GARY Pratt was Cumberland’s leading batsman in the Minor Counties Championship in the season just ended.

He scored 434 runs, with two centuries and a fifty, playing in all six Eastern Division games for an average of 43.40. His top score was 149.

Pratt (pictured left), who also kept wicket on several occasions, took eight catches and made a stumping – and in one match even turned his arm for four overs.

But it was Ikram Ullah, the Morecambe wicket-keeper who ended-up top of the averages as he hit 211 runs in only three innings, and that included 110 in the final game when Cumberland scored their one win of the season over Bedfordshire.

He finished with an average of 70.33 and behind the stumps he took four catches in his two matches.

Another recent addition to the squad, Middlesbrough opener Paul Johnston, also did well and finished second in the batting averages on 53.50 with a top score of 50 not out.

The leading wicket taker was Dan Conway (pictured below) who bowled most overs (137.4) and finished with 21 wickets for an average of 22.05. His best spell earned him 6-39.

But it as stalwart captain Marcus Sharp who topped the averages again, his nine wickets taken at a cost of 16.67 in three matches. His best bowling of the season was 3-40.

2009 Championship Averages
Batting M I NO R H/S Ave 100 50 C/S
Ullah I 2 3 0 211 110 70.33 1 1 4/0
Johnson P 2 3 1 107 50* 53.50 0 1 2/0
Pratt GJ 6 11 1 434 149 43.40 2 1 8/1
Beaumont J 2 4 1 127 77* 42.33 0 1 1/0
Smith JA 6 10 1 298 130* 33.11 1 1 9/0
Lowe JA 4 7 0 201 80 28.71 0 2 6/0
Hey CP 4 8 0 182 71 22.75 0 1 1/0
Stead RA 4 8 0 173 61 21.63 0 1 1/0
Miller CP 3 5 3 39 15 19.50 0 0 2/0
Conway DO 5 8 3 88 28 17.60 0 0 1/0
Miles J 4 7 0 119 39 17.00 0 0 2/0
Sharp MA 3 4 3 17 8* 17.00 0 0 3/0
Gleave AI 2 4 0 51 24 12.75 0 0 3/0
Cole J 3 6 0 67 48 11.17 0 0 7/1
Wearing DR 4 6 1 35 24 7.00 0 0 0/0

Also Batted: ST Knox 24 &16, N Mohammed 18, GN Dawson 0 & 26,
PR Hindmarch 20 & 0, SJ Kirwin 15 &5, A Roberts 8, M Robertshaw 0 & 14,
R Nelson 4 (1ct), A Atkinson 2 (2ct), CJ D’Leny 2 (5ct), S Parkin 0, W Quinn 0.

Bowling O M R W Ave B/B 5i 10m
Sharp 56.3 19 150 9 16.67 3-40 0 0
Conway 137.4 31 463 21 22.05 6-39 1 0
Parkin 24 9 89 4 22.25 3-35 0 0
Stead 77.4 21 274 11 24.91 3-21 0 0
Beaumont 73.5 21 182 7 26.00 2-21 0 0
Kirwin 16 2 52 2 26.00 2-52 0 0
Smith 69 16 246 9 27.33 4-53 0 0
Wearing 61 17 197 7 28.14 3-25 0 0
Miller 100.3 23 291 10 29.10 3-56 0 0
Hindmarch 46 6 205 7 29.29 4-84 0 0
Quinn 29 10 76 2 38.00 2-69 0 0
Dawson 18 5 77 2 38.50 1-14 0 0
Lowe 48 9 144 3 48.00 3-39 0 0
Hey 15 2 59 1 59.00 1-49 0 0
Also Bowled: GJ Pratt 4-0-14-0, N Mohammed 14-2-64-0, J Miles 1-0-6-0.

Teams Mat Won Lost Tied Draw Aban Pts
Bucks  6 3 0 0 3 0 99
Suffolk  6 2 0 0 3 1 85
Norfolk  6 2 1 0 3 0 83
Herts  6 2 0 0 4 0 82
Northumb  6 2 1 0 3 0 80
Staffs  6 1 1 0 3 1 59
Cumberland  6 1 2 0 3 0 58
Cambs  6 0 1 0 5 0 52
Bedfordshire  6 1 5 0 0 0 44
Lincolnshire  6 0 3 0 3 0 44

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