Match Reports

Cheshire County Cricket League Division 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 107-5 Drew with Haslington CC 1st XI 224-8 Charlie Eaton bowls Ashton on Mersey were thwarted by the weather on a day when they put up a fine performance against title-chasing Haslington at The Beets. Choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, Ashton were soon on top as the opening attack of Charlie Eaton and Jackson Noske bowled a probing and controlled spell. With the Ashton support bowling keeping up the pressure, Haslington were reduced to 70-5 before the visitor’s Ben Istead took control of the effort to build a total. Batting with judgement and skill, Istead played a superb innings as he helped Haslington to a respectable score of 224-8 off their 50 overs. Istead remained undefeated on 108 at the innings’ close. Eaton took the bowling honours with well-deserved figures of 3-53. In reply Ashton made steady progress despite the loss of wickets, including a controversial decision which gave key man Henry Murray out bowled when the bails appeared to be disturbed by the keeper’s gloves. Despite that setback, Ashton looked set to mount a serious push for the target when the rains came and denied both sides a chance of the win. The result leaves Ashton in the relegation zone but with hopes that the improved form in the last few weeks will lead to a points push in the coming weeks. A weakened  Ashton 2nd XI fell to a heavy defeat at Haslington. Ashton 63 all out (Joe Cork 4-2) Haslington 64-0 (Will Dale 50 not out). Henry Murray bats

Henry Murray Drives Cheshire County Cricket League Div 2 Ashton on Mersey 1st XI 194 all out Lost to Marple 1st XI 195-4 Ashton fell to defeat at table topping Marple despite a battling performance on a rain interrupted day. Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Ashton shrugged off the loss of an early wicket to make a bright start with Macca Hooton and Henry Murray playing fluently against the Marple opening bowlers. But the introduction of spinners Joe Cash and Mark Makin turned the game in Marple’s favour. Cash bowled Hooton and Makin trapped Murray lbw before Tom Scott set about rebuilding the Ashton effort. Working with the Ashton middle order, Scott played cautiously to move the score along without ever threatening the acceleration which would have allowed the visitors to post a challenging total. Scott’s innings finished when he pulled a muscle and had to retire. The rest of the Ashton batting was removed by the returning Will Fraser-Smith who finished with 4-45. With Makin posting 4-57, the Ashton total of just short of 200 was below par. Rain meant that Marple had to press on to try and win the match, and a sparkling opening partnership between Andrew Hall and Mark Bennett set the basis of their victory. Hall went for a fine 50 but Bennett got the home side within sight of the winning post before falling for a splendid 73. Marple got over the line by 6 wickets with minutes to spare before the rains hit the ground. Tom Scott with keeper Ashton will have been pleased in some aspects of their performance and will be looking to continue their form when they welcome Haslington to the Beets in the next round of league games. Ashton’s 2nd XI were frustrated by the rain as they tried to chase down a challenging total set by Neston. Neston 262 all out ( Matt Brookes 96, Dan Warner 60, Sam Kingsman-Ali 4-44) Ashton 184-6 (Mike Roberts 68, Asmin Khan 63)

Jamal Benzafar bats Cheshire County Cricket League Division 2 Ashton on Mersey CC 1st XI 158-9 Lost to Cheadle Hulme CC 1st XI 161-7 Ashton on Mersey fell to another defeat despite an improved performance against Cheadle Hulme at The Beets. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Ashton were rocked before a ball was bowled as one of their top order batsmen had to withdraw from the game due to a domestic emergency. The challenges continued as early wickets fell to the opening attack of Scott Howarth and Andrew Wylie. But the experienced Jamal Benzafar dug in to stabilise the Ashton effort. Benzafar looked set for a half century before unluckily dragging a ball onto his stumps on 47. Runs from Akash Patel and James Marshall allowed the score to mount but when Marshall was last man out with the score on 158, the total seemed below par. The excellent Howarth was the Cheadle Hulme bowling pick, finishing with 4-47. In reply Ashton struck early with Jackson Noske bowling a fiery opening spell, well supported by teenager Charlie Eaton. Cheadle Hulme were rocking on 57-5 before Aayush Singh Slathia and Sam Walker came together to turn the game in the visitors’ favour. Their partnership reached 80 before Noske returned to remove Walker. But despite a final wobble, Cheadle Hulme got over the line for a three-wicket win. Noske was rewarded for a fine effort with figures of 4-35. Jackson Noske bowls The loss leaves Ashton rooted in the relegation zone although they will take some comfort from their improved performance. They will hope to continue the improvement when they visit fellow strugglers Christleton in the next round of league games. Ashton’s 2nd XI lost their top of the table clash with Didsbury. Ashton 145 all out (Nigel Bellamy 4-23) Didsbury 151-4 (Tom Brady 63 not out). Both the 3rd XI and Women’s team lost.