Match Reports

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 3 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 184-1 Beat Stockport CC 1st XI 180 all out Ashton on Mersey kept up their title challenge with an ultimately comfortable win away at Stockport. Winning the toss and opting to bowl first, Ashton were rocked as the Stockport top order launched an assault on the opening attack. With boundaries flowing freely, the score passed 60 in just 12 overs. But Ashton stuck to the task and gradually wickets began to fall. Skipper James Marshall led the way, taking 5 -36 in his 10 over spell, which snuffed out the Stockport middle order as they tried to keep up the aggressive approach adopted by the top order. The innings finally ended with the score at 180, well below what might have been expected given the start made by the home side. In reply, Ashton made short work of the task at hand, as the home bowling and fielding fell well short of what was required and Charles Erasmus and Tom Scott took full advantage of the bowling to race towards the target. Scott fell for 43, but Erasmus was joined by Harris Yassin and the pair brought home the win with 23 overs to spare. Erasmus finished on 99 not out, agonisingly short of the century which his batting deserved. The win keeps Ashton 27 points clear at the top of the table with just 7 games left in the season. Ashton’s 2s made it a maximum points Saturday, beating Port Sunlight at The Beets. Ashton 279-6 (Sam Thozer 84) Port Sunlight 158 all out (Adam Pasgon 78) The 3rd and 4th team games were lost to the weather. Pictured James Marshall claims one of his 5 wickets Charles Erasmus on his way to 99 not out

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 3 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 274-6 Beat Warrington CC 1st XI 271 all out Ashton maintained their title challenge with a heart-stopping victory over Warrington at The Beets. Losing the toss and being asked to bat first, Ashton took full advantage of a flat batting track and a scorched outfield, with runs flowing freely. Whilst wickets fell as the home side pressed on, the run rate was maintained and a huge total looked on the cards. Charlie Eaton led the way, with a fine knock of 82, but the visitors stuck to the task and supported by some excellent fielding they prevented the game from running away from them. The innings was marred by an unfortunate injury to Warrington’s skipper, Harley Barratt, who damaged an arm diving for the ball. His absence was to prove crucial later in the day. Some late hitting allowed Ashton to progress to 274-6 at the innings break, a fine score but perhaps 20-30 runs light given the ideal batting conditions. In reply, Warrington batted superbly to try to meet the challenge. The game ebbed and flowed with Tom Higham leading the way with a superb 68. But Higham went to a splendid boundary catch by Charles Erasmus, and the effort seemed to have stalled. Erasmus took two wickets to leave the visitors needing 50 runs with the last available batters at the crease. With great energy Matthew Wright and Eswar Peddi kept pressing for what seemed an unlikely win. As the target got nearer, Peddi launched a huge six to leave Warrington needing just 4 to win. But Erasmus burst through Peddi’s defence with his next ball to take the last wicket and leave Ashton winners by just 3 runs. The fact that Warrington were a man down was a key factor in their heroic attempt falling short, but both sides deserve great credit for delivering a great game of cricket played in the right spirit. Ashton’s 2nd XI lost their contest away at Warrington. Ashton 200-7 (Sam Thozer 57) Warrington 204-6 (Patrick Tyrrell 60, Hassan Bukhari 51, Ryan Carey 4-40) The 3rd XI lost their Sunday clash with Bredbury St Marks at The Beets. Ashton 158 (Noman Zubairi 4-48) Bredbury 159-5 (James Guy 53 no) Pictured Charlie Eaton bats Charles Erasmus takes the final wicket 

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 3 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 200-7 Beat Middlewich CC 1st XI 198 all out Ashton on Mersey remained top of the table after a hard-fought win against a battling Middlewich side at The Beets. Losing the toss and being asked to bowl first on a sweltering day, Ashton found their guests in a belligerent mood with the bat, as the early overs saw numerous boundaries being hit. But there was an element of luck in this approach and wickets soon began to fall. At 97-5 the innings could have imploded, but George Oakes produced a fine knock of 81 to steer the Middlewich ship through a tricky period. The innings could have grown further but Charlie Eaton stepped up to destroy the rest of the batting with a five wicket haul including a rare all bowled hat-trick. Eaton finished with figures of 5-40 as Middlewich were bowled out for 198, somewhat below par on a fine batting surface with a lightning quick outfield. In reply Ashton started well with opening partners Tom Scott and Saeed Bhamjee putting on 46 before Bhamjee fell. Another fine partnership between Scott and Harris Yassin took the score to 122, with Ashton looking in full control. But when Yassin went it heralded a clatter of wickets, reducing Ashton to 136-6. With nerves jangling, skipper James Marshall steadied matters with a calm knock, and despite losing Scott for an excellent 83, Marshall and Dave Patterson brought home the win by three wickets with 6 overs to spare. The win was hard won and Ashton will need to cut out some of the errors which made this one tighter than it should have been, as they welcome Warrington to The Beets next week. Ashton’s 2nd team recorded a fine win away at Haslington. Ashton 296-7 (Mike Roberts 124, Sam Thozer 85) Haslington 142 all out (Ryan Carey 5-27) The Ashton 3rd XI continued their excellent season with a 106 run win away at Davenham. Ashton 229-4 (Nitin Kakulde 61, Mohit Gupta 56) Davenham 123 all out. The Ashton 4th Team made it a clean sweep on weekend wins as they got home in a high scoring game at home against Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge. Ashton 235-8 (Finn Coburn 102, Steve Mckinney 59) Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge 179 all out (Ian Lawlor 81, Keon Taleb 5-22, Jack McHugh 4-17)  Pictured Tom Scott bats Charlie Eaton takes one of his hat-trick wickets