Cheshire County Cricket League
2017 SEASON: NEWSLETTER NO. 18 – AUGUST 19
Nantwich make it a
three-horse race
WITH the key fixture between Alderley Edge and Chester Boughton Hall rained off, Nantwich grasped the opportunity to challenge the ECB Premier League leaders with a key 27-run victory over Toft at Whitehouse Lane.
The Dabbers, who escaped relegation last September only on ‘goal average’ have moved into second place, 12 points behind Chester and two ahead of Alderley Edge.
Ireland World Cup star Niall O’Brien was the star of their tally of 251-3 declared from 34 overs, - it was a 78 overs game - with a brisk 135 (seven fours and 10 sixes), enjoying a fourth wicket stand worth 155 with Luke Robinson, 57 not out.
Toft put up a bright showing after tea to total 224, James Scott 41, Toby Drummond 34 and Tom Forster 33, while Jimmy Warrington plugged away to claim 3-53 and Ollie Freckingham 3-64.
The Dabbers have yet to play Hyde away; Neston home; Grappenhall away and Didsbury home.
Chester have Bowdon home; Cheadle home; Toft away; Hyde home.
Alderley’s programme is Cheadle away; Toft home; Hyde away; Neston home.
With Bramhall v Hyde and Didsbury v Neston called off early after heavy morning rain, the two remaining games both produced significant results.
Gaz Burns hat-trick beats Bowdon
Grappenhall leaped up to near mid-table with a remarkable 37-run win awaqy to wooden spoonists Bowdon after being bowled out for 139 in 34 overs, Jamie Bye 34, Alec Makin taking 6-29.
They then dismissed Bowdon for 102 in 35 overs, Dewi Jones top-scoring with 31, while Aaron McCabe took 4-24 and Gax Burns recorded the first Premier League hat-trick of the season in his 3-30. Burns had Chris Ashling lbw for a single, then bowled Robert Shenkman and Finlay Grosfils for first ball ducks.
Cheadle kept their hopes of survival alive with a 30-run win in another low-scoring affair, at Timperley, although the home club’s pitch was reported to be much inproved by the umpires. Cheadle mustered only 123-7 in the 60 overs game, Greg Dixon 48, Dan Brown 38, Nathan Brown 2-16. But this was too many for out of form Timperley, who were bowled out for 93, to which Grant Hodnett contributed 48 before beig run out. Josh Dooler took 4-28 and Dan Brown 3-17 while Elliott Bullock claimed two stumpings and a catch. Cheadle now lie just nine points behind 10th placed Hyde in the table.
Saturday’s key fixture: Cheadle v Alderley Edge
CHESHIRE CUP FINAL AT NESTON
Chester Boughton Hall and Neston will meet in the final of the Cheshire Cup on Sunday, September 3. Neston have won the toss to stage the game at Parkgate. Details on page 9.
AUGUST 19 NEWSLETTER: p2
Macc coming up on the rails
IT is becoming a four-cornered race for the two promotion places in Division One, with Macclesfield coming up fast on the rails.
Relegated from the Premier League on the last day of the 2016 season, Macc maintained their remarkable run on Saturday with a four wickets win at Victoria Road against local rivals Bollington. After opening the current campaign with four defeats in eight games, the Silkmen’s record since June 10 has been 7 wins; 2 winning draws and 1 losing draw.
On Saturday, they dismissed Bolly for 95, Tom Leese being their leading run scorer with 14, the other 10 batsmen being dismissed for single figures with Craig Melrose taking 4-41 and Tom Key 3-32. Macc replied with 89-6 after being 53-5, Alex Griffiths (not out) and Peter Barron joint top-scoring with 17, while Bolly’s lively Barbadian Dario Seale took 3-38.
Macc now lie second, 28 points behind Oulton Park who were held to a tense losing draw at third-placed Widnes, who scored 177-6 batting first, Sean Moore 54, Alex Hewitt 43 not out, Marcus Fourie 32, Matt Parkinson 3-53. Led by Danny Leech (63) who hit a fine century for Cheshire against Oxfordshire at Chester in mid-week and skipper Pat Roberts, 50, Oulton reached 174-7 when time ran out. Tom Evans took 2-34 and Tom Mitchell 2-57 as Widnes closed 14 – 7 points to the good.
