Marple 139 for 5 (31.3 overs) 25 points beat Bramhall 136 all out (47.1 overs) 4 points by five wickets
A match winning innings of 57 from Marple’s stylish left hander Mark Bennett, guided the home side to a comprehensive victory over near neighbours Bramhall on a glorious early June afternoon at Bowden Lane. This, after a very solid performance in the field, the home attack, led by Jack Grundy and Joe Cash, doing an excellent job in dismissing the visitors for a below par total.
The Marple ground was in superb condition, the outfield super quick, and the pitch had a lightish brown appearance. It looked as though batting first was going to be a big advantage, and Bramhall’s experienced skipper Nick Cantello had no hesitation in taking first knock on winning the toss. However, despite openers Clark and Dixon getting the ball away to the boundary early on, both Grundy and Andy Wylie bowled testing spells. The duo each picked up a wicket, and of the top order, only Rishi Kannah (34) at three, appeared secure. The out of touch line up was never on top of Marple’s accurate attack, and only Ryan Macchiocchi with 35, low in the order at number eight, showed the necessary application. The pitch was not the proverbial “shirt front” it appeared, but played progressively easier as the afternoon wore on.
For Marple, Jack Grundy once more bowled an excellent spell. He had to be watched at all times, being quick enough, and also finding movement away from the right handers. Wylie was accurate, and when Joe Cash was introduced at the pavilion end, he was once more right on the mark, rattling through his overs in quick tempo and causing problems mainly with flight and guile. When Grundy was rested, George Clarke gave good support to Cash, despite being wicketless. His eight overs cost just eleven runs. Macchiocchi, famous for having the very rare feature of two double “c’s” in his surname, was last out, run out by an excellent throw from Max Fitzgerald. Grundy finished with 4 for 44 from 15 overs, Cash had 4 for 37 and Wylie 1 for 24. Morgan, back behind the stumps, pouched three safe catches.
Against the youthful attack of Latter and Anson, Marple openers Crisall and Morgan, both looked in decent order, although the lively Latter delivered a fine spell. Quicker than he looks, and with a smooth and easy action, the batsmen could take no liberties with him. Once again, it was Crisall’s (14) first error that caused his downfall when at 20 when he tried to cut a ball from Latter that was too close to him, and was taken behind by Dixon. This brought in Mark Bennett, in only his second innings of the season. He was the one batsman in the game to show real fluency. He settled immediately, playing some glorious strokes with a mixture of timing and power. The threat of first change bowler, the quality left arm spinner Macchiocchi was nullified straight away. A huge six, deposited out of the ground, saw him removed from the attack after three overs cost him 22 runs. Skipper Morgan, whilst happy to play second fiddle to Bennett, played some fine strokes in his own right, and the second wicket added 72 trouble free and entertaining runs in quick time.
At 92 for one, it looked as though a nine wicket win was on the cards, but Morgan mistimed a drive to second spinner Webb, and was caught at point for 29. It would then not have been Marple if they had not given their supporters some anxious moments. Paul Wood and Mark Makin, both yet to fire this season, fell for six apiece, and there were suddenly some nervous lower order batters on the Marple balcony. However, another huge six from Bennett, this time a hook off the returning Latter, eased the tension. Latter did produce probably the ball of the day though, when he castled Bennett with an absolute trimmer at 127 for 5.
There were no further alarms for Marple as Fitzgerald, 4 not out, and Ramsey 8 not out saw Marple home with 20 overs remaining. The impressive Latter finished with with 3 for 31 for Bramhall.
This was certainly a very welcome and much needed first victory in this rain affected season for Marple, and should boost their confidence. Next Saturday, they visit Macclesfield, another side who have also had a difficult beginning so far, 12.00 noon start.
Marple seconds were defeated by nine wickets by a very strong Toft second eleven at Toft’s picturesque and superb venue. Missing the two in form batsmen Barrow and Schofield, Marple battled hard to reach 152 all out in the 49th over. A number of batsmen got starts, but were unable to go on to the big individual score. Sam Stretton, 32, Lewis Braddock, 23, Connor Bergin, 22, were Marple’s top scorers, as the Toft bowlers shared the wickets evenly.
After the tea interval, home openers Scott Craig, 83, and Dave Blackburn, 50 not out, shared a century plus stand, only being separated when James Hirst, the seventh bowler to be used, bowled Craig. The Marple bowlers did not bowl badly by any means, but as is often the case at this ground, home knowledge counts for a lot. On the Sky TV commentary last season, former Ireland international Niall O’Brien described the Toft pitch as the proverbial “road” when discussing the merits of Toft and Lancashire batsman Rob Jones. O’Brien had batted on the surface himself when playing for Nantwich.
A terrific game of third team cricket saw Marple narrowly defeat Bredbury by just three runs at Bowden Lane on Sunday. Marple posted what looked to be a match winning 184 for 6 in their 40 overs, with run machine Will Darby 50 and Ed Saxelby 33 the top scorers. Bredbury chased all the way down the batting card, being all out for a valiant 181. Chris Lloyd 3 for 31, Ed Saxelby 2 for 29 and Tom Chalmers 2 for 39 did a fine job for the home side.
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