Author name: Ian Roberts

Cheshire Cricket League Division 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 339-9 Beat Oulton Park CC 1st XI 298 all out Ashton on Mersey bounced back to record an important win on a run-soaked day at The Beets. Being asked to bat first, Ashton lost a couple of early wickets but it soon became clear that the batting track was another superb wicket prepared by the Ashton groundsman. Harris Yassin and James Lines upped the tempo and put on an 80-run partnership at better than a run a ball. Lines went for a fine 50, but Yassin stuck to the task, as he was joined by skipper James Marshall. The pair kept the pressure on the Oulton Park bowling with a fluent 90 run partnership, before Marshall fell 8 runs short of his half century. Yassin brought up his century, his first for the club in only his second game, in the 40th over, going shortly afterwards for a splendid 106. The knock was chanceless and one of the best seen at The Beets in recent years. Tom Scott hit out to move the score along and with the lower order all contributing, Ashton finished on 339, though to be the highest total recorded by the first team in the modern era. It was always going to be a tough ask for the visitors but they attacked from the start to try and keep up with the challenging run rate. Danny Leach posted a 50 but wickets fell and Oulton Park found themselves slipping out of the contest. Some later order hitting from Amjad Khan and James Bell have them some hope but the excellent Charlie Eaton restored order to snuff out the innings, finishing with 3-54. This was a memorable day when over 630 runs were scored and 19 wickets were taken. It keeps Ashton’s season alive and they will be looking to keep the momentum going over the coming weeks. The 2nd XI lost at Cheadle Hulme. Ashton 104 all out (Adeel Raza 5-20) Cheadle Hulme 106-5 (Rafay Qazi 3-35) The 3rd XI lost a rain interrupted game at home to Bramhall. Ashton 109 all out, Bramhall 84-5 won on Duckworth Lewis. Pictured Haris Yassin bats Charlie Eaton bowls

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 2 Ashton on Mersey 1st XI 157-9 Lost to Romiley CC 1st XI 158-5 Ashton on Mersey fell to their 8th straight defeat on a controversial day on the road at Romiley. Losing the toss yet again, Ashton found themselves being asked to bat on a soft green-tinged wicket which was to prove a delight for slow bowlers throughout the day. Ashton started brightly with Hugh Gibbons and Tom Jenkinson both punishing anything loose. Gibbons became the first injury victim of the day when he was struck by the ball thrown by a fielder, the ball impacting on a wrist already damaged in previous weeks.  Gibbons continued after treatment but fell shortly afterwards, shortly followed by Jenkinson. Mike Roberts and Fraser Hay steadied the ship but the introduction of spinner Connor Burgin restricted the run rate as he exploited the sticky wicket to great advantage. Both Roberts and Hay fell to stumpings as they tried to up the pace, and the Ashton middle order struggled to make progress. It was only with the return of the pace attack that runs began to flow again. James Marshall and Tai Khan hit out to take the Ashton total to 157 at close. The Romiley reply began with the match defining incident when a hard hit caught and bowled chance from Ans Muhammad split the finger of Fraser Hay. With a serious injury that required a trip to Hospital, one of Ashton’s key bowlers was taken out of the game. Whilst that was unfortunate, the refusal of the home side to provide a substitute fielder for the stricken Hay fell well below the standard of sportsmanship which one might expect. With a fielder missing, the home batters were able to make the most of the inevitable gaps and the run chase became far easier than it might have been. That said, the fact that star spinner Zaheer Khan only bowled 4 of his possible 10 overs was surely a missed trick from Ashton. This result leaves Ashton firmly rooted to the foot of the table with two matches to play before the half way point of the season. They will need to call on all their squad strength to fight back from where they have found themselves. The Ashton 2nd X went down to defeat to Oulton Park at The Beets. Oulton Park 223 -9 (Simon Torlop 71, Damian Barton 70, Kris Green 3-40, Jo Middleton 3-40) Ashton 113 all out (Dylan Wilson 5-36) Ashton’s 3rd XI put up a strong fight but eventually lost against a strong Didsbury team. Didsbury 213 (Nikash Hinduja 53, Max Lilley 4-33) Ashton 159 -8 Isaac Hindmarsh 4-19). Pictured Tom Jenkinson bats Zaheer Khan Bowls