Meanwhile, Davenham bounced back after some indifferent form to beat Urmston by 83 runs at Butcher’s Stile and close up to fourth place, eight points behind Macclesfield. Man of the match was Stephen Bliss, who returned the superb figures of 9.4-2-33-7 to help dismiss Urmies for 132 after tea, only Calum Turner, 31, putting up much resistance. Earlier, Davenham had declared after a late start at 215-9 from 37 overs, Sam Hunt 79, Dan Hancock 3-44, Dominic Ashling 3-44.
The other three games in the division called off due to rain were Marple v Weaverham; Sale v Upton and Warrington v Oxton.
This leaves the position at the foot of the table unchanged, with time running out fast for Weaverham, now 89 points adrift of safety and Warrington, 43 points short of the escape hatch.
Key match next Saturday: Oulton Park v Macclesfield
Cheadle Hulme on brink
RAIN intervened to reduce the Division Two programme to two completed games, both involving teams at the foot of the table.
Once Cheshire’s most successful club, Cheadle Hulme took another step towards losing their league status when they went down by eight runs at home to Brooklands. In a reduced 70 overs match, Brooklands totalled 173-4, David Madden 44 not out, Jack Bagshaw 36, Tom Whitehouse 2-48. Boosted by 74 from number 8 batsman Sohaib Abbasi and 36 by Mohammed Saad, ‘Hulme looked likely to win at one stage, before being bowled out for 165, Raj Singh 4-42.
The Grove Park men lie in 12th place six points behind Bredbury St. Mark’s who lost by five wickets at Northwich. This after after posting 177-6, Rick Keyworth 75, Darren Carr 34, Chris Wood 30, with Andy Dufty and Mohammed Ajmal both taking two wickets. Sri Lanka batsman Chandrika Wathukarage took over after tea with a splendid innings of 95 and helped by Mohammed Ajmal (37) in a sixth wicket stand of 103, he steered his side to victory at 179-5 with three overs to spare. Bredbury’s Jon Usher took 2-26 and Chris Wood 2-41.
Alvanley drew up to level second place with a winning draw at home to Tattenhall after posting 207-6, Chris Charles 44, Andy Bennion 40, Alan Brock 3-42. Tatters reached 143-6 to pocket five points, Stuart Sadler 28.
There was no play in the Mobberley v Christleton and Romiley v Barrow games, leaving Romiley eight points clear at the top.
Key games on Saturday: Barrow v Cheadle Hulme; Tattenhall v Romiley.
AUGUST 19 NEWSLETTER: p3
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19 MATCH DETAILS
ECB Premier League
At Moss Lane:
ALDERLEY EDGE v CHESTER BOUGHTON HALL:
Match cancelled due to waterlogged pitch: 7 pts. each
At South Down Road:
BOWDON (won toss) v GRAPPENHALL
Grappenhall 139 (35 overs: J. Bye 34, A. Makin 6-19);
Bowdon 102 (35 overs: D. Jones 31, A McCabe 4-24, G Burns 3-30 inc. hat-trick).
Grappenhall (25 pts.) beat Bowdon (5 pts.) by 37 runs.
Match reduced to 78 overs.
At Church Lane:
BRAMHALL v HYDE
Match cancelled due to waterlogged pitch: 7 pts. each
At Wilmslow Road
DIDSBURY v NESTON:
Match cancelled due to waterlogged pitch: 7 pts. each
At Whitehouse Lane:
NANTWICH v TOFT (won toss)
Nantwich 252-3 dec. (34 overs: N. O’Brien 135, L. Robinson 57no = 155 for 4th wicket, A. Jackson 2-54);
Toft 224 (41 overs: J Scott 41, T Drummond 34, T Forster 33, J Warrington 3-53, O. Freckingham 3-74).
