! Keeping you connected …

2016 OCTOBER DINNER NEWSLETTER ! Geoff Miller returns to standing ovation ONE of Cheshire’s best-known former players Geoff Miller OBE proved to be one of the finest speakers of recent years at the League’s 42nd annual Presentation Dinner at The Mere on Friday, October 7. Addressing a league audience for the third time – he did so previously in 1985 at the Cresta Court, Altrincham and in 2003 at Mere, Geoff enraptured the240-strong assembly with wonderful tales of his times playing for Derbyshire, Essex and England, for whom he gained 36 caps between 1976 and 1984. Appointed OBE in 2011 after becoming the first England National selector, Geoff, now 64, dealt hilariously with his ‘mostly modest’ contributions to the game, starting with a duck on his debut for Derbyshire against Lancashire at snowbound Buxton in 1975 He played four seasons with Cheshire from 1991-94 and was appointed a life member for services which brought 907 runs and 153 wickets. Saying how much he had enjoyed a career spanning more than 40 years, the Chesterfield man introduced a serious note when he praised the work being done in the game’s grass roots such as in Cheshire. ‘Our wonderful game’ must be maintained He said: “You good people here are what cricket is all about. You must help maintain our great sport in schools and clubs, through the Minor Counties and into the first-class game. I am told your clubs in Cheshire are helping young players graduate into county cricket, so you are obviously doing your bit.” Geoff Miller earned a standing ovation from an audience drawn from all clubs in the league except absentees Alvanley, Cheadle, Congleton and Middlewich. Short addresses were given by Adam Worrall, captain of Premier League champions Alderley Edge and Ian Millington, retiring chairman of Bramhall, who won the T20 tournament and Fair Play award. Guests were welcomed from the Cheshire County Club, Cheshire Cricket League, Cheshire Alliance and from the principal sponsors, VIVIO, who boisterously filled a table of 10. Eight special team and individual awards were presented, all listed on later pages of the Newsletter. An additional presentation was made to Wyn Talbot-Butler marking her 40 years’ work as Results secretary. A cheer was raised when it was announced that Nantwich’s Ian Strachan had scored his 400th game for Nantwich. There were 21 team trophies presented from the stage by President John Bygate. The event was organised by League secretary Geoff Wellsteed, with Rob Sproston serving as MC. DINNER NEWSLETTER: p2 ! PLAYERS OF YEAR Chris Ashling is Premiership’s top man TOP wicket-taker in the ECB Premier League, Bowdon paceman CHRIS ASHLING received the Keith Belford Memorial Trophy as Player of the Year at the dinner. Former Glamorgan paceman Ashling took 62 wickets at 12.03 to garner 25 per cent of the 132 votes polled by players from all 12 clubs. Second place with 14 per cent of votes was 2015 winner Rob Jones, of Toft, who topped the batting averages with 767 runs at 95.88 and distinguished himself by scoring his maiden first class century for Lancashire against Middlesex at Old Trafford in August. Third spot went to the division’s leading run-scorer Ric Moore of Chester Boughton Hall !with a 12 per cent vote. Ric scored 966 runs at 56.82 including four centuries. DIVISION 1 AWARD FOR DANNY LEECH OULTON Park batsman DANNY LEECH was presented with the First Division Player of the Year’s Mark Alcroft Trophy. A one-club man Danny scored 833 runs at 55.53 to win 26 per cent of a maximum return of 132 votes from all 12 clubs. Second was Didsbury’s Simon Normanton with 14 pc support, his fine all-round return being 434 runs and 43 wickets. Didsbury skipper Nick Anderson was third with 11 pc cent of the votes, playing a key role in steering his club to the title with an all-round return of 512 runs and 34 wickets.

Alexander Jordan Hart gets Div. 2 prize BROOKLANDS captain and all-rounder ALEXANDER JORDAN (‘Call me A.J.’) HART won the Mike Talbot-Butler Statuette as Division 2 Player of the Year. With 10 of the 12 clubs voting, AJ gained 27 per cent support, scoring 349 runs and taking 44 wickets to help his club move up sharply to fourth place in the table. With 20 pc of the votes, runner-up was Sri Lankan-born all-rounder Iro De Silva, who scored 628 runs and took 47 wickets to help Barrow finish mid-table in their first season. Another of the League’s new clubs, Lindow, produced the third-placed player in Scott Howarth, whose 40 wickets earned him 9 pc of the votes. The voting invigilator this year was 1st XI Competition secretary Ian Sharrock.

