Morgan Calms Marple Nerves!

Marple 147 for 5 (37.3 overs) 25 points beat Widnes 144 for 9 (50 overs) 6 points by five wickets

A short unbeaten innings of confidence and class from Marple’s wicket keeper batsman, Jim Morgan, took Marple to an ultimately comfortable victory over promotion rivals Widnes at Bowden Lane last Saturday.

Paul Wood elected to field first on winning the toss against Widnes on a glorious September afternoon, the Marple ground looking an absolute picture. On such days batsmen used to like to have first knock and make hay in the sunshine. However, the modern way is to try and chase down a target, and also the newly laid Marple square has proved tough for bowlers to dismiss determined batsmen. It was all on the win for the home team. Anything else was of no use to Marple. Pat Morahan was right on target straight away, giving nothing away and passing the outside edge on a number of occasions.

His partner, Jack Grundy, was a little rusty but did produce a snorter to remove Widnes skipper Kirkby which came back and hit the stumps as the batsman shouldered arms at 4 for 1. The second wicket partnership between Burns and the league’s leading run scorer South African Marcus Fourie was now crucial. Fourie, in particular, put the loose deliveries away as Burns dug in for the long haul. They added 47 before Andy Greasley came up with a beauty to Fourie (28) who edged to Morgan, the wicket keeper taking a very smart catch. From this point onwards Marple assumed control of the game as Greasley, Morahan and Mudassar Phanchbhaya all bowled with excellent control and quality on what was a pretty good batting surface if a little on the slow side. Wickets fell at regular intervals, and when Jack Grundy returned for a second spell, he made up for his earlier inconsistency by taking three quick wickets. Marple’s young seamer has the very happy knack of taking wickets, and can remove good players with his ability to move the ball both ways. Although Burns battled to a determined half century (51), the Widnes batsmen were always on the back foot. A final total of 144 for 9 looked to be way under par. Grundy finished with a fine 4 for 40 and Morahan a very testing 3 for 31. They were given first class support from Greasley 1 for 31, Mudasser 1 for 16 from seven overs, and Ed Saxelby 0 for 21. Although a couple of chances went down, Paul Wood took a couple of steeplers and keeper Morgan had an excellent afternoon behind the stumps with two catches and several fine takes.

By the interval a goodish crowd had assembled and looked forward to a comfortable run chase from the home side with no real pressure on to score quickly. Widnes needed wickets, and Kirkby threw his trump card in straight away, asking Fourie, with over fifty wickets this season, to open up with his testing slow left arm spin. This has been a mode of attack that has caused Marple trouble in recent seasons, there being a number of good proponents of the art in the top two divisions. However, Fourie could not find a consistent length, and Andrew Hall dispatched a couple of boundaries in the opening over, Makin doing similar in Fourie’s second over. The experiment was jettisoned, and with the Widnes seamers also struggling with line and length, Marple’s top class opening pair entertained spectators to some gorgeous strokeplay. Makin was more about power, not being afraid to clear the infield, whereas Hall relied more on finesse, producing a number of delicate late cuts for four. It looked odds on a ten wicket victory as 91 runs containing 16 boundaries came up with relative ease. Now Fourie became the last throw of the dice as Kirkby threw him the ball for a last effort. Immediately Hall was adjudged lbw for a quality 45. This seemed to inspire second change bowler Keen who found consistency at the pavilion end. Makin, after cruising to 40, appeared to lose his timing a little and fell also lbw to Keen at 93 for 2. Fourie now had the ball on a string, with Crisall and Wood both departing at 105. Two new batsmen were now in, both on nought, and Widnes, after being thoroughly outplayed, were suddenly back in the game. As a batsman this season, Jim Morgan has had limited opportunites, mainly in part due to the success of the other top order players. However, he is a player off class and ability. He also has a fine temperament, which he showed earlier this season when making a match winning 77 not out against Upton.

These same qualities were evident again today. With a determined Will Darby bedding in at the other end, the fifth wicket partnership eased any worries the watching players and spectators might have had. Morgan is brutal in despatching anything loose, and when Keen fatally dropped short, he was hammered away. With this stroke, the Widnes spell was broken, and the winning runs were gathered in untroubled fashion. Sadly Darby (6) was given out lbw with two runs needed, but he did a fine job, solid in defence, in support of Morgan. A powerful cover drive from Morgan (31 not out) brought up a dominant win against what was a strangely subdued Widnes team. Fourie came back well with a second spell of 3 for 17 from ten testing overs. This gave him a final analysis of 3 for 31. Keen was good in support with 2 for 30 from nine overs.

Marple are up to third in the league, and are in control, weather permitting, of their own destiny this season. They face the long trip to Wirral side Upton next Saturday with a 12.30pm start.

Although Marple’s second eleven toiled hard, they were well beaten by 107 runs at Didsbury’s Wilmslow road ground on Saturday. Didsbury skipper Qasim elected to bat first and saw his side rattle up 217 for 5 at tea. Qasim himself hit a fine 74, and Tubby (41) and Hussain (45) then punished some tired bowling in support. Matthew Shelton showed his class to record 2 for 32 from fifteen overs for Marple, and Max Fitzgerald chipped in with two late wickets with his promising leg spin.

The Marple reply struggled to get going faced with scoreboard pressure. Stewart Bass with 45 and seven fours played a valiant innings, and he added 30 with David Brook (18) for the sixth wicket. From 84 for 6, the end was not long coming though, and Marple ended 108 all out for the second week in succession.

This has been a hard season for the seconds, with injuries and unavailability. Indeed, skipper George Clarke is out for the rest of the season after having a bone in his hand broken against Chester last week. They are at home for the final two games of the season, starting with Upton next week, and are, like the first eleven, in control of their fate if at the other end of the table.

Marple thirds, under Greg Marsland’s excellent leadership brought their season to an end with a rain afftected draw at Didsbury on Sunday. Didsbury made 136 for 5 in 25 overs, and Marple replied with 126 for 9 after being 99 for3. Tom Travis, 45, and Will Travis, 27, added 79 for the third wicket to give Marple a sniff of victory, but in the late chase for runs, wickets fell quickly. The team retain their status in the Sunday third eleven premier league as a result of this drawn game.