DENBIGH 148-7

NORTHOP 114

WHAT a start to the season it has been for Denbigh.

The Ystrad Road outfit have a three-point advantage at the head of the North Wales Cricket League Premier Division standings following their 34-run home success versus Northop over the weekend.

While the sun was out, it proved to be a chilly day and runs were hard to come by for the respective teams.

Northop did appear to be in a decent position when they reached 110-5, requiring less than 40 runs for success, but Denbigh concluded the match on a high to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.

Patience was a virtue as the home side made first use of the batting track.

Northop made a bright start to dismiss dangerous duo Harrison Jones and Andy Thomas cheaply, but recovery was in the offing as Gerallt Lyall and Sam Lewis knuckled down.

The pairing put together a third wicket stand of 53 to drag their side back into the contest.

This partnership came to an end when Lewis was trapped leg before by Tom Blackwell for 21.

Lyall would depart soon after for 40 as Denbigh were reduced to 81-4, but some decent middle order contributions managed to push the team total up to 148-7 by the time the 50 overs were up.

Joe Clayton (23), Daniel Nixon (17 not out) and Andy Clarke (17) all played their part to push the total close to 150.

The pick of the Northop attack turned out to be Ammar Mahmood (2-31) and Tom Blackwell (2-32).

When it was their turn to respond after tea, the Northop innings got off to a promising beginning.

Tom Blackwell (55) and Alex Gill (25) put together an opening stand of 46.

Back came Denbigh, though, and they claimed five wickets for just 22 runs to turn things around.

Sam Lewis spearheaded this fightback in the field, while skipper Harrison Jones (1-24) also played his part.

Northop responded with a 42-run partnership for the sixth wicket to move to within less than 40 runs of victory.

However, the dismissal of Blackwell by Gethin Williams (1-17) was the beginning of the end and Northop lost their last four wickets for just four runs.

Sam Lewis was the star man as he finished up with a fabulous return of 5-26 from his 11 overs.

There was also a wicket for Andy Clarke (1-22) as Denbigh grabbed the bulk of the points in a 12-3 split.