Bagnall Norton vs Cheadle.
Cheadle won by 65 runs.
Matchday 15 is my first foray into Premier B this season for the blockbuster clash between the top two.
Bagnall Norton are the current leaders; they lead their visitors by 26 points going into this match. Bagnall Norton have an amazing record of 13 wins from 14 outings so far this season. Their only defeat came against Cheadle at Tean Road on the 16th May. They’ve swept all before them since that defeat, and they are the form side across the whole NSSCCL this season. A victory today would go a long way to securing their position back in Premier A next season. Their professional Hafiz Suleman is having a fine season. He’s scored 411 runs @ 68.5 to go with his 30 wickets @ 11.07 and has been instrumental in their rise to the top of the standings.
Cheadle sit in 2nd, eight points in front of 3rd-placed Elworth. They will be keen to add to their impressive record of 11 wins from 14 games this season. Elworth are breathing down their necks and will be ready to pounce if they slip up today, but a victory for Cheadle today could blow the title race wide open. Cheadle’s rise into the top two has centred around their fine bowling attack. Will Dobbie is the leading wicket-taker in the division with 33 @ 9.67. James Sellers sits on 30 wickets @ 14.33, having been impressive with the new ball this summer. These two bowlers will be key if Cheadle are to upset the form book this afternoon.
Cheadle won the toss and elected to bat in overcast conditions. Morgan Murray-Williams made the early breakthrough when he had Austen Crump caught behind by Charles Worthington from the first ball of the second over. A loose drive from Sam Cliffe outside the off stump followed when Murray-Williams angled the ball across him to present Worthington with a second catch in the over as Cheadle slumped to 1/2. It was a fine over from Murray-Williams, and it had given the home side the perfect start to this match.
Bagnall Norton’s excellent start continued when Cian Gibson took a spectacular catch on the fine leg boundary to remove Alfie Bonehill in the 5th over. Bonehill picked up a full ball from Scott Winnington. It looked to be sailing away to the deep square leg boundary, only for Gibson to make 15 yards to his left-hand side, dive forwards and take a remarkable catch just inches above the turf. It was a truly wonderful piece of fielding by Gibson that plunged the visitors into further trouble at 1/3.
Ali Khan drove Murray-Williams airily through extra cover for Cheadle’s first boundary in the 6th over. He edged just past a diving gully fieldsmen for his 2nd boundary in the 8th over when he tried to force Murray-Williams through the covers off the back foot in the 8th over. Winnington gave Ryan Elwell a good working over in the next over. He went past his outside edge on three consecutive occasions in the next over. Khan flicked Murray-Williams away to the fine leg boundary to begin the 10th over before a fine on drive brought him another boundary two balls later. He found the fence for a third time with a lofted extra cover drive to move the score to 25/3. It had been a productive over for the visitors as they looked to rebuild after their disastrous start.
Elwell inside edged Murray-Williams just past leg stump as he got off the mark with a streaky boundary to begin the 12th over. He then followed a ball angled across him from the left-arm seamer to give Murray-Williams his 3rd wicket two balls later to reduce Cheadle to 29/4. Worthington took another simple catch for his 3rd victim of the afternoon.
Khan flicked Winnington away to the fine leg boundary before cutting him powerfully through point for back-to-back boundaries to begin the next over. Winnington then produced a superb ball that moved down the hill and squared up Khan; it caught the outside edge and Reece White took a fine catch at gully diving forward as the home side picked up the huge wicket of the Cheadle professional for 31 to leave them in massive trouble at 37/5.
Harry Bonehill clipped a loose ball from Winnington to the fine leg boundary to begin the 15th over. Winnington beat his outside edge with a brute of a delivery two balls later that darted down the slope. A loose drive from Bonehill beat the diving Kenvyn at gully, and ran away to the third man boundary to round out the over. Bonehill skilfully guided Murray-Williams to the third man boundary to bring up the 50 for the visitors from the first ball of the 18th over.
Hafiz Suleman bowled Bonehill with a fine delivery that beat his defensive stroke in the 21st over as Cheadle lost their 6th wicket with only 51 on the board. James Sellers inside-edged an attempted big drive off Suleman later in the over. The ball just missed his leg stump, and ran away to the fine leg boundary as he got off the mark in streaky fashion. He drove powerfully down the ground and beat mid-on for his second boundary in the 23rd over to move the score to 61/6. Sellers nicked the final ball of the next over between 2nd slip and gully for his 3rd boundary as Murray-Williams continued to plug away from the pavilion end.