Henry Dobson is number one Young Player HENRY DOBSON was given leave of absence from Denstone College in Staffordshire to attend the dinner and receive the John North Young Player of the Year award. Aged 16, Henry did his best for relegated Tattenhall in Division One, scoring 446 runs at an average of 23.47, including two fifties. Regarded as one of the region’s brightest young batsmen, Henry made his Minor Counties debut for Cheshire in July after appearing in all the county’s age group team since 2010. His father Melvyn, a former Tattenhall chairman, spent many hours last summer driving Henry to play for Leicestershire where he enjoyed an Academy contract, but will have less travelling to do in 2017 as Henry has been awarded a place at the Lancashire Academy. Formerly a pupil at Bishops Heber High School, Malpas where he was Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and 2014, Henry played in the Bunbury Festival in 2015, helping the North of England team win the T20 tournament. He moved to Denstone College after being awarded a two years sports scholarship. He also enjoys playing football, table tennis, lawn tennis and badminton. !DINNER NEWSLETTER: p3 Widnes are Most Improved club CLEAR winners of the Henderson Rose Bowl as Most Improved Club of the Year were WIDNES. Chairman Andy Atkin collected their trophy at the dinner, his club having improved their 1st and 2nd XI placings to win both Division Two titles last summer with unmatchable points tallies of 426 and 429 points respectively This also earned them the Aggregate title – the Sandy Scrimgeour Memorial Bowl, which was presented by Elise Scrimgeour at the dinner. With Chris Kirby and Tim Wearden captaining their two teams, Widnes also improved their placings in the Fair Play, pitch and outfield tables Other clubs mentioned for all-round improvement were Upton, whose 1st and 2nd XIs both !gained promotion, were Alderley Edge, Neston and Grappenhall, Stockport and Didsbury. AGGREGATE TABLE (1st & 2nd XI pts. combined)

!PLACING & CLUB 1st XI pts. 2nd XI pts. Total pts. 2015 placing (+ or - ) 1. WIDNES 426 (Div. 2 ch) 429 (Div. 2 ch) 855 10 +9 2. OULTON PARK 367 416 783 6 +4 3. UPTON 382 385 (Div. 1 ch) 767 5 +2 4. DIDSBURY 402 (Div. 2 ch) 358 766 18 +14 5. GRAPPENHALL 399 353 752 31 +26 6. ALDERLEY EDGE 386 (Prem ch) 327 713 13 +7 7. NESTON 275 415 (Prem ch) 695 23 +16 8. BOLLINGTON 291 377 668 15 +7 10. HYDE 340 305 645 4 -6 11. CHESTER B.HALL 331 304 635 3 -8 12. BOWDON 361 264 625 24 +12 13. NANTWICH 242 369 611 2 -11 14=STOCKPORT 318 267 585 29 +15 14=WEAVERHAM 332 253 585 8 -6 16. BROOKLANDS 315 251 566 26 +10 17. SALE 317 248 565 17 level 18. ALVANLEY 261 287 548 25 +7 19. DAVENHAM 283 263 546 9t -10 20. LINDOW 245 289 534 - - 21. TOFT 249 278 527 12 -9 22. TIMPERLEY 246 279 525 1 -21 23. BRAMHALL 266 258 524 30 +7 24. CONGLETON 198 297 495 34 +11 25. MACCLESFIELD 242 275 517 19 -6 26. NORTHWICH 274 236 510 27 +1 27. MARPLE 269 229 498 28 +1 28. OXTON 242 255 497 22 -6 29. CONGLETON 198 297 495 34 +5 28. WARRINGTON 201 263 464 11 -17 29. CHEADLE 274 179 453 21 -8 30. TATTENHALL 157 227 384 7 -23 31. CHEADLE HULME 178 192 370 14 -17 32. CHRISTLETON 276 75 351 33 +1 33. URMSTON 141 176 317 16 -17 34. MIDDLEWICH 138 160 298 36 +3 Barrow 1st, Mobberley 1st, Ashton on Mersey 2nd and Bredbury St. Mark’s 2nd all fielded one team in the league and do not qualify. !DINNER NEWSLETTER: p4 T20 champions Bramhall top Fair Play rankings LEAGUE T20 champions and ECB National finalists BRAMHALL finished top of the Fair Play table and received the Eddie Howard Memorial Trophy at Friday’s dinner. In 2015, they had been placed equal 30th with a low mark of 3.70. With a return of 4.03 this time, Bramhall were the only club to average more than 4 (maximum 5) finishing narrowly ahead of four joint runners-up Chester Boughton Hall, relegated Congleton, Mobberley and Upton. John Lofthouse, who assembles umpires’ reports on players’ behaviour throughout the !season, points out that six Premier League clubs figure in the bottom 10. ! How they ‘faired’ … The final table, with average marks, is as follows: 1. 4.03 BRAMHALL 2= 3.99 CHESTER BOUGHTON HALL, CONGLETON, MOBBERLEY, UPTON 6= 3.97 ALVANLEY, BARROW 8= 3.96 BROOKLANDS, CHEADLE, NESTON, WARRINGTON 12= 3.95 MARPLE, TATTENHALL, WIDNES 15= 3.93 ALDERLEY EDGE, MIDDLEWICH, SALE 18= 3.91 LINDOW, STOCKPORT 20= 3.90 BOLLINGTON, CHRISTLETON, NANTWICH 23. 3.88 GRAPPENHALL 24= 3.86 CHEADLE HULME, OULTON PARK, OXTON 27. 3.85 TOFT 28. 3.84 DAVENHAM 29. 3.82 BOWDON 30. 3.80 DIDSBURY 31. 3.78 HYDE 32 3.76 NORTHWICH 33. 3.74 MACCLESFIELD 34. 3.73 WEAVERHAM 35. 3.70 URMSTON 36. 3.59 TIMPERLEY O Joint Fair Play winners in 2015 were relegated Bredbury St Mark’s and Cheadle, with an average mark of 3.98. At the foot of the table then at 3.57 were Chester Boughton Hall and Davenham .

