Cheshire County Cricket League Div 2
Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 137 all out
Lost to
NE Cheshire CC 1st XI 228-8
Mark Weighill bowls
Ashton fell to defeat on the road at North East Cheshire, as their batting failed to chase down a challenging target.
Choosing to bowl first, Ashton found home openers Daniel Williams (50) and James Banner (59) in fine form.
North East batted well throughout as they punished anything loose delivered by the Ashton bowlers. Whilst wickets fell at regular intervals, the runs kept coming, with Jake Reynolds hitting a half century at better than a run a ball.
Spinner Mark Weighill emerged with the best figures (5 for 61) and Ashton never allowed the innings to truly get away from them. But they knew that the run chase would not be easy, particularly as they were missing several top order batters.
And so it proved, as early wickets put Ashton on the back foot. Whilst skipper James Marshall and Sam Kingsman-Ali both showed sparks of a fightback, a mixture of decent bowling and some poor shot selection saw Ashton slump to 137 all out. Toby Carson took the bowling honours with 5-24.
This was a second consecutive loss for Ashton who will need to get back on track in the coming weeks to ensure that their season meets its early promise.
The Ashton 2nd XI lost their game against Oulton Park at The Beets. Ashton 148 all out (Mark Duncan 48 not out, Damian Barton 6-39) Oulton Park 151-4 (Ben Kettle 60)
The 3rd XI lost a low scoring game against Bowdon. Bowdon 97 all out ( Adam Heap 4-34) Ashton 66 all out (Anay Deshpande 4-13)
Sam Kingsman-Ali bats
