May 2025

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 79 all outLost toHaslington CC 1st XI 165-9 Ashton fell to a heavy defeat on a disappointing day on the road at Haslington.Winning the toss and opting to bowl, Ashton’s pace attack looked sharp with Fraser Hay and Tai Khan both getting life out of a track which had variable bounce.Wickets fell regularly as change bowlers Kris Green and Zahir Khan put in excellent spells to limit the opposition batting.When the home side lost their 7th wicket with only 117 on the board, Ashton were clearly on top. But Freddie Taylor dug in for Haslington, grinding out a fine unbeaten 60 to help the tail wag.When the innings finished on 165-9 Ashton would have been concerned that they had leaked runs in the final overs but would still have been confident that the chase was within their capacity. Zaheer Khan was the bowling stand out finishing with 3-24.Ashton’s batting effort began badly, losing Hugh Gibbons in the first over without a run on the board. With the home bowling exploiting the help offered by the pitch, wickets fell at regular intervals, with too many players not understanding that this track needed batting of  graft rather than glitter.The procession of players continued with the final 7 batsmen all failing to reach double figures. The home bowlers were backed up by some excellent work in the field and by the end Ashton were a well beaten side. Jack Taylor finished with figures of 5-17 on a day which Ashton will want to forget.Next week Ashton will welcome table topping Alvanley to The Beets, needing a far better effort if they are to challenge one of the stronger sides in the league.The 2nd XI also lost to Haslington, in a nail biting encounter which went down to the last ball. Haslington 163 all out (Shahid Shabbir 4-23) Ashton 160-8 (Suhan Shetty 44). The 3rd XI recorded a fine win in their first league match of the season. Heaton Mersey 120 all out, Ashton 121-7. Pictured Zaheer Khan bowls Tom Scott bats