DARWEN's phenomenal run scoring continued at Birch Hall on Monday as they followed Sunday's 196 at Lancaster with 230-4 against Chorley who were skittled for only 61 to give Darwen their biggest run victory margin in living memory.
Chorley won the toss and must have regretted their decision to ask Darwen to bat when after a steady start which saw the Birch Hall side reach 77-2 after 30 overs, the in-form Gareth Cordingley joined the equally impressive professional Keith Semple, smashing the ball to all parts of the ground both hitting five fours and four sixes and putting on 99 before Semple was caught on the boundary for 85 with Cordingley falling to the penultimate ball again on the boundary for 87.
Chorley's batting was simply ripped apart by the Darwen attack slumping at one stage to 36-6 before being finally dismissed for 61 in only 36 overs in a lacklustre display with Darwen's opening attack of Semple and Andrew Mercer accounting for five wickets at a cost of only 28 runs in 19.2 overs.
The two sides have agreed that their group semi-final in the National Knockout competition will take place at Windsor Park this Sunday. DARWEN 230-4 CHORLEY 61
Darwen 15 pts Chorley 0 pts
DARWEN
M Horsfield c Horridge b Cooke ... 30
M Hadfield b Marquet ... 8
Semple c Fazackerley b Patel ... 85
G Cordingley c Yardley b Patel ... 87
N Cordingley not out ... 11
J Hacking not out ... 0
Extras ... 9
Total (4 wkts) ... 230
Bowling: Marquet 27-4-81-1; Patel 21-4-81-2; Cooke 9-1-37-1; Heaton 3-1-22-0
CHORLEY
N Bannister c Nicol b G Cordingley ... 25
J Fazackerley run out ... 2
R Horridge b Semple ... 0
I Mawdsley b Mercer ... 2
N Heaton c Parkinson b Mercer ... 0
N Yardley b Hacking ... 1
J Greaves c G Cordingley b Nicol ... 16
I Patel lbw Semple ... 11
Marquet b Nicol ... 0
A Stanbury not out ... 0
S Cooke b Semple ... 1
Extras ... 4
Total (all out) ... 61
Bowling: Semple 11.2-3-16-3; Mercer 8-4-12-2; Hacking 7-2-6-1; G Cordingley 4-2-5-1l; N Cordingley 3-0-19-0; Nicol 3-2-1-2
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