The final four groups were contested yesterday, with the winners advancing to finals day. I covered group 3 yesterday, so that will not be included in today’s round-up.
Group 1.
Newcastle & Hartshill 2nd XI – 2 points.
Checkley 2nd XI – 1 point.
Betley 1st XI – 0 points.
Betley vs Checkley.
Charlie Richards made 43 from 39 balls with a four and three 6s. He added 56 with Lewis Clarke (21) for the 3rd wicket as Betley closed on 132/8 from their 20 overs. Matt Shaw (2/22) and Matthew Woodford (2/7) were economical with the ball for Checkley as they restricted their opponents well throughout.
Hugo Schroder blasted an unbeaten 90 from only 50 balls that contained eleven 4s and four 6s as he powered his side to victory in just 14.3 overs. The Betley bowlers had no answers to his boundary blitz, and it secured Checkley a comfortable 7-wicket victory.
Newcastle & Hartshill vs Betley.
Jack Taylor made a run-a-ball 21 before Clarke added 21 as Betley struggled against some fine Castle bowling. Jacob Maddock finished with 3/18, as he was the pick of the bowlers. Isaac McKeown (2/12) and Zak Twist (2/22) offered fine support as Betley were restricted to 101/9 from their 20 overs.
Harry Ford smashed a 23-ball 48 with seven 4s and two 6s in partnership with Ethan Brown, who crashed 42 from just 15 balls with four 4s and three 6s as they added a blistering 86 for the first wicket in just 5.4 overs as they decimated the Betley bowling attack. Castle got over the line in just 7 overs to secure a crushing 7-wicket victory and set up a winner takes all clash with Checkley.
Newcastle & Hartshill vs Checkley.
Schroder (25) from 15 balls with 5 4s and Richard Williams (21) from 20 balls with two 4s added 41 for the first wicket. Elliott Harris then added an unbeaten 21 as Checkley couldn’t capitalise on their good start as they closed on 150/9 from their 20 overs. Zak Twist was excellent with the ball, and he claimed fine figures of 3/14. Ben Fullwood gave fine support, claiming 3/29. McKeown also chipped in with 2/25 as Castle pulled it back well after Checkley’s good start.
Ford was at it again as he blasted an unbeaten 76 from just 43 balls with nine 4s and three 6s as he added an unbroken 131 with Thenuka Angoda, who slammed a 33-ball 66* which contained nine 4s and two 6s as Castle raced to their target in just 13 overs as they secured a thumping 9-wicket victory to book their place at finals day.
Group 2.
Stafford 1st XI – 2 points.
Endon 1st XI – 1 point.
Little Stoke 1st XI – 0 points.
Stafford vs Endon.
Robert James made an unbeaten 54 from 45 balls with three 4s and a six after Josh Reynolds had reduced them to 13/4 early on. Jainesh Patel made 23 from 17 balls with two 4s and a six before Ashley Lunn added a 19-ball 24 with three 4s as Stafford recovered to post 137/6 from their 20 overs. Reynolds finished with 3/27 as Endon put themselves in a good position.
Guy Tinwell started positively as he made 41 from 36 balls with four 4s and a six as Endon made their way to 70/2, but an almighty collapse followed, and they lost their final 8 wickets for just 37 to be bowled for 107 and give Stafford victory by 30 runs. James (2/17) enjoyed success with the ball to go with his unbeaten half-century. He got fine support from Himasha Liyange 2/16 and Matthew Turner 2/25 as they bowled their side to victory.
Little Stoke vs Endon.
Tinwell started positively again as he made 55 from 42 balls with six 4s and two 6s as he got Endon off to a good start. The batting honours went to Simon Tucker as he smashed a 46-ball 102, which contained 8 4s and an eye-watering nine 6s as he obliterated the home side’s bowling attack. He added 152 with Tinwell for the 2nd wicket. Nikita Sayer broke that partnership and went on to claim 5/30, but it was too late for the Little Stoke as the visitors ran up an imposing 217/7 from their 20 overs.
Jake Adams made 69 from 57 balls with six 4s and three 6s, but only Adam Hussain (22), with two 4s and a six, gave him any support as they closed on 154/8 to give Endon a victory by 63 runs. Josh Tittensor was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with 3/36. He got support from Simon Read (2/27) and Dako Vujcic (2/33).
Little Stoke vs Stafford.
Seth Jones batted throughout the Stafford innings to make an unbeaten 53 from 52 balls with three 4s and a six. The fireworks came from Liyange as he smoked an unbeaten 82 from just 39 balls with nine 4s and five 6s as the visitors piled up 189/6 from their 20 overs. They were helped by some wayward bowling from the home side as they conceded 33 extras, of which 26 were wides. Sayer was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 4/22. Todd Talbot chipped in with 2/41, but it was going to be a tough chase for the home side.
Sayer then struck 44 from 30 balls with three 4s and three 6s at the top of the order before Adams crashed a 50-ball 70, which included six 4s and four 6s, but Little Stoke could only make their way to 154/6 from the 20 overs to give Stafford a comfortable 35-run victory and a place at finals day. Kannan Bhuvanachandran was the pick of the Stafford bowlers as he finished with 3/34.
Group 4.
Crewe 1st XI – 2 points.
Sandyford 1st XI – 1 point.
Elworth 2nd XI – 0 points.
Sandyford vs Elworth.
Matthew Yardley made a run-a-ball 42 at the top of the order for Elworth. His innings contained three 4s and two 6s as he added 70 for the first wicket with George Holland, who made 31 with a four and a six. Sandyford restricted them well, and they couldn’t build on their good start as they closed on 124/6 from their 20 overs. Kalhara Senarathne claimed 2/17 to be the pick of the bowlers.
Umar Akhtar struck 24 from 22 balls with three 4s as Sandyford started well. Matthew Taylor then cracked 52 from 34 balls with seven 4s and two 6s as they chased their target down in just 12.3 overs to secure a thumping 8-wicket victory.
Crewe vs Elworth.
Sam Youds made a 47-ball 55, which contained six 4s. He got support from Rory Kalnins, who added 24 from just 14 balls with four boundaries, before Faisal Mahmood made a run-a-ball 22 with four 4s. Calum Meakin then smashed a 9-ball 20 with two 4s and a six as he added some later fireworks as Crewe closed on 167/7 from their 20 overs. Wallace Mubayiwa was impressive as he claimed 3/18 to be the pick of the bowlers.
Mubayiwa then made a breezy 46 from just 31 balls with six 4s and two 6s, but he didn’t receive any other support, and Elworth closed on 108/8 to give Crewe a comfortable 59-run victory. David Slack picked up 4/33 as he was the pick of the Crewe bowlers.
Crewe vs Sandyford.
Ryan Briddon batted throughout Crewe’s innings to finish unbeaten on 70 from 67 balls with ten 4s and a six as they made 120/6 from their 20 overs. Rory Smith claimed 2/27 as the Sandyford bowlers restricted their opponents well.
Mitchell Underwood made 50 from 63 balls at the top of the order for the visitors, but no other batsmen could get going as the home side’s bowlers slowly suffocated them. Bharath Sriamula claimed 4/29 as Sandyford could only muster 106/6 from their 20 overs, giving Crewe a narrow 14-run victory and a place at finals day.
Newcastle & Hartshill, Stafford and Crewe will join group 3 winners Blythe at finals day later on in the summer as the competition reaches its climax.
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