ELWORTH came within a whisker of a third successive win on Saturday, but Crewe's steely resolve brought up a hat-trick of consecutive draws .
The London Road side seemed certain to take all 25 Division One points when they were left with 11 overs to knock out the final pairing, but David Hurst (11 not out) and Martin Webb (21 not out) stood firm to grab a share of the spoils.
Batting first, Elworth had eight batsmen in double figures, but none went on to make a major impression. Wicketkeeper Tarek Alam (34) top scored.
Crewe sorely missed the unavailable Nick Lange and Jo Boyle, but professional Ranadeb Bose (5-76) returned his best bowling figures for the club. Tom Gower's spell of 3-19 helped reduce Elworth to 109-6 after Murray Ranger (26) and Kevin Underwood (25) had given them a decent platform.
A half century partnership between Matt Buckley (33 not out) and Alam moved the score on to a target of 181 all out.
Buckley picked up the first wicket with just six Crewe runs on the board. Paul Crompton and Jim Higgins then got in on the act to reduce Crewe to 55-6. But Mark Spencer and Matt Dawson (23) rallied to put on 41 for the seventh wicket. When Spencer (28) was removed by Buckley (2-30), followed by the dismissal of Chris Lange, Crewe were staring defeat in the face at 109-9.
The courageous display by Hurst and Webb saved the game and secured two extra batting points for their side as they closed on 151 for 9. Both teams earned nine points.
Also in Division One, Betley were just six runs short of victory at Wood Lane. The hosts batted first and posted 217-6(dec). The visitors made a gallant attempt to reach the target, with Simon Baskerville (32) and J Quatani (63) top scoring, but they ran out of time at 212-8.
In Division Two, Haslington's gamble to declare at 222-9 failed to pay off. Dean Bedson (30), Jonny Phipps and S Tandira (79) contributed well to the score. But hosts Caverswall powered to 226-7.
Weston also saw a decent target blown away. They declared on 235-6, with Mike Chester 34, Saad Wasim 92 not out, Simon Barratt 34 and A Shar 48 not out. But visitors Blythe were inspired by M Grimley (111 not out) as they reached 239-4. nSecond team scores - Division One: Betley 119ao Wood Lane 259-7; Elworth 217-2(dec) (Ross Kesteven 120 not out, Dan Brook 66) Crewe 79ao (James Gaskell 3-37, Dave Oldfield (3-34). Division Two: Blythe 135ao (A Collett 3-40, I Read 4-84) Weston 226-9(dec) (R Heal 80, R Newton 31, M Stockton 34); Haslington 151-7 (B Tomlinson 71 not out, J Clayton 33) Caverswall 148ao (D France 4-32). nElworth are through to the Talbot Shield quarter finals after disposing of Premier Division side Checkley.
Checkley were bowled out for just 138, as Dave Oldfield and James Gaskell picked up three wickets each. Elworth successfully chased 139 runs in just 13.5 overs with Ross Kesteven (62).
And the club's U13s are Cheshire champions after romping to a 36-run victory over Congleton at Holmes Chapel on Sunday.
Steve Morgan (33) and Jack Bamford (30) helped set a challenging target of 119-5 off their 20 overs. Bamford snapped up four wickets as Congleton's reply was restricted to 83-9.
