Porthill 2nd XI vs Cheadle 2nd XI.
Cheadle won by 69 runs.
It’s the final of the Talbot Shield at the Old County Ground this afternoon.
Porthill have seen off the challenges of Caverswall, Newcastle & Hartshill, Burslem and Endon to reach this stage. They also have home advantage, which could be a big factor. Cheadle have defeated Whitmore, Checkley, Little Stoke and Wedgwood to book their place in the final. It’s been a long road for both teams that began on the 3rd May, but they are only one more victory away from Talbot Shield glory.
Cheadle won the toss and elected to bat in hot and humid conditions. The humidity may aid the swing bowlers early on, but otherwise it looks like ideal conditions for batting.
Craig Smith crisply drove the first ball of the game to the cover boundary as Cheadle opened their account in fine style. Adeel Khalid induced an edge from Scott Harvey that flew through the vacant slip at a catchable height in the 3rd over. Smith cut Tom Mason powerfully behind point for his second boundary in the next over. Harvey drove the first ball of the 5th over sweetly to the cover boundary, moving the score to 18/0.
Mason made the breakthrough in the 6th over when Harvey played a loose drive outside the off stump and nicked a regulation catch through to keeper Connor Uren, leaving Cheadle 19/1. Jon Evans cut a short ball from Khalid strongly behind point for his first boundary in the next over. Smith nailed a full ball from Mason to the extra cover fence to round out the 8th over with his 3rd boundary. Evans drove superbly through the same area in the next over, moving the score to 34/1. He lifted Khalid over mid-on for his second boundary of the over three balls later as he looked in fine touch. Evans edged Ben Green through 2nd slip when he tried to work the ball through the leg-side in the 10th over, and the ball ran away to third man for a streaky boundary.
Cheadle reached 43/1 after the first 10 overs and were beginning to put themselves in a good position. Evans lifted a full ball from left-arm spinner Jake Plummer over wide mid-on for his 5th boundary in the 11th over. Green trapped Smith LBW for 16 in the next over when Smith got caught on the crease. His dismissal left Cheadle 49/2. Adam Alcock survived a big shout for caught behind from his first ball as Green continued to apply pressure.
Green beat Evans’ outside edge on four separate occasions in the 14th over as he continued to hammer away at a good line and length. Alcock swept powerfully past short fine leg for his first boundary in the over, advancing the score to 58/2. After a period of steady accumulation, Evans smashed a full toss from Plummer over the legside for his 6th boundary in the 19th over, moving him to 33*. A fine flick off his hip brought him another boundary in the next over when Green strayed onto his pads. Cheadle reached 79/2 at the drinks break with Evans unbeaten on 39. They’d had the better of the first half of the innings, and they’ll be looking to push on and get a big score with Evans well set and 8 wickets in hand.
Evans got a fine deflection onto a ball from Plummer in the 21st over, and it raced to the fine-leg boundary. Uren dropped Evans off Green in the 24th over when he attempted a cut stroke. Evans reached his half-century with a single into the offside in the 26th over. It had taken him 70 balls to get there, and his knock had contained eight fours. A fine drive from Evans through extra cover brought him another boundary in the next over and moved the score to 106/2. He lifted a ball from O’Shay Reddy over short fine leg for his 10th boundary in the 28th over.
Evans clipped Mason down to fine leg for a boundary in the 29th over, moving him to 64* with his 11th four of a fine innings so far. A sweep from Alcock brought him his second boundary in the 30th over before Harry Stubbs claimed the big wicket of Evans for 68, bowling with a fantastic yorker that crashed into off stump in the next over, leaving Cheadle 126/3. It was an important breakthrough for the home side as Evans was starting to up the ante after a patient start to his innings.
Green dropped Jack Degg running in off the legside boundary in the next over when he went for a big shot off Reddy. He appeared to lose his footing as he ran towards the ball, and he ended up trying to take the catch behind his head instead of in front of his eyes. Degg drove a full toss from Reddy powerfully to the extra cover fence for his first boundary in the 34th over. Reddy got his revenge later in the over, trapping him LBW when he tried to work a straight ball into the leg side, leaving Cheadle 142/4. Harry Bonehill edged the final ball of the over just wide of Uren, rounding out the over with a streaky boundary.
Bonehill drove Stubbs powerfully over his head for a boundary in the 37th over before Stubbs bowled him next ball when he went for a big shot over the leg side, leaving Cheadle 159/5. Alcock lifted Reddy stylishly over extra cover for a one-bounce four in the next over, moving him to 37*. Ben Mellor ramped Stubbs over short fine leg before smashing him through extra cover to round out the 39th over with back-to-back boundaries to leave them on 179/5 going into the final over. Alcock lifted the first ball of the final over high over square leg for a towering maximum off Mason before he feathered the next ball through to Uren to depart for a well-made 44. Only a bye came from the final 4 deliveries as Mason finished the over superbly.
