Match Reports 2024

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

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 141 all out Lost to Bollington CC 1st XI 144-4 Image: Tom Scott bats Ashton began their delayed 2024 campaign on the wrong side of a hard-fought game at Bollington. On a freezingly cold day, Bollington’s correct call at the toss proved crucial with Ashton having to bat first on a pitch which unsurprisingly showed the effect of the wet spring. With the ball holding in the surface, batting was a case of survival rather than stroke making. The home attack exploited the conditions well, restricting Ashton to just 32 runs in the first 19 overs. Ashton kept wickets in hand on the hope that conditions might improve later in the innings, and gradually the run rate improved as Tom Scott (31) and Fraser Hay (26) took advantage of anything loose. But this was a pitch where hitting out needed both a brave heart and a great deal of luck, and whilst the former was clearly evident the latter was sadly absent from the Ashton innings. The total of 141 was a sterling effort from the visitors given the circumstances. The Bollington bowling was generally excellent, with fine performances from Aldo Palazzo (3-16), George Lomas (2-28) and Muhammad Kashif (1-17). In reply, the Bollington openers played aggressively from the start as the batting conditions eased. Wickets from Hay and Zaheer Khan stalled the advance and at 48-3 the match was in the balance. But calm cricket from Lomas (25) and Ross Duncan (34) took the home side to the brink, before Peter Henshall (26) took Bollington over the line with some lusty blows. Zaheer finished with 2-24 and Hay with 2-44 as Ashton battled hard until the end. The spirit of the Ashton team and their effort in the field could not be faulted. Ashton’s 2nd XI lost their first game of the season against a strong Upton side. Upton 226-5 (Tom Woods 96, Paddy Delaney 40) Ashton 156 all out (Kristian Green 37, Steve Mckinney 35, Joe Green 3-30). The Ashton 3rd team lost their opening T20 match at home to Marple. Ashton 55-9, Marple 56-0. Zaheer Khan bowls