Nantwich (25pts.) beat Toft (5 pts.) by 28 runs
Match reduced to 78 overs
At Stockport Road:
TIMPERLEY (won toss) v CHEADLE
Cheadle 123-7 (30 overs: G Dixon 48, D Brown 38, N. Brown 2-16, E Gaffney 2-33).
Timperley 93 (27 overs: G. Hodnett 48, J. Dooler 4-28, D. Brown 3-17, E. Bullock 2st 1 c.
Cheadle (25 pts.) beat Timperley (4 pts.) by 30 runs.
Match reduced to 70 overs
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOP STATS TO AUGUST 12 (o = overseas)
500 PLUS RUNS
1. Lee Dixon (CBH) 664; 2. Ryan Brown (Nantwich) 599; 3. Warren Goodwin (CBH) 589; 4. Grant Hodnett (Timperley) 565; 5. Will Evans (Neston) 518; 6. Dan Cooper (Timperley) 508; 7. Jack Rudd (Didsbury) 515.
40 PLUS WICKETS:
1. oHamish Winter-Irving (Alderley Edge) 61; 2. Jimmy Warrington (Nantwich) 48; 3. Jack White (Timperley) 46; 4. Matt Higginbottom (Bramhall) 44; 5. Ollie Griffiths (Nantwich) 40.
AUGUST 19 NEWSLETTER: p4
Division 1
At Butcher’s Stile:
DAVENHAM v URMSTON (won toss)
Davenham 215-9 (37 overs: S.Hunt 79, D Hancock 30, D Ashling 3-44);
Urmston 132 (39 overs: Calum Turner 31, S Bliss 7-33).
Davenham (25pts.) beat Urmston (6 pts.) by 83 runs
At Victoria Road:
MACCLESFIELD v BOLLINGTON (won toss)
Bollington 85 (33 overs: T. Leese 14, C. Melrose 4-41, T. Key 3-32);
Macclesfield 89-6 (29 overs: P. Barron 17, A Griffiths 17no, D. Seale 3-35).
Macclesfield (25 pts.) beat Bollington (2 pts.) by 4 wickets.
At Bowden Lane:
MARPLE v WEAVERHAM
Match cancelled due to waterlogged pitch: 7 pts. each
At Dane Road:
SALE v UPTON
Match cancelled due to waterlogged pitch: 7 pts. each
At Warrington Sports Club:
WARRINGTON v OXTON
Match cancelled due to waterlogged pitch: 7 pts. each
At Beaconsfield Road:
WIDNES v OULTON PARK (won toss)
Widnes 177-6 (37 overs: S. Moore 54, A. Hewitt 43no, M. Fourie 32, M. Parkinson 3-53);
Oulton Park 174-7 (37 overs: D. Leech 63, P. Roberts 50, T. Evans 2-34, T Mitchell 2-57).
Match drawn: Widnes 14 pts., Oulton Park 7 pts.
Match reduced to 74 overs.
TOP STATS TO AUGUST 12
500 plus runs
1. Marcus Fourie (Widnes) 747; 2. Calum Turner (Urmston) 685; 3. oChris McArthur (Upton) 679; 4. Paul Wood (Marple) 677; 6. Danny Leech (Oulton Park) 596; 6. oTom Tudor (Macclesfield) 595; 7. Rob Porter (Macclesfield) 580; 8. Rick Hough (Bollington) 548; 9. Sam Hunt (Davenham) 538; 10. oPeter Gallichan (Davenham) 527; 11. oJeremy McFarlane (Sale) 506.
40 plus wickets:
Muhammed Kasshif (Oulton Park) 48; 2. Marcus Fourie (Widnes) 44; 3. oDario Seale (Bollington) 40.
AUGUST 19 NEWSLETTER: p5
Division 2
At Frodsham Road:
ALVANLEY v TATTENHALL (won toss)
Alvanley 207-6 (50 overs: C Charles 44, A Bennion 40, B Aveyard 33, A. Brock 3-42);
Tattenhall 143-6 (50 overs: S. Sadler 28).
Match drawn: Alvanley 13 pts,, Tattenhall 5 pts.