GARY ZIMMER IS UMPIRE OF YEAR WINNER of the Terry Hill Memorial Trophy as the League’s Umpire of the Year, GARY ZIMMER received the Terry Hill Memorial Trophy at the dinner. Reading born, Gary moved to Cheshire through marriage and began umpiring for Middlewich 2nd when his son joined that club. He volunteered for the League panel in 2012 and after passing his Level One and Two examinations, was upgraded to the Premier League supplementary panel in 2014 and the full list a year later. Gary has continued to receive high marks and was this season chosen to stand in the Cheshire !Cup final between Hyde and Elworth at Werneth Low. !DINNER NEWSLETTER: p5 Oxton have best pitch and outfield OXTON had the best PITCH and OUTFIELD marks last season, according to reports submitted by panel umpires and stats drawn up by Grounds chairman John Bygate. The Wirral club enjoyed an average mark of 18.64 from 11 First Division games at Townfield Lane, improving on a figure in 2015. They were closely followed by Chester Boughton Hall on 18.56, followed by 2015 winners Christleton, 18.38 and Oulton Park, 18.14. At the foot of the table were Northwich with a mark of 15.20, topped narrowly by relegated Congleton, 15.40, Oxton repeated their 2015 feat by heading the Outfield table with an even higher average mark of 19.91. They were followed by Grappenhall on 19.82 and Christleton and Hyde, both 19.75. At the foot of the table were Bollington on 15.78, Cheadle Hulme, 16.57 and Lindow 16.89 John Bygate says: “Almost all clubs made big efforts to produce pitches and outfields of the highest order and while pitch figures were generally down on 2015 this was due to the wet summer. No fewer than 30 clubs improved their outfield marks”. He added: “We remain fortunate in Cheshire to have such fine grounds and groundsmen, but I urge clubs not to be complacent and for those at the foot of the table to re double their efforts to improve”. PITCH MARKS (varying number of reports indicates many matches cancelled/abandoned/wet) CLUB Reports Average 2015 average & + or - 1. OXTON 11 18.64 18.11 + 2. CHESTER BO. HALL 7 18.57 18.80 - 3. CHRISTLETON 8 18.38 18.82 - 4. OULTON PARK 7 18.14 18.40 - 5. GRAPPENHALL 11 17.91 18.50 - 6. ALVANLEY 7 17.71 18.55 - 7= SALE 9 17.67 17.90 - 7= URMSTON 9 17.67 17.90 - 9. BOWDON 8 17.50 15.56 + 10=MOBBERLEY 7 17.43 16.40 no change 10=UPTON 7 17.43 16.40 + 12. HYDE 9 17.33 17.30 + 13=TATTENHALL 10 17.20 17.71 - 13=WEAVERHAM 10 17.20 18.00 - 15=BARROW 8 17.13 - does not apply 15=WIDNES 8 17.13 16.89 + 17=ALDERLEY EDGE 9 17 17.30 - 17=DAVENHAM 9 17 16.20 + 17=NANTWICH 9 17 16.91 + 17=WARRINGTON 6 17 17.11 - 21. STOCKPORT 9 16.89 17.60 - 22= MACCLESFIELD 8 16.88 17.20 - 22=TOFT 8 16.88 17.44 - 24. MIDDLEWICH 8 16.75 17.55 - 25. DIDSBURY 9 16.67 17.22 - 26. NESTON 11 16.64 17.27 - 27. MARPLE 5 16.60 17.44 - 28. LINDOW 9 16.56 - does not apply 29. TIMPERLEY 7 16.43 16.11 + 30. BRAMHALL 8 16.25 16 + 31. BOLLINGTON 9 15.89 17.20 - 32. CHEADLE HULME 7 15.71 16.50 - 33. CHEADLE 8 15.63 16.22 - 34. BROOKLANDS 10 15.60 16.22 - 35. CONGLETON 10 15.40 15.91 - 36. NORTHWICH 10 15.20 17.60 - !DINNER NEWSLETTER: p6 ! ! OUTFIELD MARKS Reports Average 2015 avge. + or - 1. OXTON 11 19.91 18.11 + 2. GRAPPENHALL 11 19.82 18.50 + 3= CHRISTLETON 8 19.75 18.82 + 3= HYDE 8 19.75 17.30 + 5. NESTON 11 19.64 17.27 + 6. TATTENHALL 8 19.63 17.71 + 7. NANTWICH 9 19.56 16.91 + 8. STOCKPORT 9 19.44 17.60 + 9= ALVANLEY 7 19.43 18.55 + 9= CHESTER B.H. 7 19.43 18.80 + 9= URMSTON 8 19.43 17.90 + 12. MIDDLEWICH 8 19.00 17.55 + 13. BOWDON 6 18.83 15.56 + 14. MARPLE 5 18.80 17.44 + 15=ALDERLEY EDGE 9 18.78 17.30 + 15=DIDSBURY 9 18.78 17.22 + 17. BARROW 8 18.75 - does not apply 18. OULTON PARK 7 18.71 18.40 + 19= DAVENHAM 9 18.67 16.20 + 19= TOFT 9 18.67 17.44 + 21= MOBBERLEY 8 18.50 18.00 + 21= WEAVERHAM 10. 18.50 18.00 + 23. TIMPERLEY 7 18.14 16.11 + 24. BRAMHALL 9 18.11 16.00 + 25=CHEADLE 7 18.00 16.22 + 25=WIDNES 8 18.00 16.89 + 27= UPTON 7 17.71 16.40 + 27=WARRINGTON 7 17.71 17.11 + 29. CONGLETON 10 17.70 15.91 + 30= BROOKLANDS 10 17.50 16.33 + 30=NORTHWICH 10 17.50 17.60 - 32. MACCLESFIELD 6 17.33 17.20 + 33 SALE 9 17.22 18.33 - 34. LINDOW 9 17.22 - does not apply 35. CHEADLE HULME 7 16.57 16.50 + !36. BOLLINGTON 9 15.78 127.20 -

