May 2024

Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 151 all out Lost to Ashley CC 1st XI 253 all out Pictured: Sam Thorburn bowls Ashton on Mersey fell to a heavy home defeat on a day when the quality of the visitors’ batting was the decisive factor. Opting to bowl first on a pitch which promised a degree of early assistance, Ashton’s opening attack of Fraser Hay and Charlie Eaton each produced fine spells which removed both Ashley openers. With Zaheer Khan and James Marshall picking up a wicket apiece, Ashley were struggling at 52-4 before Ammad Mushtaq and Jahangir Mushtaq came together to move the game decisively in the visitors’ favour. The introduction of leg spinner Sam Thoburn removed Ammad for a fine 50, but Jahangir continued to press the accelerator, taking advantage of anything loose from the home bowling. Ashton stuck to the task, but this was Jahangir’s day. When he finally fell to Thoburn for 115, he had taken Ashley to a strong position, and despite Thoburn mopping up the tail to finish with 4-54, Ashley’s total of 253 was a formidable target. In reply Ashton lost early wickets and despite a battling 80 from Macca Hooton, the home side never looked like getting close to the required total. With help from James Newton (29) and Marshall (26no), Ashton reached the 150 mark, but the inevitable defeat came in the 36th over. Ashton will look back on the match with mixed feelings. Several players were carrying injuries which impacted to a degree on the performance, but they will regret the number of loose balls bowled to batters well equipped to take advantage of those offerings and will feel that better application from a number of their own batters would have produced a closer game. They will be looking to get back on track next week against table-topping Port Sunlight. Ashton’s 2nd XI recorded a fine win away at Neston. Neston 144 all out (Rafay Qazi 4-33 Max Lilley 3-14) Ashton 145-8 (Ragesh Nair 41, Yousuf Bhamjee 40 no) Ashton’s 3rd XI also won their game against Romiley thanks to a great bowling performance by Imran Sadiq. Romiley 87 all out (Sadiq 7-6) Ashton 91-5 (Zach Roberts 43 no) Ashton’s Womens XI who play in a combined team with Woodley CC fell to defeat against Didsbury. Didsbury 144-7, Ashton/Woodley 119-8. Macca Hooton bats

Beat Mobberley CC 1st XI 226 – 9 Fraser Hay bowls Ashton on Mersey recorded their first win of the season on a run-soaked day at Mobberley. With the home side winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the Ashton attack did well to limit the batters’ early efforts. Fraser Hay and Charlie Eaton bowled excellently to limit the damage threatened by the aggressive Mobberley top order, with Zaheer Khan (2-17) spinning through a tight ten overs to prevent any acceleration. But with Chris Turner playing an anchor role in the middle order and with the tail hitting out to good effect, Mobberley turned the game in their favour, finishing on a more than respectable 226. Hay finished with fine figures of 3-56. Turner remained unbeaten on 54, but unfortunately became unwell at the break and was taken to hospital. Our best wishes go to him for a full and speedy recovery. In reply Ashton lost an early wicket and there were fears that the fragile batting of previous weeks might be returning. But what followed was a batting masterclass from Mike Roberts who dominated the Ashton response. Playing with calm authority, Roberts was untroubled by the Mobberley attack, playing watchfully when needed whilst taking advantage of anything loose. Roberts brought up a bright 50 and then accelerated to shift the momentum fully in Ashton’s favour. Even a muscle strain which limited his movement could not stall Roberts in this mood. His hundred came up with one of the 5 sixes he hit during his innings, and he completed the task finishing the match on 120 not out, off just 129 balls. This was one of the best innings seen by an Ashton player in recent years and the win was exactly what the team needed to get their season underway. The Ashton 2nd XI fell short in a low scoring game at The Beets against Warrington. Ashton 57 all out (Tarique 4-14, Swarn Sandhu 4-19) Warrington 58-7 (Yousuf Bhamjee 3-7, Ryan Carey 3-20). The Ashton 3s fell foul to the weather but not before fine bowling efforts by young players Zach Roberts (4-27) and Adam Heap (4-38) helped Ashton bowl out Hyde for 163. The Ashton reply had only just begun when a thunderstorm wiped out play for the day. Mike Roberts bats

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 91 all out Lost to Haslington CC 1st XI 207-9 Image: Fraser Hay bowls Ashton on Mersey slumped to a heavy defeat at home to Haslington, as they failed to capitalise on a fine start to the match. Bowling first on a track offering some help to the seamers, Ashton had Haslington in all sorts of trouble as Fraser Hay and James Marshall ran through the top order.  With spinner Zaheer Khan posing more problems to the visitors, Ashton reduced Haslington to 83-8. But hopes of bundling out the visitors for a modest total were dashed by the excellent Ben Instead, who batted with calm excellence to rescue the batting effort. With support from the gritty Stephen Davies, Istead gave a batting masterclass to take the game away from a flagging Ashton attack. Instead fell just short of what would have been a well-deserved century, finishing on 96 not out having guided his team to 207-9 off their 50 overs. Marshall returned figures of 3-28 but the Ashton team seemed shellshocked by their failure to finish off the Haslington batting effort when they had the chance. In reply some bright cricket up front by openers Jamal Benzafar and Macca Hooton was snuffed out by two successful shouts for lbw. The rest of the batting failed to come to terms with the tight Haslington bowling and despite some late order hitting by Marshall (38), the home side slumped to a modest 91 all out. Tom Gledhill posted figures of 3-13 with Imran Khan returning 3-27. This was a disappointing game for Ashton, although the excellence of Istead needs to be acknowledged as the main reason for the loss. The Ashton 2nd XI lost a thrilling encounter away at Haslington. Ashton 172 all out (Lee Heap 59, Saeed Bhamjee 50, Joe Cork 4-40, Callum Istead 3-27) Haslington 173-9 (Will Dale 48, Kristian Green 3-30, Yousuf Bhamjee 3-48). Image: James Marshall bats