Grappers salvage 11 points

GRAPPENHALL did well to salvage 11 points from an emphatic defeat at the hands of early season title favourites Chester Boughton Hall in a rain-affected Cheshire County League game at Broad Lane.
The Chester side has already shown its batting strength this summer and Grappenhall’s bowlers were simply the latest to suffer.
Grappenhall decided to bat first and managed to reach 152-6 in 35 overs. Luke McCoy hit 50, Richard Green 36 and Mark Roylance 34 not out.
They managed to obtain maximum batting points against a good attack. But the visitors got off to a solid start and then cantered to 154-2 in the 23rd over with Grappenhall’s bowlers making little impression.
Grappenhall 2nd also went down against Chester Boughton Hall 2nd after the home side batted first and totalled 241-7. Ian Barnes, 3-59 and Neil Titchard, 4-60, were the pick of the bowlers. Grappenhall batted well, with Andy Tetlow, 56, Will Sharp 35 and Mike Holden, 34 all making useful contributions. But the final total was 229 – just 12 short.
Grappenhall 3rd travelled to Tattenhall, looking to keep up their 100 per cent start to the season in all competitions. Bowling first, a fantastic spell by Jack Critchley, claiming a remarkable eight wickets, reduced the home side to 90 all out. In reply, Grappenhall lost a couple of early wickets but reached the target with the help of veteran Mike Moss with 35 not out.
Grappenhall progressed to the next round of the National Cup competition with a comfortable victory over Audley, in Staffordshire.
The home side hit a challenging 198-8 on a difficult wicket, Tom Evans taking 4-39.
Grappers started badly, in trouble at 30-3, but Richard Green, 50, Adam Roylance 39 and Ian Barnes, 34, came to the rescue.
Warrington were dismissed for 127 by visiting Middlewich. Andy Martel hit 32 and Robert Batey 22. Batey then picked up 3-41 when the visitors batted, but Middlewich managed to reach their target with five wickets to spare.
Warrington 2nd fared batter at Middlewich, where they batted first and reached 194-3, Sam Houghton 80 not out and Charlie McElroy 72 not out. The home side were dismissed for 120, Nick Houghton taking 4-34, Simon Hewitt 2-18 and James Lewis 2-14.
Warrington 5th’s game against Neston 3rd was abandoned due to rain after Warrington had bit 151.
In the Cheshire Alliance, Glazebury suffered their first defeat in the first division in the “derby” game against Rylands.
Batting first, they were dismissed for 108, Wayne Hargreaves top scoring with 3-42. Ross Arrowsmith, 3-42 and Richard Buck, 5-32 were Rylands’ top bowlers.
The visitors then progressed to 112-6, Eddie Platt hitting 24, Sam Mulholland 23 not out and Arrowsmith 25 not out.
Kyle Keeble, with 3-25 was the pick of the Glazebury bowlers.
Glazebury 2nd suffered a mauling at Frodsham, where the home hit 182-9, despite fine bowling from Gerard Southworth, 5-20. Glazebury were tumbled out for a meagre 54, with Southworth, 21 not out, the only player to reach double figures.
Rylands 2nd got the better of their game with Appleton 4th, batting first and hitting a formidable 191-8. Michael Stanton hit an unbeaten 54 and Gary Moors 45.
Appleton were hanging on at 93-8 at the close, Inzy Rashid top scoring with 31. Pick of the Rylands bowlers were Sujith Nair 2-16, Sean Peters 2-26 and Nathan Lowe 2-16.
In the Meller Braggins Cheshire League, Stretton 142-4 went down by four wickets to Barnton 2nd.
A number of matches involving clubs from the Warrington area were abandoned or cancelled altogether due to the weather.