Players of Month for July, August & September AWARDS for the Best Individual Performance of the Month for July and also for August & September were presented by League chairman David Humpage at Friday’s dinner. The July prize went to Northwich off-spinner ANDREW DUFTY, who took 9-14 in a Division Two game against Stockport on July 23. These were the best figures of the season in any division and the best by a Northwich 1st XI player in the league’s history. Winner of the August & September award was Chester Boughton Hall all-rounder WARREN GOODWIN who produced the superb all-round figures of 114, then 5-4 including a hat-trick, in a Premier League match against Urmston on August 6. The awards provided by Joseph Holt Brewery took the form of framed certificates and packs !of the company’s best beer. DINNER NEWSLETTER: p7 ! LEADING 1st XI AVERAGES (top 10 in each category)

ECB Premier League: BATTING Qualification: 10 innings, average 25 (o = overseas! player) Inns N.o. Runs Hst Avge. 50s 100s R. JONES (Toft) 12 4 767 165 95.88 4 3 o N. BERTUS (Macclesfield) 16 3 781 121* 60.08 6 1 J. DUFFY (Hyde) 15 4 640 112* 58.18 1 4 R. MOORE (Chester Bo. Hall) 19 2 966 156 56.82 5 4 W. GOODWIN (Chester Bo. Hall) 19 2 874 121 51.41 3 4 oD. McKAY (Bramhall) 16 1 768 152 51.20 3 3 D. LAMB (Bramhall) 16 1 674 139* 44.93 6 1 oM. CLARK (Toft) 17 1 714 129 44.63 5 2 G. DIXON (Cheadle) 17 2 629 115* 41.93 2 3 S. STOKES (Neston) 15 3 501 95* 41.75 0 5 NOTES: O A total of 35 batsman qualified, 17 scoring 500 runs or more. O There were 34 centuries scored; most by Chester Boughton Hall’s Rick Moore & Warren Goodwin, both 4. O Highest run-scorer was Rick Moore (Chester Boughton Hall), 966 O Highest individual score was Rob Jones (Toft), 165 v Chester. O Best partnership was 225 for the first wicket between Warren Goodwin (121) and Rick Moore (115no) for Chester BH v Bramhall. O Highest team total: Toft 372-6 v Chester BH. O Lowest total : Urmston 75 v Bowdon O Highest match aggregate: Chester BH v Toft total of 667 (Premier League record) O There were 21 innings of 250 runs or more and one of 75 or under.

