Ramsey have retained their lead in the Standard Bank Premiership, but Valkyres are closing in and now Cronkbourne are mounting a challenge.

In the top game on Sunday, Wicus Wessels hit 60 to put Castletown in a good position against the northern club. The Town finished on 169 which would have been much more if Brian Arnold had not been on top form. Coming on third change, he took 5 -35 to keep his side in the game. Scott Weaver also put the brakes on the Town batsmen when his eight overs cost only ten runs.

In reply Ramsey batted well against a lively attack. Opener Marc Pons-Burt cracked 49 before being bowled by Garreth Roome. Rob Webber was a calming influence and, aided by Ashley Webster, steered the team to victory with three overs left. Webber made 39 not out and Webster was undefeated on 25. Mark Williams was the pick of the bowlers with 3 -23.

Valkyres had a rough start when they played St John’s at Tromode. Nick Hawke and Akkie van der Berg removed both openers very cheaply. The Saints’ hopes were then thwarted by an excellent stand between Tom Reader and Will Warwick. When Reader went for 23, his role was taken by Jaz Singh. Valkyres ended on 164 for 6 with Warwick out for 55 and Singh dismissed for 33.

Warwick then opened the Tromode bowling and was soon amongst the wickets. He trapped run-machine Daniel Dickinson for only two and skipper Zubair Siddiqi had the other opener caught by Ali Ansari. Neil Jacobs and van der Berg steadied the side, but it was Alex Williamson who became the main threat.
He cracked a storming 34 to give his side hope, but the Valkyres proved too strong and the westerners fell thirty runs short of their target.

Crosby and Cronkbourne battled out a close game at Marown. The home team scored 159, mainly thanks to Kevin Kniveton hitting 75 before falling to Sam Black. Alex Stokoe was amongst the wickets again, taking 3 -18 off 7 overs. There were also two wickets each for Phil Richardson, Will Wood and Ryan Burns.

Max Stokoe opened for Cronkbourne with a lively 41, but Ross Berry and Dave Picken were soon taking wickets. Carl Wagstaffe came to the rescue with a hard hit 61 before falling to Picken. Chris Hermann caused major problems by taking three wickets as the overs began to run out. However Wood remained cool and his 19 not out saw Cronkbourne to victory with just one over left.

They are now just two points behind leaders Ramsey and these two teams clash at Tromode on Saturday. This is going to be a crucial fixture for both clubs.

Standard Bank Forrester Division One
Cronkbourne A 100 (Alex Stokoe 19, Phil Haswell 12 : Keith Brew 3 -14, Hameed Sulthan 3 -27); Valkyres A 101 for 2 (Aurangzeb Ghausi. 27, Will Warwick 21no : Phil Richardson 1 -15, Sam Black 1 -16). Valkyres won by eight wickets.

Standard Bank Forrester Division Two
Valkyres B 88 (Amir Mirza 17no, Keith Brew 10 : D Howard 2 -12, Shaun Kelly 2 -15); Ramsey B 83 (D Arnold 15, Shaun Kelly 12 : Abdul Khan 3 -12, Keith Brew 3 -15). Valkyres won by five runs.


PREMIERSHIP STATISTICS

Most Runs - 141 Garreth Roome; 134 Mark Williams; 129, Wicus Wessels; 128 Kevin Kniveton.
Most Wickets - 10 Chris McConnell, Alex Stokoe; 9 Ollie Webster; 8 Phil Richardson.
Most Catches - 8 Rob Webber; 5 Ollie Webster; 4 David Smith.