (George Burrows 72, Roy Corlett 70 : Brian Gartland 5 -15, Glynn Prescott 1 -39); Union Mills 63 (Robbie Prescott 15, Brian Gartland 12 : Tom Burrows 3 -10, Ewan Quayle 2 -16). Finch Hill won by 106 runs.
Cronkbourne B 146 for 4 (Rowan Bird 30, Ross Berber 22no : Joe Burrows 2 -15, Matthew Nicholson 1 -23); Finch Hill A 132 (Ewan Quayle 29, Andy Ward 23, Joe Burrows 23 : James Harrison 3 -37, Rowan Bird 2 -23). Cronkbourne won by 14 runs.
Valkyres B 196 for 6 (Shahid Rafiq 60, Zubair Siddiqi 45no : Chris Cunningham 3 -37, Chris Nash 2 -23); Union Mills 196 for 8 (Chris Nash 102, Josh James 30 : Brian Quirk 2 -36, Ian Walker 1 -19). Match tied.

Standard Bank T20 Division Two
Cronkbourne Bacchas 148 for 7 (Jonny Callow 56, James Harrison 25 : Pat Moorcroft 4 -14, Dave Griffiths 2 -18); Castletown C 83 (Will Cain 27, Tom Kennaugh 12 : Jack Gerrard 4 -12, James Harrison 2 -17). Cronkbourne won by 55 runs.

Bromsgrove Junior Festival
Isle of Man 144 (Nathan Pope 28, George Harrison 20, George Burrows 18); Somerset 145 for 6 (Eddie Beard 3 -13, Spencer Cope 2 -18, Nathan Pope 1 -14). Somerset won by four wickets.
Pembroke 182 (Jack Telford 4 -17, Spencer Cope 1 -30, Eddie Beard 1 -21); Isle of Man 183 for 3 (Drew Buxton 53no, George Burrows 48, Jack Telford 34). Isle of Man won by seven wickets.
Isle of Man 228 (Finlo Smith 60, Nathan Pope 52, Sam Riordan 20); Holland 162 for 9 (Kieran Cawte 3 -8, Bradleigh Cregeen 2 -11, Eddie Beard 1 -20). Isle of Man won by 66 runs.

Junior Under 12 League
Finch Hill A (278) beat Cronkbourne B (252)

Junior Under 9 Tournament
Finch Hill (235) beat Ramsey A (204)
Crosby B (242) beat Cronkbourne (240)
Castletown lost to Crosby A
Cronkbourne (241) beat Ramsey A (235)
Finch Hill (249) beat Crosby B (240)
Castletown (239) lost to Ramsey A (246)
Crosby A (253) beat Crosby B (223)
Cronkbourne (231) lost to Finch Hill (255)
Ramsey A (251) beat Crosby A (241)
Finch Hill (228) beat Castletown (222).