Author name: Ian Roberts

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

Mark Weighill bowls Cheshire County Cricket League Div 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 186-7 Beat Christleton CC 1st XI 184-7 Ashton on Mersey completed an amazing great escape from relegation by beating Christleton on a day of high drama at The Beets. Going into the game Ashton knew that to avoid the drop  they had to win and either Hale Barns or Bollington had to fail to win their final fixtures. Being asked to bowl first, Ashton started steadily with the ball, restricting the visitor’s flow of runs. But the arrival Mubashir Hassan upped the tempo with a quick fire fifty, before a splendid catch by Jackson Noske accounted for the Christleton number three. The visitors made decent progress, punishing anything loose, but their final total of 184 looked within range given the strong Ashton batting line up and the fine pitches which have been characteristic of The Beets this season. Mark Weighill took the bowling honours with 4-66. The Ashton response stuttered as the top order all failed to capitalise on good starts. News from the other grounds added to the pressure as both Hale Barns and Bollington got off to good starts in their run chases, and with Ashton reduced to 117-7, the task looked beyond the home side. But skipper James Marshall and Mark Weighill dug in, slowly building the score to bring the target into sight. Reports came in of batting collapses at Hale Barnes and Bollington, with both those teams crashing to defeat. A win for Ashton would therefore save their season, and as the score mounted the tension grew. Marshall batted with superb skill and calmness, but overs were beginning to run out.  The climax came in the final over, with Ashton hitting the winning boundary off the first ball to prompt huge celebrations. Marshall’s unbeaten 46 was the game defining knock. The Ashton escape has been quite remarkable. With five weeks to go they seemed doomed, but the spirit with which they approached the final games, recording three wins in the period, has been a credit to the club. The Ashton 2nd XI finished their excellent season on a disappointing note, falling to defeat at Cheadle Hulme. Ashton 78 all out , Cheadle Hulme 82-5. James Marshall bats