At Grove Park:
CHEADLE HULME (won toss) v BROOKLANDS
Brooklands 173-4 (35 overs: D Madden 44no, J. Bagshaw 36, T.Whitehouse 2-48);
Cheadle Hulme 165 (35 overs: Sohaib Abbasi 74, Mohammed Saad 36, Raj Singh 4-42, M. Law 2-7).
Brooklands (25 pts.) beat Cheadle Hulme (5 pts.) by 8 runs.
Match reduced to 70 overs.
At Church Lane:
MOBBERLEY v CHRISTLETON
Match cancelled due to waterlogged pitch: 7 pts. each
At Moss Farm:
NORTHWICH (won toss) v BREDBURY ST. MARK’S
Bredbury St. Mark’s 177-6 (50 overs: R. Keyworth 75, D. Carr 34, C Wood 30);
Northwich 179-5 (47 overs: Chandrika Wathukarage 95, Mohammed Ajmal 37).
Northwich (25 pts.) beat Bredbury St. Mark’s (8 pts.) by 5 wickets.
At Birchvale Drive:
ROMILEY v BARROW
Match cancelled due to waterlogged pitch: 7 pts. each
At Cale Green:
STOCKPORT (won toss) v LINDOW
Lindow 136-8 (42 overs: R O’Brien 38, Osman Butt 35, M. Eley 4-36);
Stockport 104-9 (31 overs: Ayden Van Eeden 53, A. Matthews 5-36).
Rain stopped play, match drawn: Lindow 10 pts., Stockport 6 pts.
Match originally reduced to 84 overs.
TOP STATS TO AUGUST 12
500 plus runs
1. oKevin Carroll (Brooklands) 666; 2. oNick Butters (Mobberley) 642; 3. oAiden Van Eeden (Stockport) 609; 4. Alex Reid (Barrow) 601; 5. Iro De Silva (Barrow) 593; 6. Ryan O’Brien (Lindow) 521 6. Stuart Sadler (Tattenhall) 512; 7. oChadrika Wathukarage (Northwich) 510;
40 plus wickets
Iro De Silva (Barrow) 50; 2. Shavaiz Saif (Christleton) 47; 3. oMohammed D’Souza (Romiley) 46; 4. Abdul Aqeel (Mobberley) 41; 5. Andy Dufty (Northwich) 41.
AUGUST 19 NEWSLETTER: p6
TABLES INCLUDING SATURDAY, AUGUST 19
. . . . . all played 18 games
ECB Premier League
W T WD RD LD A/C L Bat Bowl Pts. (25) (16) (3) (2) (1) (7)
CHESTER BH 11 0 0 1 1 1 4 21 18 324
NANTWICH 9 0 3 2 0 1 3 45 22 312
ALDERLEY E. 11 0 0 0 2 1 4 9 17 310
TOFT 9 0 2 0 1 2 4 24 18 288
TIMPERLEY 7 0 2 0 1 2 6 36 23 255
NESTON 6 2 1 1 2 2 4 26 19 251
GRAPP’HALL 6 0 2 0 1 2 7 27 26 219
DIDSBURY 5 0 1 1 1 2 8 42 29 218
*BRAMHALL 4 0 1 0 4 2 7 53 34 215
HYDE 3 1 3 1 0 3 7 52 29 204
CHEADLE 4 2 0 0 0 0 12 33 30 195
BOWDON 4 0 0 0 1 0 13 28 33 162?
* Bramhall record includes 7 pts. for defeat in a match of less than 80 overs duration.
Division 1 W WD RD LD A/C L Bat Bowl Pts.
OULTON PARK 12 1 0 2 0 3 15 18 338
MACCLESFIELD 9 2 1 2 0 4 51 23 310
WIDNES 9 3 0 3 0 3 39 27 303
DAVENHAM 9 3 0 0 1 5 39 22 302
MARPLE 7 5 0 2 2 2 51 30 287
BOLLINGTON 8 1 0 1 0 8 29 25 263
URMSTON 7 2 0 1 1 7 40 34 253
*OXTON 7 1 0 1 2 7 24 13 237
* UPTON 7 0 0 1 2 8 23 14 233
SALE 4 1 0 4 2 7 39 26 181