! ECB Premier League: BOWLING Overs Mdns Runs Wkts. Avge. Best 5 wkts R. WILKINSON (Alderley Edge) 122 23 371 33 11.24 9-35 2 C. ASHLING (Bowdon) 236 43 746 62 12.03 8-22 6 A. WINDLE (Alderley Edge) 116 26 387 32 12.09 4-21 - J. WARRINGTON (Nantwich) 129 37 381 26 14.65 4-34 - D. CRANMER (Hyde) 191 39 738 46 16.04 6016 1 J. WHITE (Timperley) 202 45 648 37 17.51 5-47 1 oW. WALKER (Hyde) 238 44 901 51 17.67 6-32 3 J. WHITTAKER (Hyde) 239 50 713 38 18.76 4-39 - o A SMILLIE (Alderley Edge) 203 36 683 35 19.51 6-51 2 J. BIRCHALL (Macclesfield) 156 24 569 30 19.63 6-51 1 NOTES: O Two bowlers took 50 wickets or more. O Most wickets were taken by Chris Ashling (Bowdon) , 62. O Best bowling figures: Simon Wilkinson (Alderley Edge) 9-26 v Urmston. O There were 15 instances of bowlers taking six wickets or more (most by Chris Ashling, 4). O Best all-rounder: Danny Lamb (Bramhall) 674 runs and 35 wickets. O The only hat-trick was recorded by Warren Goodwin (Chester) in 5-4 v Urmston. !DINNER NEWSLETTER: p8 ! ECB Premier League: ! WICKET-KEEPING Catches Stumpings Total A. WORRALL (Alderley Edge) 33 3 36 P. ASHLING (Bowdon) 28 2 30 B. ALLCOCK (Hyde) 20 4 24 R. BROWN (Nantwich) 20 3 23 E. BULLOCK (Cheadle) 16 5 21 J. CROSS (Macclesfield) 13 5 18 S. JOHNSON (Bramhall) 13 5 18 D. HOWARTH (Timperley) 14 3 17 B. YATES (Urmston) 11 5 16 o M. CLARK (Toft) 10 1 11 J. O’NEILL (Neston) 7 1 8 T. WYATT (Chester Bo. Hall) 7 1 8 ! More than one wicket-keeper was used by several clubs, the figures above are the best for each club.

Division! 1 : BATTING Inns n.o. Runs Hst Avge. 50s 100s oR. NINAN (Grappenhall) 13 6 546 116* 78 3 1 D. LEECH (Oulton Park) 20 5 833 130* 55.53 5 1 B. GUEST (Sale) 18 3 803 133* 53.83 4 2 M. MARFANI (Didsbury) 11 6 265 83* 53 2 - C. CANNING (Sale) 12 4 414 121* 51.75 1 1 P. BARNES (Grappenhall) 17 5 610 80 50.83 6 - A. HALL (Marple) 12 0 556 131 46.33 3 1 R. HOUGH (Bollington) 21 6 692 104* 46.13 4 1 oG CHRISTIAN (Davenham) 19 2 780 158 45.88 4 1 M. DeBRABENDER (Oxton) 15 2 566 91* 43.54 5 - NOTES: O A total of 14 batsman scored 500 runs or more. O Most centuries were recorded by oGivon Christian (Davenham), Brooke Guest (Sale) and Kevin Waterhouse (Weaverham), all 2. O There were 19 centuries scored. O Highest individual score was oGivon Christian (Davenham): 158 v Cheadle Hulme. O Highest partnership was 255 for third wicket: Brooke Guest (133no) & Tyrone Lawrence (120) for Sale v Grappenhall. O Highest team total: Weaverham 318-4 v Cheadle Hulme. O Lowest total: Tattenhall 54 v Didsbury. O Highest match aggregate: 542: Grappenhall 269-4 v Sale 273-3. O There were 11 totals of 250 or more and three of under 75.

