Elworth 2nd XI vs Eccleshall 2nd XI.
Eccleshall won by 74 runs.
Eccleshall won the toss and elected to bat. Harry Oliver made a run-a-ball 43 at the top of the order for the visitors. His knock included seven fours and six. His opening partner Rhys Owens made 32 with seven fours as the pair shared 82 for the 1st wicket. There were contributions all the way down the Eccleshall innings before Jonathan Bramall added 34 with four boundaries as they closed on an imposing 255/9 from their 40 overs. Wallace Mubayiwa, Maulik Bhalodiya and James Holt all claimed two wickets each for Elworth.
Sam Baldwin made 32 at the top for Elworth with six fours, but wickets fell regularly against the disciplined home side’s bowling attack, and only a late unbeaten 29 from Bhalodiya dragged them up to 181/8 from their 40 overs. Jack Armstrong was the pick of the bowlers for the home side, finishing with 3/26 from 8 overs. Jordan Beasley and William Baker-Moss shared four wickets to complete a comprehensive victory for Eccleshall.
Hanford vs Betley.
Hanford won by 8 runs.
Betley won the toss and elected to field. Hanford opener Asim Altaf made 26 from 30 balls with five fours, but wickets fell regularly before Abeed Akthar added 34 with six fours but Hanford were bowled out for 159 in the 38th over. Jimmy Jinks (3/34) and Adam Williams (3/27) did the bulk of the damage with the ball.
Jack Taylor made 49 from 80 balls with five fours and three sixes before Betley collapsed to 115/8 and their chances of victory looked gone. Adid Hussain claimed 3/52 from 8 overs, and Faizal Parvaiz took 3/24 to put their side in a strong position. Williams then launched an attack with the bat, smashing 32 from just 18 balls with five fours and a six before he was last man out with his side just 8 runs short of victory. Khalid Jamal took the winning wicket to finish with figures of 3/20.
Meakins 2nd XI vs Blythe.
Blythe won by 44 runs.
Meakins won the toss and elected to bowl. Waseem Shah made 52 from 75 balls with seven fours and six to put Blythe in a strong position. Joshua Jackson then added 41 from 50 balls with three fours and three sixes before Blythe were bowled out off the final delivery for 214. Meakins conceded an outrageous 52 extras in Blythe’s innings, with 35 of those being wides. Tas Hussain was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors with 4/30 from 8 overs. Zakariya Zaheer, Robbie Holmes and Ryan Nolan all claimed two each, offering good support.
Ben Bennett struck a 55-ball 63 with eight fours and two sixes as Meakins began the chase well. Nolan added a 14-ball 27 but then the wheels fell off. Umair Mushtaq claimed 4/23 from 8 overs to instigate a collapse. Hussain added a late 36 with three fours and two sixes, but the home side were bowled out for 170 in the 35th over, giving Blythe their 7th consecutive victory.
Moddershall 2nd XI vs Meir Heath.
Moddershall won by 8 wickets.
Meir Heath won the toss and elected to bat. Muhammad Raja struck a fine 72 from 73 balls with eight fours and two sixes as Meir Heath recovered from 55/5. He added 59 for the 9th wicket with Glenn Reilly 11* as they posted 186/9 from their 40 overs. Alfie Womble claimed 3/31 from 8 overs with his left-arm spin to be the pick of the bowlers for Moddershall.
Fraser Hawkins was quickly into his work after the tea break. He blasted 70 from just 58 balls with eleven fours to firmly put his side in the driving seat. Cameron Coughlan made 52* from 28 balls with ten fours, adding 48 with Hawkins for the 2nd wicket. Oliver Holdcroft joined Coughlan after Hawkins was dismissed and he made 36 from just 24 balls with six fours to take Moddershall to a crushing victory in just 27.5 overs. Coughlan and Holdcroft added an unbeaten 74 to see Moddershall over the line.
Sandbach vs Little Stoke.
Little Stoke won by 37 runs.
Sandbach won the toss and elected to bowl. Little Stoke opener Rob Spruce made 51 from 74 balls with six fours, giving his side a good start. Jake Adams crashed 55 from just 43 balls with eight fours and a six as the pair shared 103 for the 2nd wicket. James Ecclestone (23) and Ben Gliddon (26) added late runs before the visitors closed on 244/8 from their 40 overs. They were aided by the 38 extras that Sandbach conceded in the first innings, 27 of those being wides. Jack Collett bowled impressively, finishing with 3/16 from his 8 overs to be the pick of the bowlers.
Gareth Lennon made 80 from 113 balls with seven fours as he attempted to anchor the home side’s chase after tea. Jack Collett added a 55-ball 58 with four fours and a six, sharing 107 with Lennon for the 3rd wicket, but Sandbach were always behind the rate, and they closed on 207/7 from their 40 overs. Ecclestone was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, claiming 4/40 from 8 overs.
Wedgwood vs Newcastle & Hartshill 2nd XI.
Newcastle & Hartshill won by 84 runs.
Wedgwood won the toss and elected to bowl. Harry Ford made a steady 37 from 68 balls at the top of the order for Castle. He struck five fours and added 108 for the first wicket with Ethan Gater, who made 48 from 57 balls with five fours. Joe Wilson added 36 with four fours and a six before they closed on 218/8 from their 40 overs. Marvin Kitamirike took 4/30 from 8 overs to be the pick of the bowlers for the home side.
Kitamirike made 28 at the top of the order for Wedgwood after tea, but they struggled to build any meaningful partnership during their innings. Usman Saleem struck a 27-ball 32 with five fours and six to help them recover from 11/3. Ade Lello made an unbeaten 43 from 72 balls with three fours before he ran out of partners as the home side were bowled out for 162 in the 39th over. Deacon Purcell claimed 3/24 to be the pick of the bowlers for the visitors. Jack Wilson and Andrew Whitehead shared 4 wickets, offering good support as Castle completed a comfortable victory.
TCD’s league summary: Little Stoke’s victory, coupled with Meakins’ defeat, now means Little Stoke have a 36-point lead at the top of the standings. Moddershall’s victory closed the gap to Meakins to just 9 points following their victory. Eccleshall are still in the promotion mix after their victory, and they are only 11 points behind the top two. Hanford’s victory lifted them to 8th and 20 points above the bottom 2. Betley fell to 9th and are now only 19 points above the drop zone. The bottom 3: Elworth, Sandbach and Meir Heath all lost as the battle at the bottom intensifies. Meir Heath are 18 points behind 10th-placed Elworth, with Sandbach sitting only two points above them in 11th.
Leave a Reply