Match Reports

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 3 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 205-6 Beat Heaton Mersey CC 1st XI 200 all out Ashton returned to the head of the Division after they came out on top of a titanic, nerve shredding clash at Heaton Mersey. Batting first Ashton started well, with the new opening partnership of Tom Scott and Saeed Bhamjee seeing off the new ball. Harris Yassin kept up the batting momentum and at 135-3 Ashton looked poised to post a substantial score. But the home side fought back to take three quick wickets as the Ashton effort stalled. It was left to skipper James Marshall and keeper James Newton to put together an unbeaten 62 run partnership which allowed Ashton to set a target of 205. The Heaton reply began in dramatic fashion as Charles Erasmus took two wickets in his first over. A spilled catch prevented an even better start for Ashton and Heaton rebuilt thanks to Daniel Ahmed and the ever-threatening Ibrar Latif. The pair cruised to a 50 partnership before Marshall beat Latif’s defence to trap him lbw for 37. Any hopes of a batting collapse faded as Ahmed, Muhammad Ali and Nachiket Verlekar batted sensibly to bring the target within range. At 181-6 with overs to spare, the home side looked firm favourites, but Ashton dug deep to battle back into the match. A brilliant boundary catch by Charlie Eaton and some fine bowling from Charles Erasmus left the home side needing 7 runs to win when the 9th wicket fell. A run later, Kris Green burst through the defence of last man Daniel Heasley to leave the hosts stunned as Ashton claimed the win. Erasmus took the bowling honours with 4-40. This was a great game of cricket which saw Ashton at their best. A team in the truest sense of the word, they are now well placed to push on with their promotion bid in the second half of the season. Ashton’s 2nd team fell to a heavy defeat at home to Urmston. Urmston 264-5 (Ishaan Devaramani 74 not out) Ashton 107-9 (Craig Wilson 5-29) Ashton’s 3rd team continued their great season with a demolition of Christleton at The Beets. Ashton 274-4 (Mo Shadaan 113, Vivek Tharaken 103) Christleton 28 all out. Ashton’s 4th XI went down to a heavy defeat at Heaton Mersey. Ashton 91 all out, Heaton Mersey 93-4. Pictured James Newton Bats  Charles Erasmus bowls

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 3 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 107 all out Lost to Hale Barns CC 1st XI 140 all out Ashton fell to a disappointing defeat at promotion rivals Hale Barns, on a day when the ball dominated the bat. Losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, Ashton took early control as some keen bowling and fine catching saw the hosts lose both openers cheaply. A fine 50 partnership between Matt Spells and Khurram Hussain seized back the initiative for Hale Barns but when Charlie Eaton removed both batters the rest of the home batting struggled to cope with the Ashton attack. At the halfway point Ashton looked in the box seat, having dismissed Hale Barns for 140m which looked well below par. But after a bright start in search of the target, the Ashton batting faltered. Some poor shot selection gifted wickets to the home attack and the middle order collapsed. A late flurry from Shasvat Kakkar and a typically gutsy effort from Mark Weighill gave a glimmer of hope but in the end Ashton fell 33 runs short of what looked to be a modest target. This was a poor performance from a team which is far better than the result suggests and they will be looking to get back on track next week when they travel to another title rival, Heaton Mersey. The 2nd XI recorded a fine victory at The Beets over Heaton Mersey, Ashton 231-8 ( Saeed Bhamjee 61, Finn Coburn 43) Heaton Mersey 169 all out Max Lilley 4-33) The 3rd XI continued their fine season with victory over Stockport Georgians. Ashton 212-6 (Chirag Tapal 54, Vivek Tharaken 51) Stockport Georgians 131 all out (Ashish Gupta 3-29) The 4th XI won a tight contest at home against Hale Barns. Ashton 247-9 (Tom Cutler 102) Hale Barns 236 all out (Junaid Iqbal 106) Pictured Dave Patterson appeals  Mark Weighill batssea

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 3 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 159 all out Beat Irby CC 1st XI 123 all out. Ashton produced a battling performance to go top of the league table after defeating a spirited Irby side at the Beets. Opting to bat first, Ashton were rocked by the quick loss of both openers but recovered with Charles Erasmus and Charlie Eaton once again batting fluently. The pair put on a 50 partnership but both then fell in rapid succession. When a further wicket fell Ashton were looking shaky at 77-5 but Mike Roberts and Tom Scott steadied the ship as they saw off some accurate bowling from the visitors with another half century partnership. When that pair departed the tail wagged to take the score to 159, somewhat below par but a significant recovery from what might have been In reply Irby found themselves on the wrong end of an opening blitz from Kris Green (4-22)  and James Marshall  (2-37) who reduced the visitors to 34-6, in no small part down to some fine catching by the home side. A fine rearguard effort led by Kamran Hussain  threatened to pull off a remarkable comeback but when he fell to a spectacular catch by Harris Yassin for 57, the innings closed 38 runs short of the target. Spinner Zaheer Khan Posted another fine set of figures with 3-36. This was a fine example of a team working for each other, as their fine season continues. The next two weeks where Ashton play their title rivals will be pivotal in their promotion push. Ashton’s 2nd XI got back to winning ways with a fine performance at Ashley. Ashton 230-6 Sam Thozer 44, Chris Smith  43 no) Ashley 86 all out. Ashton’s 3rd team had no game this weekend. The 4th XI lost a high scoring game at Styal. Ashton 200-7 (Tom Cutler 61, Mo Shaddan 50) Styal 201-8 (Rohan Pattisapu 56 no) Pictured Kris Green bowls  Charlie Eaton takes a fine catch