Steady Eddy is match winner for Settle (From Craven Herald)

Steady Eddy is match winner for Settle

8:55am Thursday 14th June 2012 in Sport

Settle did Houldsworth Ribblesdale League leaders Barnoldswick a favour after beating title-chasing Read in one of only two Senior League fixtures to survive the bad weather.

Barnoldswick’s game at Oswaldtwistle Immanuel and second placed Baxen- den's home match with Clitheroe were abandoned without a ball being bowled.

However, at Marshfields, they managed to complete a 27 over game and a thrilling contest eventually took place despite difficult conditions.

Settle’s Eddy Read was the clear man of the match in their thrilling encounter with Read, but the groundsmen, Robin Towler and Martin Scaife, deserve almost as much credit.

Their heroic efforts in defying the weather gave Settle the chance for a win which they gladly accepted.

Settle have been at the wrong end of some desperately close games this year, but after the worst of starts they recovered to grab the points from their biggest rivals.

The home side had the worst of the batting conditions, enduring two interruptions for rain and a constantly revised over limit.

Five wickets were down for just 12 runs in 13 overs, and with pro Mansoor Amjad and leading scorer Tiarnan Hamill both out for one run apiece, the prospects looked dire.

The Davidson brothers, Robbie and Will, brought some stability with 11 runs each, but it was Eddy Read's final assault that saved Settle’s blushes.

He walked off with 30 undefeated runs from 24 balls at tea, leaving Read with a mere 68 needed to win from the 27 allocated overs.

Visiting skipper Jon Harvey took three wickets for 40 runs.

Eddy Read was quickly back in the action, claiming Settle’s first wicket with his third ball and the Lancashire XI pro Jordan Clark, the league’s most prolific batsman, with his tenth.

Amjad took two catches for the dismissals and then joined the fray with his own wickets, none more important than that of the visitors’ former pro Harvey, who departed for 20.

Michael Whalley fought his way to 23, but in a dramatic collapse three wickets fell with the total on 57.

With the last man in, seven runs were needed from the final over, but Eddy Read held his nerve to concede only a single and deny victory to the team that shares his name.

His figures of 4-39 together with Amjad’s (4-24) shot Settle to fourth place in the table and, as the half-way stage in the season approaches, their trip to struggling Earby this Saturday looks a very promising fixture.

Earby featured in the only other game to beat the weather and suffered another defeat.

Earby won the toss and put Padiham in. It, looked a good decision after nine overs when Martin Kegg and Jake Hargreaves had reduced Padiham to 18-3.

Chris Holt stopped the rot with 47 off 67 balls, Anthony Hall chipped in with 31 and Nesir Mehmood crashed 55 not out off 37 balls to guide his side to 190-9.

Earby started poorly and were 9-2 before Ali Azmat batted in a controlled manner to reached a deserved half century.

He celebrated by hitting three big sixes until he was caught on 72 off Holt.

Once Azmat departed, Holt ran through the Earby batting to finish with 8-57 as they were dismissed for 131.

To add to Earby’s woes they were docked a point for a slow over rate.

They must be hoping their luck will turn soon.