Audley vs Whitmore.
Audley won by 145 runs.
Whitmore won the toss and elected to field. After losing two early wickets, Ali Hamza Waseem (42) and Jack Redman (43) added a patient 87 for the third wicket as they guided their side out of early danger. Waseem struck five boundaries, and Redman hit two 4s and three 6s. Rob Hemmings (26) added some late runs before Audley were bowled all out for 198. Muhammad Imran was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with 3/44. Dilesh Gunarathne, Matthew McAll and Bilal Hussain all claimed two wickets each.
As has happened so many times this season, Whitmore were just blown away. Alex Coates (5/37) and Ed Jones (5/14) routed them for just 53 in 17.1 overs as their struggles with the bat continue.
Eccleshall vs Hem Heath.
Match Drawn.
Hem Heath won the toss and elected to bat. After some excellent bowling early on from the home side, Hem Heath had been reduced to 110/8, with only Callum Leese (31) making any headway against the bowling. A crucial 9th wicket stand of 57 between Sam Wilcox (31) and Tom Hodson (34*) got Hem Heath in a better position. A further 26 was added for the last wicket before the Visitors were bowled out for 193. Murvin Abinash, Matthew Wright, Eranga Dissanagge and Muhammad Khan all took two wickets each.
Tom Hibbert made a patient 43 at the top of the order for the home side as they dug in against the visitors’ high-quality bowling attack. Dissanagge then added 47 before he was run out as Eccleshall closed on 154/6 to stop a run of two defeats in a row. Dan Richardson and Bilawal Bhatti shared 4 wickets between them, but they couldn’t dislodge any more of the home side’s batters.
Longton vs Meakins.
Meakins won by 57 runs.
Meakins won the toss and elected to bat. Meakins lost two early wickets before Pete Wilshaw made 35. Jalat Khan’s excellent form continues as he made a sublime 84 off 112 balls. He struck ten 4s and two 6s. Simon Mugava then made a 56-ball 63, which included two 4s and seven 6s as he powered the visitors to a commanding 242 all out. Brodie Mack was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with 3/69. Tom Hope, Nalin Priyadarshan and Matheesa Perera shared 6 wickets between them.
Andrew Coxon made 39 at the top of the order for Longton as he and Hope (44) added 73 for the 2nd wickets after the home side lost Antonio Alles early on. Coxon struck six 4s in his innings before he became one of Jalat Khan’s 4 victims. Hope hit five 4s and two 6s before he became the second of Ash Shaw’s five wickets. Khan and Shaw ran through the Longton order before Priyadarshan (28*), and Aston Mack (28) added 63 for the wicket before they were bowled all out for 185. Shaw finished with 5/34, and he was superbly backed up by Khan, who claimed 4/39 as the visitors secured a comfortable win to move up to second in the standings.
Newcastle and Hartshill vs Moddershall.
Match Drawn.
Castle won the toss and elected to field. Sam Kelsall made a very patient 34 from 92 balls at the top of the order for the visitors. Callum Hawkins followed suit as he added 33 from 87 balls, as run scoring was difficult against a disciplined home bowling attack. Moddershall closed on 168/9 from their 55 overs. Mo Rameez was the pick of the bowlers. He finished with 4/36. Rob Hagan gave him good support as he claimed 3/34 as they didn’t let the visitors’ batters get away from them.
Jon Gidman made 28 at the top for Castle, but as in the first innings, run scoring was proving difficult. There were contributions of 20 or more from two other batters and knocks of 10 or more from another 4, but nobody could go on and get a critical score that would have put their side in with a chance of victory, and Castle closed on 141/8 from 56 overs. Sam Atkinson claimed 3/39, and he was supported by Danushka Sandaruwan and Sam Kelsall, who took two wickets each, as, despite the draw, Moddershall remain top of the league.
Stone vs Leek.
Leek won by 8 wickets.
Stone won the toss and elected to bat. George Hawbrook made a typically fast start; he smashed a 49-ball 53 to get his side off to a good start. His innings contained six 4s and two 6s. Warrick Fynn’s good form continued as he made 59, which included four 4s and two 6s. Ed Batchelor (36) and James Cope (30) then added good late order runs as Stone were bowled all out for 223 in the last over. Tom Moulton, Josh Hudson and Jack Bowcock all took two wickets each.
Matt Morris made 38 at the top for Leek, but it was to be an unbroken stand of 139 between Moulton and Alex Mellor that would guide Leek to their 3rd consecutive victory. Moulton made a majestic 113* from 139 balls, which included thirteen 4s and three 6s as he showed all of his skills. Mellor finished unbeaten on 56, which included three 4s and two 6s as he provided great support for Moulton as the pair calmly went about their business of chasing the biggish total down. They timed their chase superbly and secured victory with 4 overs to spare.