A mighty blow from Sellers followed in the over. Suleman gave the ball some air, and he lifted the ball straight into the side screens at the far end of the ground for the first maximum of the day. It was a clean strike, and it took the score to 73/6 as the 7th wicket partnership had now added 22 in quick time. Murray-Williams’ fine 13-over spell from the pavilion end yielded figures of 3/41 with 2 maidens as he was excellent with the new ball. He used the slope well to bring the ball back into the right-handers, with some balls holding their line and going across them as he threatened both edges of the bat.
Cheadle reached 79/6 when drinks came onto the field after 27 overs. They would have a lot of work to do if they were going to post a good score. Skipper Matthew Goodwin really dug in with an unbeaten 7 from 48 balls. Sellers was more aggressive for his 18* from 19 balls as he was looking to counter-attack against the disciplined Bagnall Norton bowling attack. The home side offered very little with the ball, and run scoring was very tough against the new ball. The 7th wicket partnership, which added 28, will be crucial if Cheadle are to get back into this game.
Goodwin survived a massive appeal for LBW from the first ball after drinks. It looked close, but the ball did appear to be going down the legside from my position, and it looked to be a good decision from the umpire Marchant. Sellers struck another mighty blow off Suleman in the 29th over. He slog-swept a full delivery for another six over the mid-wicket boundary as he continued to be positive. Picking up a full ball from Alex Dodd, he flicked it over mid-wicket for a one-bounce four in the next over before playing two immaculate straight drives down the ground to round out the over as he moved briskly to 36.
Goodwin guided Suleman to the third man boundary to bring up the 100 for the visitors in the next over. Cheadle had now added 24 runs in just 4 overs since the drinks break as the momentum of the game began to swing towards them for the first time. The 50 partnership for the 7th wicket had come up in just 10 overs as Cheadle continued to counter punch. Goodwin survived a big appeal for caught behind when Suleman got one to turn and bounce in the 33rd over. The Bagnall Norton fielders were convinced they’d got their man, but umpire Devgon was unmoved.
Another fine drive from Sellers down the ground brought him another boundary in the 36th over as the score moved to 117/6. Goodwin survived another massive appeal for caught behind later in the over. This time he was looking to work the ball down to fine leg. Again the Bagnall Norton fielders were convinced he’d got a touch on it, but umpire Marchant remained unmoved. A splendid on-drive from Goodwin in the 38th over brought him his second boundary of the afternoon and took the partnership for the 7th wicket to 72 in the process.
Sellers went to his 50 with his 3rd six when he lifted Cian Gibson over the legside. It took him 43 balls to get there, and he’d struck seven fours to go with his three maximums. He’d been superb in partnership with Goodwin, and Cheadle were beginning to get themselves back into this game because of this partnership. A powerful cut through the covers brought him his 8th boundary to round out the over.
Goodwin’s patient innings of 24 was finally ended when he was bowled by Suleman in the next over as the critical 7th wicket partnership was finally broken. It had been worth 85 and was beginning to cause the home side some problems; it left the score 136/7, and the game swung back into the home side’s favour. Sellers hammered a short ball from Suleman past mid-off for his 9th boundary to begin the 43rd over before he struck Gibson over the clubhouse for his 4th maximum to begin the next over. Another maximum finished the over when Murray-Williams couldn’t hang onto a very difficult chance above his head on the boundary rope as Sellers moved to 73*.
Winnington returned from the pavilion end to finally dismiss Sellers for an excellent 77. He bowled a good short ball that got big on Sellers when he attempted to pull it. The ball hit the splice of the bat, and Worthington took a good running catch under the high ball to leave the visitors 166/8. Euan Hurst took a fine low catch at 1st slip to dismiss Mark Murfitt off the bowling of Matthew Kenvyn in the 49th over as Cheadle fell to 172/9.
Winnington wrapped up the innings in the next over when he trapped Jack Winfield LBW as he finished with impressive figures of 4/25 from 12 overs. Murray-Williams claimed 3/42 with his left-arm seam before Suleman bagged 2/42 as the home bowling attack was impressive throughout. Cheadle have to be thankful for Sellers’ magnificent knock of 77 from just 65 balls as he dug them out of the huge hole they found themselves in at 51/6. He and Goodwin added a fine partnership of 85 to get the visitors back into the game. It gave them a score to bowl at when play resumed. The wicket played true in the 1st innings, and the outfield was very quick, so Bagnall Norton will fancy their chances of chasing this score down, but it is all to play for in this match after the tea break.
Matthew Arnold got the chase off to a fine start when he drove Sellers superbly through the covers for the opening boundary in the first over. A loose drive off Goodwin was his downfall in the 2nd over when he edged to Sellers, who took a regulation catch at 2nd slip as Bagnall Norton fell to 5/1. A loose delivery down the legside from Goodwin beat keeper Murfitt and ran away for 4 byes as the score moved to 14/1 at the end of the 4th over.