! ! !DINNER NEWSLETTER: p9 !

Division 1: BOWLING ! Overs Maidns Runs Wkts. Avge. Best 5 wkts M. GREGSON (Didsbury) 147 21 457 37 12.35 5-19 2 o S. BLANDFORD (Oulton Park) 249 51 819 65 12.60 8-22 6 oW. CORNWALL (Weaverham) 197 23 711 53 13.42 7-43 6 R. TAYLOR (Davenham) 146 29 451 31 14.55 6-33 2 o J. RUDD (Warrington) 107 23 384 25 15.36 6-16 2 S. PLANT (Bollington) 171 40 523 33 15.85 5-27 1 R. McMILLAN (Weaverham) 195 21 659 40 16.48 4-27 - o G. FERNANDO (Oxton) 216 37 656 39 16.82 6-47 3 N. ANDERSON (Didsbury) 165 24 553 34 16.26 8-17 1 J. BINDER (Bollington) 161 38 538 32 16.81 7-21 2 NOTES: O Two bowlers took 50 wickets or more. O Most wickets were taken by Sam Blandford (Oulton Park), 65, the highest in all three divisions. O Best bowling figures: Nick Anderson (Didsbury) 8-17 v Oxton. O There were 21 analyses of bowlers taking six wickets or more: two each by oWilden Cornwall (Weaverham), oSam Blandford (Oulton Park) and oJames Rudd (Warrington). O There were two hat-tricks taken: by Wilden Cornwall (Weaverham) in 5-17 v Marple & oRyan Ninan (Grappenhall) in 4-53, also v Marple. O Best all-rounder: oWilden Cornwall (Weaverham): 761 runs and 53 wickets.

! Division 1: WICKET-KEEPING Catches Stumpings Total S. LEECH (Didsbury) 23 7 30 A NASH (Weaverham) 19 7 26 P. ROBERTS (Oulton Park) 20 6 26 M. SAMBELL (Davenham) 12 11 23 G. COPPACK (Tattenhall) 14 8 22 M. DEBRABENDER (Oxton) 15 6 21 D. OSBORNE (Grappenhall) 15 2 17 G McKERNAN (Bollington) 11 5 16 J. MORGAN (Marple) 10 2 12 M. RUDD (Warrington) 9 1 10 C CANNING (Sale) 5 2 7 A. RANA (Cheadle Hulme) 5 1 6 ! Some clubs used more than one wicket-keeper. The figures above are the best for each club. !

DINNER NEWSLETTER: p10 ! ! Division 2: BATTING Inns n.o. Runs Hst Avge. 50s 100s o M. FOURIE (Widnes) 16 7 716 103* 79.56 6 1 o M. BARCLAY (Barrow) 17 4 720 103* 55.38 5 2 o C. NIELD (Mobberley) 16 2 682 118 48.71 3 2 o C. WATHUKARAGE (N’wich) 17 4 632 112 48.62 5 1 I. DE SILVA (Barrow) 17 4 618 76* 47.54 7 0 S. STONELEY (Northwich) 18 1 783 154 46.06 3 2 B. SARIMAN (Upton) 21 6 600 85* 40 4 - A. BENNION (Alvanley) 16 6 392 99* 39.20 2 - M. BURNS (Widnes) 17 4 505 103 38.85 1 1 D. NAUGHTON (Widnes) 15 2 503 68 38.69 3 - NOTES: O A total of 14 batsmen scored 500 runs or more. O Most runs were recorded by Sam Stoneley (Northwich), 783. O Sam Stoneley hit the highest individual score: 154 v Congleton. O There were 11 centuries scored, most by oMarlon Barclay (Barrow), oCharlie Nield (Mobberley) and Sam Stoneley (Northwich), all 2. O Highest partnership: 177 for fourth wicket between B. Tyler (105) and R. O’Brien for Lindow v Christleton. O Highest team total: Mobberley 299-6 v Congleton. O Lowest team totals: Congleton 64 v Widnes; Middlewich 64 v Northwich. O There were five totals of more than 250 runs. ! O Highest match aggregate: 500 – Mobberley 299-6; Congleton 211-6. ! Division 2: BOWLING Overs Maidns Runs Wkts. Avge. Best 5 wkts. R FISHER (Alvanley) 153 41 346 32 10.81 5-31 2 A. DUFTY (Northwich) 161 32 427 36 11.86 9-14 2 oM. FOURIE (Widnes) 226 79 548 43 12.74 5-21 2 F. UGHRADAR (Widnes) 135 31 408 30 13.60 5-29 2 M. GREEN (Stockport) 152 18 531 38 13.97 6-44 1 A.J. HART (Brooklands) 183 48 624 44 14.18 5-16 2 o S. GRIBBEN (Stockport) 210 45 630 44 14.32 5-18 2 D. WILLIAMS (Upton) 157 39 391 26 15.04 5-21 1 M. LAW (Brooklands) 158 30 423 28 15.11 4-21 - I. DE SILVA (Barrow) 243 40 725 47 15.76 7-59 2 NOTES: O No bowler took 50 wickets. O Top wicket-taker was Iro De Silva (Barrow), 46. O Best bowling figures: Andrew Dufty (Northwich) with a League Best 9-14 v Stockport. O There were 13 bowling analyses of six wickets or more. Matt Ingram (Upton) did so twice. O Best all-rounder: oMarcus Fourie (Widnes) with 716 runs and 43 wickets.

