A brutal assault on the bowling by Oulton Park’s powerful all rounder Tom Hyslop took this crucial game away from Marple at scenic Little Budworth in rural Cheshire. This, after they had put the home side under real pressure, chiefly through a penetrative and hostile spell from paceman Liam Brown.
A brisk south westerly wind kept the rain at bay for this lower half of the table clash. On winning the toss, Jim Morgan inserted the home team under leaden skies, and in the hope that his young opening seam attack of Brown and Jack Grundy could make early inroads. Brown, in particular, was a handful for the Park line up. Cheshire skipper Danny Leech was bowled for a duck, and although the imposing Martyn East struck a couple of huge sixes, he soon hit a mistimed drive to mid off, where Max Fitzgerald took a smart catch. At 24 for 2, Marple had the upper hand. Matt Jamieson looked in good order, but after he was struck a painful blow by Brown, his early fluency deserted him. Latham was also struck on the body by Brown, before he edged to keeper Morgan who took a brilliant catch off Grundy at 49 for 3. Ward soon followed in similar fashion to the bowling of Brown for 5 at 54 for 4. The pitch was not unplayable, but had some variable bounce, and there was movement off the seam for all the bowlers.
Hyslop entered the fray at this point, and the remainder of the innings was dominated by him. Jamieson (25), not the same after being laid low, gave Morgan his third catch behind at 77 for 5. Brown had 4 for 41 at this point. Paul Wood, after a loose long hop first ball which was carved over backward point for four by Hyslop, now bowled a canny spell when he replaced Grundy who had supported Brown well with 1 for 30. He nipped in with three quick wickets, and Brown accounted for the free scoring Ben Gibbon to leave Park in tatters at 106 for 9. Hyslop now sensed his moment. He had dealt mainly in boundaries, powerfully driving anything loose, but now upped the ante. It was Brown, now tiring somewhat who suffered mainly under this assault. Number eleven Harry Newton gave stout support, blocking assiduously, as Hyslop flayed the ball to all parts. When he was finally bowled by Wood for 77 attempting a sixth maximum, his Park side were well above par on a tricky surface. Hyslop smote five sixes and nine fours, not being too bothered with singles! The last wicket stand of 47 was the highest of the entire match, and it was an enthusiastic home support that welcomed their hero back to the pavilion. Brown suffered towards the end, and he was obviously fatigued. He ended with 5 for 81. Paul Wood weighed in with a very handy 4 for 27. Jim Morgan also had the rare feat of five catches behind the stumps.
Marple’s reply never threatened this total. Ben Gibbon, the young left arm quick bowler, was encouraged to hit just short of a good length. His accuracy, no doubt grooved in the Old Trafford nets, was a real problem for Marple. With the ball inconsistent in bounce, run scoring proved nigh on impossible. Gibbon has played for Lancashire’s second team, and has also performed well for Cheshire this season. However, it was East who picked up the first two wickets. Morgan fretted during his short stay, and after hitting a straight six off East to get off the mark, he mistimed a pull to be comfortably caught by keeper Kettle running towards square leg. Wood was yorked soon afterwards, and at 6 for 2, and the bowling tight and hostile, victory looked a very long shot.
Marple’s only partnership of note came from Mark Makin (30) and Mike Schofield (16). They added 45 to take Marple to 73 for 4. Max Fitzgerald had earlier once again shown promise in making 12, but got a little ahead of himself, hitting a return catch to East. When Gibbon returned for a second spell, he was far too much for Marple’s lower order, and Hyslop also picked up three wickets along the way with his skiddy medium pace. Gibbon polished off the tail in short order to finish with 4 for 14 from 11 overs. Medium pacers East and Hyslop had 3 for 27 and 3 for 16 respectively in solid support.
Marple are now in a precarious position in the Cheshire County League, remaining second from bottom with five games remaining. Toft, the side just above them, visit Bowden Lane next Saturday with a 12.30pm start.
Marple seconds were also soundly beaten by a strong Oulton Park second eleven at Bowden Lane. In a rain reduced game, Park reached an excellent 180 for 8 declared in 38 overs. Andy Mills 45, Jimmy Guest 52 and Owen Williamson 39 had the upper hand, but Joel Greasley 4 for 40, Sam Stretton 2 for 30 and Greg Marsland 1 for 34 did well for Marple. Off spinner Connor Bergin was wicketless in his 0 for 38 from ten overs, but had to treated with respect by the batsmen.
Although four of Marple’s top five got good starts, reaching the teens and the twenties, no player was able to stay around long enough to mount an attempt at victory. Bergin stubbornly held on with 7 not out, but Richard Smith 4 for 11, and veteran seamer Andy Hards 3 for 9 always had Marple under control. A curious feature of this game was the decision to use a junior size boundary on one side of the ground. The Marple ground is a large one, and the pitch was centrally located. This oddity could not aid Marple in their victory quest though, and 105 all out was a disappointment. The side are still in good shape in the league though, despite a couple of tough defeats against the top two teams.
It was a triple defeat weekend for Marple as the thirds also succumbed at Sale last Sunday. Viraj Sorathia with 107 not out, carried his bat as Sale reached an imposing 192 for 6. There was a terrific debut for Marple though from U15 player Adam Garside. He took a fantastic 4 for 30 to remove the Sale middle order. In reply Marple could only muster 112 all out. Lewis Braddock, with 34, once again impressed, and Jonny Monk continued his improvement with a gutsy 18 coming in at number 9. The wickets were shared amongst the Sale bowlers.
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