Henry Murray Drives
Cheshire County Cricket League Div 2
Ashton on Mersey 1st XI 194 all out
Lost to
Marple 1st XI 195-4
Ashton fell to defeat at table topping Marple despite a battling performance on a rain interrupted day.
Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Ashton shrugged off the loss of an early wicket to make a bright start with Macca Hooton and Henry Murray playing fluently against the Marple opening bowlers.
But the introduction of spinners Joe Cash and Mark Makin turned the game in Marple’s favour. Cash bowled Hooton and Makin trapped Murray lbw before Tom Scott set about rebuilding the Ashton effort.
Working with the Ashton middle order, Scott played cautiously to move the score along without ever threatening the acceleration which would have allowed the visitors to post a challenging total.
Scott’s innings finished when he pulled a muscle and had to retire. The rest of the Ashton batting was removed by the returning Will Fraser-Smith who finished with 4-45. With Makin posting 4-57, the Ashton total of just short of 200 was below par.
Rain meant that Marple had to press on to try and win the match, and a sparkling opening partnership between Andrew Hall and Mark Bennett set the basis of their victory.
Hall went for a fine 50 but Bennett got the home side within sight of the winning post before falling for a splendid 73.
Marple got over the line by 6 wickets with minutes to spare before the rains hit the ground.
Tom Scott with keeper
Ashton will have been pleased in some aspects of their performance and will be looking to continue their form when they welcome Haslington to the Beets in the next round of league games.
Ashton’s 2nd XI were frustrated by the rain as they tried to chase down a challenging total set by Neston. Neston 262 all out ( Matt Brookes 96, Dan Warner 60, Sam Kingsman-Ali 4-44) Ashton 184-6 (Mike Roberts 68, Asmin Khan 63)
