Marple Just Edge Bizarre Game With Magnificent Makin Leading the Way!

Marple 217 all out (40.2 overs) 25 points beat Tattenhall 213 all out (43.1 overs) 8 points by four runs

Tattenhall boast one of the most picturesque and top quality grounds in the county. Even with a howling south westerly gale and an ever present threat of rain, the ground is one that is enjoyed by players and spectators alike. The club has staged a three day Cheshire minor county fixture this season, and with the pitch having good carry and pace,  and the outfield quick as lightning, this seems to have been richly deserved.

Although Tattenhall are all but relegated to division two of the Cheshire County League after a difficult season, the side, containing several young players of ability and spirit never gave up in this game. Home skipper Sadler elected to field first against an in form Marple top order, and although his opening attack of Johnson and Wilson found some lift and pace in the pitch, Marple have experience and quality in their batting. Mark Bennett fell for 17 at 27 for one after looking in prime form,

but this only brought in Andrew Hall to join Mark Makin. This second wicket pairing made batting look ridiculously easy, as the ball was repeatedly despatched to the boundary. Runs flowed at such a pace that a total well in excess of 250 looked to be a certainty. However, a heavy rain shower meant that seven overs were lost from the game. On the resumption, although Makin and Hall continued in fluent vein, captain Wood probably had a target in mind before declaring and leaving sufficient overs to bowl out the opposition. Hall (49) managed to top edge a long hop from Siebert to backward point at 136 for 2, 

but Wood himself seemed settled with Makin who was in imperious form.

Makin is a player who can make even experienced bowlers look like novices, and in this mood he reduced the home attack to almost despair. Even when Wood fell at 163 for 3, Tattenhall must have feared the worst as the belligerent Morgan joined in the carnage. However, the heights of 202 for 4 proved to be the end of the destruction. Inexplicably, Makin was bowled by the returning Wilson on 98. His anguish at missing out on a hundred was plain to see, and he can hardly have struck the ball better, with 14 fours and 3 sixes in this terrific knock.

 Did the Marple middle and lower order think the game was easy after watching the entertainment? Poor Jim Morgan (29) suddenly found himself off strike and the score 208 for 7!

When he perished trying to force the pace the fun and games were over.  Marple collapsed to 217 all out. For Tattenhall, Callum Wilson returned 6 for 46, a commendable effort, as he had to toil into a strong wind for his eleven overs. Although Marple had been bowled out, they still had the runs on the board, and 52 overs to bowl out the opposition.

Immediately after the resumption, a heavy shower lopped eight further overs from the game. However, with the Marple attack of Menzies and Wylie having to contend with a wet ball and also the strong wind, openers, Siebert and Henry Dobson appeared in little trouble. Menzies in particular struggled with his length, even with the wind behind. He either over pitched or served up some short and wide deliveries. With Wylie battling into the elements, the scoreboard began to rattle along, Siebert being in particularly good touch. With excellent running combined with the loose deliveries being put away, the hundred stand came up without loss. Fortunately for Marple, Andy Greasley settled into an accurate spell with the wind behind him. A smart caught and bowled did for Dobson (34), and Harding soon followed for only five at 116 for 2. The pressure was always on Siebert to keep up the run rate, as the middle order struggled for fluency.  Inevitably, he fell to a fine caught and bowled for 83 when Menzies returned into the wind at 160 for 5. When Joe Cash brought off a terrific catch at deep mid wicket to dismiss Sadler, the game was surely won for Marple? However, the Tattenhall lower order, particularly numbers ten and eleven, Johnson and veteran Mel Dobson had other ideas. Commendably, from 191 for 9, and with less than three overs remaining, they went for glory. Dobson memorably struck two superb cover drives off Menzies to keep his side in the hunt. However, Menzies had the last laugh, when with the first ball of the final over he caught and bowled Johnson. Marple edged it by just four runs. Menzies, paradoxically, bowling with more menace into the wind then with it had 6 for 62, and Greasley, who gave Wood control from one end, 3 for 50 from fifteen quality overs.

This win, the fourth in the last six games, keeps Marple climbing the Cheshire County League division one table.  Next week, they entertain Oulton Park at Bowden Lane with a 1.00pm start. 

Rain and bad light brought an early finish to a reduced overs game between the two clubs’ second elevens at Marple.  The home side batted fluently to reach 213 for 3 from 44 overs, with in form Andy Wild making 46, Tim Radford an excellent 75 and Jake Warner a classy 51 not out. A potentially good finish to the game was denied to the spectators as the elements closed in with Tattenhall on 131 for 3. Fourteen overs remained to be bowled.

On Sunday, Marple thirds lost by two wickets to Alderley Edge, after a ninth wicket stand of 60 brought the visitors the win. Marple, in club veteran Mike Booth’s final game, totalled 156 for 5 in 35 overs, the game having  started late due to rain. Booth shared a 100 opening stand with Lewis Braddock who made a terrific 80. Although Conor Bergin, with four wickets, and Albert Connor two, looked to have set Marple on the road to victory, it was not to be.

This game shows that the league may need to review it’s rules and regulations regarding Sunday cricket. Marple certainly had no quibble about the fact that they lost this game. However, Alderley turned up with only eight men for the start of the match, and then found themselves up to a full compliment as a number of players came along from the club’s second team that had been beaten in the semi finals of the second eleven T20 competition at Chester! How would they would have managed had their seconds made the final?  Also, one of their team was injured in the field, but did not feature on the batting card, his place being taken by another player at number eleven.

One is all for flexibility in Sunday cricket, but with no league officials present to umpire, the game is reliant on the trust and goodwill of both sides. This would not appear to be the case in this situation.