Nine years without missing a game! BROOKLANDS treasurer Dave Garnett is claiming a League record for DAVID MADDEN, who hadn’t missed a 1st XI game for the club since May 26, 2007 when he was taking his finals at Cambridge University, until the last fixture of the 2016 season on September 17 against Middlewich. Before then, ever-present David had played in 213 consecutive league and cup games for the club without ever crying off, going on holiday, being injured – or dropped. Says Treasurer Garnett: “This is a remarkable record for a good player, nice guy and superb club man”. Newsletter would be interested to hear from any club who can claim a better attendance record. !DINNER NEWSLETTER: p11 Division 2: WICKET-KEEPING

Catches Stumpings Total T. MARSLAND (Upton) 25 11 36 S. GEE (Alvanley) 12 10 22 S. EDWARDS (Stockport) 16 5 21 C KIRBY (Widnes) 15 4 19 R. ROBINSON (Lindow ) 10 4 14 D. WHYLEY (Brooklands ) 10 3 13 W. BERISFORD-INCE (Mobberley) 8 4 12 J. MORGAN-JONES (Christleton) 8 3 11 o M. BARCLAY (Barrow) 7 2 9 A REID ( .. ) 5 3 8 S STONELEY (Northwich) 5 1 6 J WILSHAW ( ) 4 2 6 ! Some clubs used morf than one wicket-keeper. The figures above are the best for each club League averages are available on the League website, not in tabulated order.

Livingstone tops Lancashire batting IN Lancashire’s 2016 first-class averages, former Nantwich player Liam Livingstone topped the batting list with 815 runs at 50.09, his 23 first-class innings containing two 100s and six 50s. Toft’s Rob Jones batted seven times in four appearances, scoring 212 runs at 42.4, including his maiden first-class century against Division l champions Middlesex. Jordan Clark (Alderley Edge) scored 225 runs from 10 innings, averaging 25. Clark took 11 wickets at 41.5 and Urmston’s Matthew Parkinson 10 wickets at 36.3. Parkinson is to leave relegated Urmston next season to play for Greater Manchester Premier League champions Egerton. In the Derbyshire bowling averages, Callum Parkinson, of Urmston, took 14 wickets at 37.9. Making his first-class debut for Leicestershire, Hyde’s Harry Dearden scored 36 runs in four innings at an average of nine. He will be joined at Grace Road next season by Callum !Parkinson. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19: Special meeting date for Forties & Thirds WEDNESDAY, October 19 has been fixed for special meetings to decide on the formats for Over Forties and Third XI cricket in 2017. Both meetings will be held at Warrington, the Forties at 7 p.m. and the Thirds following at 8 p.m. Attendance is mandatory. The 31-club Forties section have a vacancy following the withdrawal of Marple after the start of last season, followed by the recent decision of Kingsley not to take up an offer of admission. Inquiries have been received from Stretford and Whalley Range, whose clubs are both members of the Greater Manchester League. At their September meeting, the League Cricket Committee decided that the admission of these clubs could not be allowed as both are situated outside the Cheshire county boundary. Any club wishing to join the section – or withdraw – is asked to contact Competition Secretary Mike Talbot-Butler ([email protected]) prior to the meeting. The Third XI meeting will have a wide range of topics to consider, including the possibility of forming a Friendly section. DINNER NEWSLETTER: p12 ! Poor discipline worries Umpires Assn. AT their end- of- season meeting at Sale, the League Umpires & Scorers Association expressed concern about declining discipline. Chairman Ian Greensmith reports: “Since the meeting, Association officers have had good feedback and we will continue to investigate ways to achieve more consistency among our members because players’ behaviour which is acceptable for some is clearly not for others” He adds: “There is no doubt that discipline generally has deteriorated and Premier League clubs, who normally have the better umpires controlling their games, are the biggest offenders. “Not out rulings are, in too many cases, being questioned and while I would not want to go down the route of some leagues when umpires will not respond to appeals other than to say ‘not out’ (as recommended in the Tom Smith umpiring guide) we will be forced down that route if matters do not improve.” He goes on: “Poor behaviour is a reason why we have difficulty in recruitment, and to counter that this winter the Cheshire ACU&S are running two Level 1 recruitment courses, a Level 1A course and three refresher courses. Anyone wishing to attend should contact Geoff Young”. The League Umpires committee have also discussed a suggestion from the Cheshire Board to have one umpiring association covering the whole of the county. Meanwhile, the Association want the League to consider earlier starting times for the last four weeks of the season, possibly by as much as one hour, to assist with visibility.

