Blythe vs Meir Heath.
Blythe won by 45 runs.
Blythe won the toss and elected to bat. Craig Grimley got the home side off to a good start when he made 55 from 81 balls with eleven boundaries. He added 63 for the 2nd wicket with Waseem Shah (34), which included seven fours. Umair Mushtaq then blasted 83 from just 57 balls with twelve fours and two sixes before Blythe lost their final 6 wickets for just 4 runs to be bowled out for 201. Muhammad Raja took 4 wickets in 4 balls to wrap up the innings and finish with impressive figures of 5/25.
Peter Finch made early inroads into the visitors’ battling line-up, and they were reduced to 28/4. Aqib Ali then made a battling 80 from 108 balls with fourteen fours and a six as he looked to get his side back into the game. Josh Renshaw (29) added 73 for the 5th wicket with Ali, but that was to be the last partnership of any note, and Meir Heath were bowled out for 156 to give Blythe their second successive victory and boost their survival hopes. Finch finished with 3/14 before Matt Rogerson claimed 3/36.
Eccleshall 2nd XI vs Betley.
Eccleshall won by 2 wickets.
Eccleshall won the toss and elected to bowl. Harvey Lowe was the backbone of the visitors’ innings. He made 63 from 81 balls with nine fours and two sixes. He added 100 for the 5th wicket with Jonathon Phipps (41) as they recovered from a shaky start. Phipps struck seven boundaries in his 54-ball knock before Tom Mellor added a 27-ball 31* with four fours as the visitors closed on 220/6 from their 50 overs. Matthew Bailey (2/39) and Ben Thomas (2/22) shared four wickets for the home side.
Adam Williams took three early wickets for the visitors as Eccleshall fell to 40/3 before Connor Beasley made a composed 74 from 85 balls with ten fours and a six as he added 104 with Jack Armstrong (29) for the 4th wicket. Decklan Binnington added a 34-ball 46 with five fours and two sixes as he guided the home side to the brink of victory. The ninth-wicket pair of Bailey and Thomas then added 14 runs to take Eccleshall to a narrow victory. Williams finished with 3/26 from 12 overs as he was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors. Lowe (2/49) and Ben Mogg (2/55) shared four wickets, but it wasn’t enough for the visitors.
Elworth 2nd XI vs Wedgwood.
Match Drawn.
Wedgwood won the toss and elected to bat. Marvin Kitamirike got the visitors off to a good start when he made 38 from 47 balls with eight fours at the top of the order for the visitors. He shared 53 for the 1st wicket with Archie Moore (20). Haroon Khan added 62 from 77 balls with nine fours before Feshal Hussain made a run-a-ball 36 with four boundaries as Wedgwood were bowled all out for 220 in the final over. Mike Holt claimed 3/19 before Wallace Mubayiwa bagged 3/28 as the home side kept themselves in the match.
Matthew Yardley got the chase off to a strong start when he made 58 from 107 balls with seven boundaries. He shared 65 for the 1st wicket with Luke Pickles, who made 30 from 41 balls with seven fours. The visitors began to chip away at the hosts’ batting line-up, and 3 wickets from Seb Hopwood had reduced them to 147/7. Bethan Robinson then made 38 from 43 balls with seven fours as she dragged her side to the brink of victory. She added 71 for the 8th wicket with Maulik Bhalodiya (21*) for the 8th wicket before she was run out with 3 balls remaining, with only 3 required for victory. Two singles came from the final two balls as the match finished as a draw with the scores level. Hopwood finished with 3/51 as he took the bowling honours for the visitors in an excellent game of cricket.
Meakins 2nd XI vs Hanford.
Meakins won by 98 runs.
Meakins won the toss and elected to bat. Ben Bennett made 42 from 56 balls with seven fours before Ryan Nolan launched an incredible attack on the visitors’ bowlers. He blitzed a formidable 125 from just 51 balls with twelve fours and an eye-watering eleven sixes. He raced to 50 from just 19 balls before going on to reach three figures in just 45 deliveries as the visitors had no answers to his incredible stroke play. There were further contributions all the way down the order for the home side before they declared on a daunting 308/7 from just 45 overs. Abid Hussain claimed 3/72 for the visitors as he was the pick of the bowlers.
Khalid Jamal made a run-a-ball 37 with six fours and a six as Hanford set about their enormous chase. Uttam Das added 39 from 31 balls with seven fours and a six as the pair shared 52 for the 3rd wicket. Abeed Akhtar chipped in with a further 30 that included three fours and a six, but the visitors were bowled out for 210 in the 34th over as the home side secured a comfortable victory. Alex Graham took 4/59 and received good support from Tas Hussain, who bagged 3/46 as they ensured there was to be no heroics from the visitors.
Little Stoke vs Newcastle & Hartshill 2nd XI.
Match Drawn.
Newcastle & Hartshill won the toss and elected to bowl. Rob Spruce got the home side’s innings off to a good start when he made a patient 38 from 92 balls with five boundaries. Castle chipped away at the Little Stoke batting line-up and reduced them to 167/7 before Todd Talbot made a 41-ball 45 with six fours and a six. He shared an unbroken 53 for the 8th wicket with Tom Brown (21*) in the final six overs as they pushed Little Stoke up to 220/7 from their 50 overs. Jacob Maddock was the pick of the bowlers for Castle, claiming 3/48. He received good support from Jack Wilson and Deacon Purcell, who shared 4 wickets between them.
Harry Ford made 37 from 72 balls with six fours at the top of the order for the visitors. Following his dismissal, Castle had slumped to 87/5 before Vinnie Purcell made a battling 38 from 71 balls with six boundaries. Little Stoke continued to chip away, though and must have thought they’d secured the victory when they took the 9th Castle wicket with only 152 on the board. An unbelievable rear-guard action followed from the Castle’s last-wicket pair. Zak Twist and Deacon Purcell held firm for 94 balls and secured a hard-fought draw for the visitors. Twist made 19* from 95 balls, and his partner Purcell remained on 0* for an incredible 46 balls as they held on. Little Stoke sent down 60 overs in their quest for victory, but they couldn’t break the stubborn last-wicket stand. Riley Irving claimed 6/21 as he took the bowling honours for the home side.
Sandbach vs Moddershall 2nd XI.
Moddershall won by 7 wickets.
Sandbach won the toss and elected to bat first. Regan Johnson anchored the home side’s innings with 100 from 111 balls, which contained eighteen fours and a six as they were bowled out for 176. They lost their final 6 wickets for just 14 runs as David Housley claimed 3/10 to instigate the collapse.
Oliver Holdcroft and Rory Housley began the chase positively; they added 91 before Holdcroft was dismissed for 46 from 44 balls with nine fours and a six. Housley continued and made 64 from 70 balls with eight fours and a six before Cameron Coughlan added a run-a-ball 29 with six boundaries as the visitors eased to their target in just 28.2 overs, securing a comfortable victory.
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