WARRINGTON won the Chapel Press Cheshire County League “derby” against Grappenhall – but the victory was still not enough to lift them from the foot of the division one table.
Grappenhall won the toss and decided to bowl first at Walton Lea – and at first it appeared a good decision.
Three Warrington batsmen were back in the pavilion with the score on 21. But the middle order came good, with Chris Kirby hitting 49, Richard Taylor 46 and Liam Heaphey 30.
Gary Burns was Grappenhall’s most effective bowler with 2-24 and Warrington finished on a respectable 184-7 – particularly after last week’s debacle when they were tumbled out for 40.
The target was well within Grappenhall’s reach but Steve Heydon, 4-25, Steve Carlisle, 3-24 and Lewis Nunn, 2-42, had other ideas and the Broad Lane outfit were back in the pavilion for a disappointing 113.
Grappenhall 3rd went down by 30 runs at the hands of Christleton, who batted first and reached 185-6. Tom Hulme was Grappers’ most effective bowler with 2-27.
Grappenhall started their reply in fine style but when Les Connolly, 35, Jack Critchley, 40 and Si Fryer, 28 had gone they ran out of steam and finished on 155.
Opener Antony Hurst hit an unbeaten 114 as Appleton racked up 224-6 declared against Disley in the Cheshire Alliance. E Rashid hit 41 and Jim Broadbent 30.
Disley never looked like reaching their target but still had two wickets in hand with 170 on the board when the overs ran out.
Appleton 2nd were involved in a real nail-biting finish in their match against Hartford, with the result being decided by one wicket on the fifth ball of the last over.
Appleton posted 164-8, Gareth Bailey 51 and Andrew Jackson 38 not out.
Chris McClellan took 6.35 when Hartford replied, backed up by Pete Worrall with 2-29. But Hartford snatched victory at 165-9 on the fifth ball of the last over.
Appleton 3rd won by 23 runs against Stalybridge. Batting first they reach 108-9, Stuart McGregor hitting 38 and Dave Darbyshire 24 not out. Stalybridge were dismissed for 85, Chris Grumley taking 3-25, Philip Jackson 3-7 and Paul Grumly 2-5.
Glazebury were dismissed for 101 after winning the toss and deciding to bat first at Styal. The home side reached 102-7.
Glazebury 2nd dismissed Norbury for 114, Chris Ayre taking 4-26 and Sean Caine, Kyle Keeble and Jason Butterworth picking up two wickets each.
Rylands absolutely steamrollered Stalybridge St Pauls. Batting first, Rylands hit a formidable 221-3, Ian Mason hitting 79 and Richard Buck 69.
St Pauls crumbled to 30 all out against the pace of in-form paceman Sean Malone, 5-12 and Adam Peters, 5-6.
Rylands 2nd came unstuck at Heaton Mersey Village.
HMV were dismissed for 117, G Sujith 5-42 and Steve Howorth 3-6. Rylands back in the pavilion for 63, of which Geoff Shaw hit 30.
In the Meller Braggins Cheshire League, Lymm Oughtrington Park held Kingsley to 105-9, Kieron Ollier top scoring with 19. Robert Massey bowled well for 2-20 but Lymm took the match with 107-5
Stretton entertained Bunbury and bowled them out for 127, coasting to 129-6 to win by four wickets.
But Stretton 2nd were out-gunned by Congleton who declared on 244-4 and then dismissed Stretton for 112.
Women’s Cricket
Warrington Women’s team beat Meir Heath by 124 runs in a one-sided match in the ECB national women’s league.
Jennie Kitzinger and Dawn Prestidge got Warrington off to a fine start with a stand of 58 in 13 overs for the second wicket.
After Kitzinger fell for 21, Shami Ahmed, 19, kept the scoreboard flowing in partnership with Prestidge for a time, only for both to fall in quick succession. Prestidge departed for exactly 50, made from 62 balls with eight fours, having previously looked untroubled.
After Prestidge’s wicket, Warrington only added 25 in 14 overs, before an adventurous 21 from Sarah McCann boosted the total to 179. Charlotte Whyle was the pick of the Meir attack with 4-34.
Kate Skelhorn clean bowled the Meir Heath opener with the very first ball. She struck again before the end of the first over, and again before the end of her superb six over spell of 3-6, which included five maidens.
The early wickets allowed Warrington the luxury of allowing some of their attack to get valuable overs under their belt. Natalie Heap, Lorna Thomas, Katie Paterson and Shami Ahmed all got in on the wickets, with Ahmed also contributing two run outs, as Meir were all out for 55 inside 27 overs.
In the Cheshire Women’s League, Appleton moved up to third place in division One after victory at home to Oakmere. Natalie Long, 4-16, and Anni Rashid, 3-11 helped dismiss Oakmere for 134, where Ruth Willis,34 and Jane Tarpey, 29 were the top scorers. An unbeaten 60 from captain Emma Barlow took Appleton to victory at 135-5, despite 3-27 from Vicky Heaton