2017 dates for your diary THE League’s 2017 season will begin on Saturday, April 22 and end 22 weeks later over the week-end of Saturday and Sunday, September 16 and 17. ! NATIONAL CUP KO IN 2017 ENTRIES for next season’s Royal London National Club championship which last season attracted only seven County League clubs, need to be in ASAP. Competition secretary Aaron Campbell ([email protected]) has announced the 2017 dates as follows: Round one on Sunday, April 23; round 2: May 14; round 3: June 4; round 4: July 16; quarter- finals August 6; semi-finals August 27; final on September 17. Each round allows a seven day postponement period for rain etc. The draw will be made at Lord’s on Friday, December 2. O THE ECB have set the dates of the later rounds in the NatWest National T20 tournament, which follows each league’s domestic competition. The Area finals will be on Sunday, July 30 and the Regional finals on Sunday, August 13 with the final day’s yet to be arranged There are likely to be structural changes to the League’s own Fred Graham T20 competition although the final will again be staged in mid-July. O CHESHIRE COUNTY CLUB AGM. The annual meeting of Cheshire County Cricket Club is on Tuesday, November 22 at The Windmill Inn, Chester road, Tabley WA16 0HW (by the M6 intersection). The venue in recent years, the Golden Pheasant, Plumley, is currently undergoing reconstruction. O COUNTY League Junior section AGM is at Warrington on Sunday, October 30 at 5 p.m. O CHESHIRE Seniors (Over 50s & 60s) annual dinner is at Chester Boughton Hall on Friday, November 25. DINNER NEWSLETTER: p13 ! Obituaries! ! DEATH OF DAVID OTWAY IN CAR CRASH! ! TRIBUTES have poured in, including one from former England captain Michael Vaughan, following the tragic death in a car crash in Cumbria on September 21 of leading Alderley Edge member David Otway, aged 52. He died when his Volkswagon car crashed on a remote road in Ambleside, in which no other vehicle was involved. Kendal-born, his funeral took place in the Cumbria town followed by a memorial service at Netherfield Cricket Club, where he used to play. An MCC member resident in Wilmslow, David leaves a family including three sons, He was the leading light behind the emergence of a strong youth section at Alderley Edge in which Michael Vaughan’s son currently plays. The former England skipper had rich praise for David’s driving spirit and expertise with young players. Chairman of the club’s junior section, it had been intended that he should step up and take over from Andy Fluck as club chairman at the next AGM. ! David Herd - ex Timperley and Man U - DIES AT 82! ! FORMER Manchester United centre-forward David Herd, who died on October 1 aged 82, played cricket for Timperley in their Manchester Association days and was chairman when they won the Stockton Trophy title in 1977. A Scottish international, David is best remembered at United for scoring twice in their 3-1 defeat of Leicester City at Wembley in the 1963 FA Cup final. He also played for Arsenal, Stoke City and later for Waterford in Ireland. His father Alex was a famous Manchester City and Scotland international pre and post-war. At cricket, David was an old fashioned big-hitter and frequently used to stop play at in the tennis courts while batting at the Stockport road end. Newsletter Editor Mike Talbot-Butler recalls being on the receiving end of regular punishment from David when Northwich played their traditional opening match of the season at Timperley. According to long-serving member Simon Thompson, David had two spells at the club either side of a period managing Lincoln City. He later moved to play cricket at Brooklands, alongside his great pal, the England rugby union international Steve Smith. ! !

! [email protected] …………….Monday, October 10, 2016

NEXT ISSUE: EARLY NOVEMBER, 2016