Cheadle closed on 186/6 from their 40 overs. It had been a good effort with the bat by the visitors, and they’ve got a competitive total on the board. Evans’ 68 formed the backbone of the score, and his partnership of 77 with Alcock for the 4th wicket was a vital one. Porthill bowled well on a wicket that offered very little for their bowlers, and they’ll be happy with their performance. Mason (2/34) and Stubbs (2/25) shared 4 wickets between them, and they’ll be confident they can chase their target down when play resumes after the tea break.
Joe Bridgewater guided a delivery from Ray Ginders through 2nd slip and down to the third man boundary in the opening over of the chase. Ginders made an early breakthrough for Cheadle when Uren dragged a delivery back onto his stumps in the 3rd over, leaving Porthill 5/1. Plummer was slow to respond to a call from Bridgewater for a single in the 5th over when he pushed the ball to point. Plummer couldn’t beat the throw of Bonehill and was run out, leaving the home side in early trouble at 6/2.
Ginders’ medium pace and Matthew Degg’s off-spin had been excellent with the new ball for Cheadle in the opening overs; they’d conceded just 8 runs from the first 6 overs before Reddy thrashed a short ball from Ginders through the covers for a much-needed boundary in the 7th over. Ginders claimed his 2nd wicket in the 9th over, trapping Bridgewater LBW when he tried to work a ball into the legside. His wicket plunged Porthill into further danger at 14/3. George Cairns was dropped on the fine leg boundary later in the over when the fieldsman couldn’t hold on to a fierce pull stroke that burst through his hands. A crisp drive through the covers from Cairns raced away to the boundary before he rounded out an eventful over with a clip through the legside for another boundary.
Cairns dissected the legside sweepers with a fine pull shot in the 12th over, moving the score to 31/3. Reddy then pulled another short ball behind square for the second boundary in the over. Reddy perished in the next over when he skied a short ball from Bonehill to Smith at mid-on as Porthill slid to 37/4. Muhammad Abdullah cut a short ball from Jack Winfield behind point for a boundary before he snicked a catch through to keeper Alcock as Porthill sank into a more precarious position at 42/5.
A superbly timed back-foot drive through the offside brought Cairns another boundary to round out the 15th over. Mason lifted Winfield over mid-on for a one-bounce four to begin the next over before a sweep from Cairns wrong-footed the fielder at short fine leg for the second boundary of the over. A sweetly timed extra cover drive from Mason ran away for his second boundary in the 17th over, moving the score along to 63/5. Cairns found the boundary on two occasions in the next over. He pulled a short ball through wide mid-on before smashing a drive over extra cover. Winfield bowled Mason later in the over as he attempted to work a delivery through the legside, leaving Porthill reeling at 74/6.
Bonehill took a sharp catch when Cairns smashed a full toss back at him in the 19th over. He departed for a well-made 38 as Porthill lost their 7th wicket with only 75 on the board. Winfield took his 3rd wicket in the 20th over when Stubbs feathered a catch through to Alcock, attempting a cut stroke to a ball that was too close to him. Lucas Turner nicked through the vacant slip off Matthew Degg in the 23rd over, and the ball ran away to third man for a streaky boundary, advancing the score to 90/8.
A powerful sweep shot from Khalid raced to the square-leg boundary in the 26th over, which brought up the hundred for the home side. Khalid found the boundary twice in the next over. The first was a fine lofted drive over extra cover before a fine glance past short fine leg ran away. Degg got his revenge next ball when Khalid chipped back a simple return catch, leaving Porthill on the brink at 110/9.
Turner drove a low full toss from Ginders through extra cover for his 2nd boundary in the 29th over before Bonehill took a superb diving catch at backward point to dismiss Turner for 20 and win the match for Cheadle. They’d bowled Porthill out for 117 to secure a dominant 69-run victory. Ginders was excellent with the ball and returned terrific figures of 3/27 from 6.4 overs. Winfield offered good support with his leg spin, bagging 3/37, taking crucial wickets after the powerplay ended. Bonehill took 2/20, including the big wicket of Cairns for 38, as Cheadle were the better team in every department today and thoroughly deserved their victory. Evans’ fine knock in the first innings must not be forgotten as he put the runs on the board for the bowlers to defend. Porthill never recovered from their poor start after tea. Cairns threatened to turn the tide for a short time with his breezy innings, but it wasn’t to be for the home side today, and they’ll have to settle for runners-up medals.
Congratulations to Cheadle on their fine victory and commiserations to Porthill. The game was played in great spirit and was well worthy of a final that was played in front of a bumper crowd at the Old County Ground.
TCD’s Man of The Final – Jon Evans.
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