August 2023

Charlie Eaton bowls Cheshire County Cricket League Div 2 Ashton on Mersey 1st XI  112-2 Beat Hale Barns 1st XI 109 all out Ashton on Mersey kept their season alive with an emphatic win over fellow strugglers Hale Barns. Winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, Ashton made the most of favourable conditions to put the hosts under pressure from the start. With opening bowlers Jackson Noske and Charlie Eaton bowling a tight spell, Hale Barns struggled to make any progress as the overs ticked by. Whilst veteran Mike Hunter dug in to try and build the innings, the rest of the Hale batting came and went as the batters failed to rise to the challenge. With spinner Sam Thoburn and seamer James Marshall bowling in tandem, wickets fell at regular intervals. The big hitting Ben Hicks tried to lift the Hale gloom, but when he was dispatched by Marshall, the innings fell away for a well below par 109. Marshall led the wicket column, taking 4-33, but the most remarkable figures were returned by teenager Charlie Eaton who finished with 7 overs, 6 maidens, 2 wickets for only 1 run. In reply, Macca Hooton and Henry Murray set the tone with a fluent opening partnership which snuffed out any hopes of a Hale Barns victory. Hooton went playing one shot too many but Murray pushed on, showing his class as he cruised to a fine 50. Murray departed with the winning post in sight, but Dave Patterson and Jamal Benzafar brought home the win with 20 overs to spare. This was a magnificent performance by Ashton which only emphasised how poorly they had played in the first half of the season. The result moves them out of the relegation zone, but they remain in peril with three games to go. The Ashton 2nd XI made it a double winning Saturday, as they chased down a large total to beat Warrington at The Beets Warrington 246-7 (Jagadeesha 75, Ravi Sabba 58) Ashton 250-6 (Sam Kingsman-Ali 95 not out, Ryan Carey 48). Ashton’s 3rd XI fell short in their clash with Ashley. Ashley 181-7 (Max Davies 3-33) Ashton 129 all out (Steve McKinney 50, Mohammed Waheed Munir 7-17) Henry Murray bats

Macca Hooton bats Cheshire County Cricket League Div 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 147 all out Beat Bollington CC 1st XI 141 all out Ashton on Mersey kept their survival hopes alive with a hard fought and tense win at Bollington. Choosing to bat first on a dry track, Ashton were rocked when opener Henry Murray fell to the first ball of the match. But Macca Hooton and Dave Patterson steadied the nerves with a fine 50 run partnership. With Hooton playing with his usual flare and Patterson giving fine support, the innings looked set fair, before spinner Toby Phipps entered the scene. Phipps bowled Hooton and Ryan Carey to retake the initiative for the home side. Ashton then suffered two run outs with Patterson and Tom Scott falling to over ambitious attempts at a quick single. Three more wickets to the admirable Phipps left Ashton teetering on 95-8 before Mike Roberts and Jackson Noske brought some sanity to proceedings. Noske hit out whilst Roberts played with his normal calm authority to take the score to 139 before Noske became Phipps sixth victim. When Roberts was last man out, the final score of 147 was below par but a substantially better total than had been feared. Phipps earned his excellent figures of 6-39. In reply Noske took an early wicket but Tom Horsfield and Keegan Fortune looked like building the game deciding partnership. Spinner Mark Weighill broke the pair, dismissing Horsfield for 48, before the introduction of Ashton’s skipper James Marshall turned the match in the visitors’ favour. Using all his experience, Marshall bowled a probing line which unsettled the home batters. Bollington wobbled and found themselves at 87-6 before Ryan Ouwerkerk dug in to bring the target within sight. But Marshall was not to be denied and when he removed Ouwerkerk, Ashton had the sniff of victory. With the tension mounting Bollington’s last pair came together with just 8 runs needed, but spinner Sam Thoburn proved up to the challenge, taking the final wicket to give Ashton a 6-run win. Marshall finished with a 5-37 match winning effort. Ashton go into next week’s clash with fellow strugglers Hale Barns knowing that another win will mean their season is still alive. The Ashton 2nd XI added to the joy by bringing home a win against Davenham at The Beets Davenham 144 all out (Simmons 64, Max Davies 3-16), Ashton 145-8 Max Scott 4-37). The 3rd XI lost a high scoring contest at Hyde. Hyde 209 -9 (Jamie Richardson 53, Finn Coburn 3-38)  Ashton 171 all out ( Charlie Eaton 59, Jamie Richardson 4-21) James Marshall bowls

James Lines flicks one to leg Cheshire County Cricket League Division 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 216 all out Lost to Davenham CC 1st XI 218 -3 Ashton once again tasted defeat as they failed to contain promotion chasing Davenham at the Beets. Losing the toss and being asked to bat on a surface that gave early help to the bowlers, Ashton found themselves in trouble as the top order crumbled to 32-4. James Lines led the fightback with a pugnacious 50, before falling after a rain break disrupted the innings. The rain delays did little to help the Ashton cause, with the home team finding themselves struggling at 104-7. But skipper James Marshall and Mark Weighill dug in to restore some respectability to the score. Marshall played excellently before falling in the final overs for 58. Weighill gave great support before also departing in the final push for an admirable 43. The Ashton total of 216 represented a good recovery, although on a pitch which had lost its early venom, it seemed a very reachable target. The Davenham bowling honours were taken by Harry Garner who finished with 3-34. Davenham’s response began in dramatic style, as Jackson Noske clean bowled both openers to leave the visitors rocking at 7-2. But that was the end of the good news for Ashton as batters Regan Johnson and Jason Van Der Meulen took complete control of the game. The Ashton attack failed to bowl with any control, with the exception of teenager Charlie Eaton, who once again showed his immense promise as an all round cricketer. The rest of the Ashton bowling was hit to all parts as the Davenham pair put on 180 runs at better than a run a ball. Davenham eventually strolled to a comfortable win within 30 overs, leaving Ashton once again pondering their lack of options with the ball which has blighted their season. The 1st XI are now in deep relegation trouble and will need something remarkable in the coming weeks to avoid the drop. Cheer was once again restored by Ashton’s 2nd XI who stormed to a win at Urmston. Urmston 84 all out (Jaskaran Cheema 4-13) Ashton 86-5 Ashton’s 3rd XI lost to Grappenhall. Grappenhall 230-6 (Iain Wright 94, Adam Heap 4-35) Ashton 116-9 (Stephen McKinney 46, Zach Tully 4-34) Ashton’s Womens’ XI went down to a narrow defeat against Lindow. Ashton 92 all out, Lindow 93-8 (Naz Hancioglu 4) James Marshall steers the ball through the gully