The Cessnock District Cricket Association (CDCA) restarted its first, second and fourth grade competitions at weekend after the Christmas/New Year break.

And, it was Chelmsford Hotel fourth grade batsman Andrew Wanless who provided the highlight of the round with his century against Supporters Club at Baddeley 1.

Wanless came to the crease with his team in a spot of bother at 4-27.

But, he turned defence into attack as he found the fence 11 times and cleared it twice to remain unbeaten on 103.

This helped to set up at very healthy total of 6-201 from his team’s 40 overs, ultimately establishing the win.

In Coalfields Cup, JPC broke a massive drought by recording its first victory in 693 days when it disposed of Singleton counterparts Glendon by 40 runs.

With Cook Park still out of action, the match was relocated to Bellbird’s Carmichael 2.

And, with both teams still searching for their first win of the season, JPC was sent in to bat, and saw out the entire 40 overs to post 9-148.

Brandon Carman led the way with 38, Shane Givney supported well with 32, with skipper Stuart Johnstone (20) and Sam Lumby (17) keeping things ticking over.

Glendon was all out in the 36th over in reply for 108, with Kyle Bailey running out of partners on 22 not out.

Pat Fizgerald (19) and skipper Anthony Bailey (14) also made starts.

Luke Dempster (3-19 off 10), Carman (3-21 off 7) and Hayden Moorcroft (2-31 off 10) did the majority of the damage for JPC in the memorable victory.

Celebrations continued well into the night back at JPC sponsors, the Imperial Hotel.

Mulbring grabbed a share of the competition lead when it defeated Wine Country by six wickets at Allandale Oval.

The home side won the toss and elected to bat but was restricted to just 93 from the 33.5 overs it occupied the crease.

Jason Ambrose (22), skipper Andrew Fensom (18) and Steve Abel (12) were the only batsmen to show some resistance.

The Mulbring wickets were fairly evenly distributed between Willie Watson (3-3 off 2), captain Ben Neaves (2-15 off 8) and Cameron Ross (2-42 off 9.5).

The Marlins did not get it all their own way in pursuit of the low target, taking 32 overs to surpass it after losing four wickets.

Mick Mascord led the way with 25, with Drew Olsen (20no) and Scott Robertson (16) doing enough to get the visitors home.

Rob Sidebottom was the pick of the Wood Duck attack with 2-21 off 5.

Creeks also recorded their first win of the campaign and, by doing so, jumped into the top five when they defeated Piranhas by 74 runs at East End.

Creeks skipper Blake Cook won the toss and elected to bat, and they did well to post 184 even though they were bowled out in the 39th over.

Most willowmen were among the runs, with Gavin Wake (38), Steve Unicomb (23), Warren Gillespie (23), Nathan Stapleford (19), Jarrod Campbell (18), Dan Tracey (14), Cook (14) and Chris Unicomb (13) all scoring freely.

Luke Sweeney was the pick of the Piranha attack with 4-23 off 7.3, with veteran Dane Grills (2-37 off 10) chipping in with a brace of wickets.

The home side’s season batting woes continued in reply, as they were skittled inside 23 overs for 100.

Skipper Matt Hopley faced just 10 balls for his 27, with Karandeep Maramreddy (16) and Sweeney (15) keeping the scorers busy.

Tracey bowled beautifully for Creeks to bag 5-37 off 10, supported well by Campbell who took 3-33 off 5.3.

This leaves the Piranhas lingering towards the bottom of the table, and they’ll be desperate to get their first win as they take on Greta/Branxton next Saturday at East End.

The much-anticipated top-of-the-table clash between Greta/Branxton and Bellbird at Miller 1 was washout out, as too was the Singleton derby between Valley and PCH at Miller 2.  

Meanwhile, third grade of the CDCA is scheduled to begin this Saturday.

Second grade

• Bellbird 6/89 (Clint Starkey 30, Mitch Attewell 21, Shannon Attewell 12, Aaron Zechel 4-9 off 8) defeated Piranhas 10/86 (Jack Stoker 32no, Robert Clark 17, Pat Cagney 3-8 off 6.2, Heath Cameron 2-24 off 8, Jordan Field 2-9 off 6)
• Greta/Branxton 0/42 (James Shoulders jnr 27no, Andrew Wright 9no) defeated Chelmsford Hotel 10/39 (Tyson Johnson 11, Mark Peace 5-15 off 7, Jason Haines 2-13 off 5, Jamie McNamara 2-1 off 6)
• Wine Country bye

Fourth grade

• Wine Country 8/145 (Thomas Vaughan 67no, Oscar Vaughan 48, Ricky Hollis 4-17 off 10, Matt Kemp 2-43 off 10) defeated Piranhas 6/143 (Ricky Hollis 44no, Craig Beer 32, Luke Capararo 18, Shawn Capararo 17, Jason McMichael 2-14 off 8)
• Chelmsford Hotel 6/201 (Andrew Wanless 103no, Ryan Willcox 57, Sean O’Brien 2-53 off 9) defeated Supporters 10/79 (Kane Jordan 23no, Isaac Minter 12, Abinandan Sudharsanam 3-10 off 7.5, Koby Follan 3-15 off 7, Andrew Wanless 2-8 off 7)
• Greta/Branxton 10/67 (Zac Watkins 20, Jeremy Brown 18, Jamie Spence 5-12 off 7, Jordon Jackson-Tilley 3-9 off 7.3, Lachlan Marino 2-6 off 4) defeated Cessnock Hotel 10/39 (Lachlan Marino 17, Logan Rutter 3-9 off 3, Jack Barattini 2-10 off 4, Lewis Jacobs 2-7 off 4.3, Jeremy Brown 2-13 off 4)

2021-22 points tables

Coalfields Cup: Bellbird 21, Mulbring 21, Greta/Branxton 21, Wine Country 12, Creeks 9, JPC 9, Valley 9, PCH 9, Piranhas 6, Glendon 3

Ross Smith Shield first grade: Bellbird 33*, Greta/Branxton 25*, Wine Country 24*, Mulbring 21*, Piranhas 17*

* byes received, no points allocated

Second grade: Bellbird 36*, Greta/Branxton 36,  Chelmsford Hotel 33**, Wine Country 27*, Piranhas 19**

* byes received, no points allocated.

Third grade: Cessnock Hotel 18, Bellbird 17, Greta/Branxton 14, Mulbring 14, Wine Country 11, Piranhas 10

Fourth grade: Chelmsford Hotel 44, Wine Country 43, Cessnock Hotel 35, Greta/Branxton 34, Supporters 34, Piranhas 32

Club championship: Bellbird 392.70, Greta/Branxton 345.20, Wine Country 315.70 Piranhas 228.90

Club championship formula: First Grade x 7, Second Grade x 3.5, Third Grade x 2.1, Fourth Grade x 0.7

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