ALVANLEY clinched a last-over victory against OAKMERE in an exciting match which could have gone either way.
Alvanley had no hesitation inviting lowly Oakmere to bat first on what looked a fantastic track, confident that they could chase whatever the visitors posted.
Mark Leadbetter was asked to open the bowling in an inspired decision by skipper Chris Fletcher, and his first five overs went for only two runs and that looked like a 'no shot' off the batsman's thighpad. Leadbetter deservedly picked up the first wicket of Jones, whom he tormented and then put out of his misery!
At the other end, Oakmere captain Paul Yearsley hammered Greg Erasmus for six fours off his five overs, which was harsh on the youngster who bowled some terrific deliveries and conceded no other runs than these boundaries.
Erasmus was replaced by Andy Senior who applied the brakes, bowling nine overs for just 19 runs, combining first with Leadbetter, who's spell delivered 1-15 off nine overs, then Andy Donohue, who removed the dangerous Yearsley, caught for 48. Oakmere were reluctant to force singles and so were struggling at 77-2 off 30 overs. Donohue bowled his left-arm spin to the end of the innings finishing with 3-43 off 13 overs.
At the other end, Peter Pearce bowled three tidy overs for nine runs and was followed by Phil Jones, who was returning after a three-week absence due to work commitments. Jones suffered the wrath of Paul Gilford at the death, being hit for 17 off his last over. but it looked too little too late as the innings closed at just 161-4 off 45 overs.
Alvanley's teenage opening batsmen Cei Sanderson and Andy Donohue put on 84 for the first wicket but were both out in consecutive overs, leaving their team-mates 75 more runs to score in just 14 overs.
Glen Pickersgill came and went for eight, which meant Alvanley needed 52 off the last 10 overs. Senior and Pearce combined well and although they raised the pulse of the remaining batsmen with only three runs off overs 39 to 41, they responded well until Pearce was caught in the last over for 10, returning Senior on strike with four deliveries left and the home side still needing three to win.
Senior drove the fourth ball for two and as the field came in, he smashed his seventh boundary to bring his own half century and win the game.
Alvanley seconds fell to defeat at Oakmere, whose opening batsman Ian Morgan carried his bat for 90 and guided his side to 172-8.
In reply, with five batsmen out for ducks, the last six wickets fell for just six runs against the tidy bowling of Gibson (3-13) and Cushion (5-15) as Alvanley closed 55 all out.
MALPAS had a four-wickets success at Run-corn where Paul Bradley's 3-17 was the pick of the bowling in the home side's total of 192-7 declared.
Malpas were undaunted by a challenging target and Stuart Mason (39), Simon Hopper (36) and Dave Hunt (45no) were the main contributors to their victory.
The seconds posted an impressive 232-7 (Andy Price 59, Richard Pauson 59, Ian Rees 38, Eddie Barlow 30), but Runcorn held out with a total of 191-8.
Malpas first are at home to Alvanley tomorrow.
BARROW suffered a shock defeat to bottom club Chelford but managed to hold on to their lead in Division Three
After winning the toss, Barrow decided to bowl first and the Chelford openers built a solid start with the South African Zamah looking dangerous, before being dismissed by Mal Barrow for 32.
With Chris Cowell bowling a tight and accurate spell of spin bowling, the run rate slowed until the Chelford number-four bat entered the game with some aggressive hitting.
With the score on 103-3 after 29 overs, Chelford were aiming for a big total. Captain Gareth Pawlett took the risk of introducing spin bowling from both ends, bringing on Phil Noble. This proved an inspired decision as the Chelford batsman found this tactic more difficult to score from.
With both Cowell and Noble taking wickets, the Chelford innings finished on 165-8. All the bowlers deserved more luck, with Noble having the best figures of 4-20 off eight overs.
Noble and Hulme were dismissed without scoring in reply, but an aggressive 40 from Peter Balac helped restore order.
Despite an excellent run rate, the Barrow batsman failed to establish any meaningful partnerships, losing wickets with great regularity. At 98-8 after only 24 overs, the situation looked hopeless.
At this point, Dave Downham started to bat in a manner that had been previously forgotten and started to build an innings by playing straight and dismissing the bad ball. A useful partnership was beginning to develop with Dave Ellwood, before an unfortunate mix-up and a good throw meant he was run out.
With only one wicket remaining and 50 runs required, the game appeared a lost cause. This was not in Downham's mind as he established a partnership with the very capable Cowell.
In a tense session, these batsmen batted with great control and purpose before a harsh lbw decision ended the Barrow hopes with only eight runs needed. IT WAS heartache for Cheshire on Tuesday as they suffered a batting collapse on the last day of their Minor Counties tussle with Shropshire at Whitchurch and were beaten by six wickets.
Having been well-placed at 140-3 overnight, with opener Alexis Twigg unbeaten on 88, Andy Hall and his side were confident of putting in a good batting display on the final day.