Justin Mould became the second Bagnall Norton batter to play a loose drive outside the off stump when he nicked Sellers through to Murfitt in the next over. Suleman survived a big shout for LBW from the final ball of the over as Cheadle continued their good start. Hurst drove Elwell handsomely through extra cover for his first boundary in the next over as the score moved to 22/2. Sellers beat Hurst’s outside edge on consecutive occasions in the 9th over with deliveries that moved up the hill.
Suleman drove an Elwell full toss to cover where Cliffe took a sharp catch to leave the home side in further trouble at 27/3 after 10 overs. Hurst edged Sellers between 1st and 2nd slip in the next over when he played a defensive stroke. Both fielders didn’t move a muscle, and the ball perfectly dissected them as it ran away to third man for a streaky boundary. He ran a delivery from Sellers between 3rd slip and gully for another boundary down to third man in the 13th over. Kenvyn drove an Elwell half-volley through the covers for his first boundary in the next over before he opened the face and ran the ball down to third man for the second boundary of the over. A lofted drive over extra cover brought him a 3rd boundary before a lap sweep from the final ball ran away to a fine-leg boundary as 16 runs came from an eventful over. An excellent over for the home side took them past 50 up as they began to fight back after their poor start.
Hurst drove the first ball of Dobbie’s spell to the cover boundary as he moved to 21. After a quiet period of play with Sellers and Dobbie bowling well in partnership, Kenvyn lifted Goodwin over extra cover before pulling him strongly behind square for back-to-back boundaries in the 21st over as the score moved to 69/3. The 4th wicket partnership was now worth 42 vital runs as the home side continued to rebuild. An attempted drive through the offside by Kenvyn flew between 2nd slip and gully for a boundary down to third man in the 23rd over as Kenvyn moved to 30.
Dobbie trapped Hurst LBW for 27 in the next over when he looked to work a delivery into the legside as Bagnall Norton fell to 76/4. It was an important wicket for the visitors, and it came at a vital time. The 4th wicket partnership had been worth 49 before it was finally broken. Hurst did not look impressed with the decision, but he had to go.
Kenvyn then squeezed a full ball to Harry Bonehill at gully, where he took a sharp catch off the bowling of Goodwin. Kenvyn stood his ground believing that it was bump-ball. After a lengthy conversation between the umpires, he was given out, leaving Bagnall Norton rocking at 76/5. Cheadle had landed two big blows in consecutive overs as the match began to swing back in their favour after the 4th wicket partnership had been broken. Drinks came on to the field with the score on 80/5 after 28 overs. The two quick wickets for the visitors had put them in the driving seat in this match, and they now had 32 overs to push for victory. Bagnall required another partnership to get themselves back into the game. The experienced Winnington was now at the crease, with Murray-Williams left to bat, so they had the batting to get themselves over the line.
White nicked Dobbie past slip, and the ball ran away to the third man boundary to round out the 30th over. An excellently timed cut shot behind point brought White another boundary in the next over before he was trapped LBW by Elwell from the final ball of the over as he looked to work a ball through the legside to leave Bagnall Norton struggling on 91/6.
Sellers returned to pick up Murray-Williams thanks to a fine catch by Murfitt low down to his left-hand side. A brute of a delivery then removed Gibson first ball when all he could do was glove a rising ball through to Murfitt, who this time took a simple catch. A 3rd wicket in 4 balls followed when he bowled Gibson with another fine delivery to leave the visitors on the brink of victory. Sellers beat Winnington’s outside edge on three consecutive occasions in the 39th over as the visitors continued their push for victory.
Winnington drove nicely down the ground for a boundary in the 41st over before a misfield on the fine-leg boundary gifted him another from the next ball as 8 runs came from the over. Dobbie took the final wicket in the next over when Dodd played forward, and the ball ran back into his stumps to give Cheadle victory by 65 runs. The impressive Sellers took 4/31 from 13 overs to go with his 77 from the first innings as he had a fine day. Goodwin claimed 2/18 from 7 overs, with Dobbie securing 2/23 from his 10 overs alongside 2/30 from Elwell as all the Cheadle bowlers came to the party in the second innings.
Cheadle’s victory in this match has now blown the title race wide open. 10 points separate the top two, with Elworth lurking in third place only 12 points behind Cheadle following their victory over Ashcombe Park today. It was a brilliant effort from the Cheadle bowlers after tea, led by Sellers, who was magnificent; they never gave the home side’s batters a minute. Bagnall Norton couldn’t build the match-winning partnership they so desperately needed after the 4th wicket stand was broken before the drinks break.
Bagnall Norton will look to return to winning ways when they host Ashcombe Park next week. Cheadle are at home to Norton-In-Hales as the promotion run-in continues to heat up.
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