! Cheshire County Cricket League ! 2015 NEWSLETTER: WEEK 21 – SEPTEMBER 5 / 6 Top 4 all lose, Hyde need 3 points from last game for title THE Hyde juggernaut WAS halted on Saturday, at Macclesfield, but fortunately for the reigning ECB Premier League champions their three closest challengers Nantwich, Toft and Alderley Edge also all lost. Which leaves the men from Werneth Low needing three points from their final game at Cheadle to retain the title. Put in on a bowler’s wicket at Macclesfield, Hyde were bowled out for 150, Dave Fitzsimmons 80, Ian Tait 4-41. The Silkmen replied with 151-9 with eight balls remaining to inflict Hyde’s first defeat in nine since June 27. The magnificent Dan Woods (6-53 – he now has 69 wickets) and Jason Whittaker (2-98) bowled unchanged, but couldn’t grab the last wicket as skipper Tom Parfitt stood firm with 35 not out, after Nick Bertus had showed up earlier with a key innings of 56. Nantwich trail the leaders by 23 points after they surprisingly lost by six runs at Bramhall, themselves fighting for Premier League survival. Matt Hughes top-scored with 43 in Bramhall’s 188-5, Nantwich replying with 182 all out with two balls remaining. mon Wilkinson – 26-8-72-6 – was their destroyer. Rob Cook-Sievwright top-scored with 43 for Nantwich whose tail-enders Adam Syddall and Jimmy Warrington just failed to hold out in a dramatic finish. It’s Bramhall or Marple Alderley Edge’s late fade-out continued when they lost by four wickets at home to a Marple side fighting hard to stay among the elite. Alderley were bowled out for 183, Alan Day 36, by Andy Greasley, 3-40 and Sam Harbinson, 3-60. Marple replied with 184-6, the in-form Andrew Hall playing another match-winning innings of 70, helped by Harbinson 48 and Mark Makin with a vital 38 not out. With one game each left Bramhall (at Neston) lead Marple (home to Toft) by seven points. Toft lost for the third time in four outings when Chester Boughton Hall left their Cardiff woes behind and won by four wickets at Booth’s Park. Only Toby Drummond, 40 and Jake Hancock, 33 scored fluently in Toft’s all-out 140, Ash Davis taking 4-30 and Harry Killoran 3-24. Chester replied with 143-6, Ollie Law 44, Rob Jones 3-26. Jones had earlier scored four runs to become the first League batsman to pass 1,000 runs for the season - not two weeks earlier as reported. The game at Toft was reduced to 80 overs after the covers were bizarrely left off overnight and a new pitch had to be cut on a saturated square. Bowdon were bowled out for 54 – the second lowest top flight total of the summer – at South Downs Road by Cheadle, for whom Rashid Amin included a hat-trick in his 5-25, with Matt Totia 3-21. This was in reply to Cheadle’s modest 134, Chris Ashling 4-63, which means Paul Sperring’s men can to look forward to another Premiership season in 2016. In a match played in the Wirral on Sunday, relegated Grappenhall put up a highly spirited performance before losing by one wicket at Neston, whose fifth win in the last six games makes their wretched early season form a distant memory. Grappers scored 163, Lancashire starlet Saqib Mahmood top-scoring with 32 against Simon Mugava 4-39 and Chris Finegan 3-39. Neston were in deep trouble at 46-6 when Chris Hackett took hold of the4 game to score 66 in his own inimitable style after which last pair Matt Stewart and the dependable Finegan saw their side over the line. Sam Guest took 4-41 for Grappenhall. Chester win Cheshire Cup for a record fourth season after flop at Cardiff: page 8 WEEK 21 NEWSLETTER: p2 ! Timperley promoted… who’s to join them? TIMPERLEY’s victory by 56 runs against Oulton Park at Stockport road not only clinched them promotion from the First Division, but put paid to their visitors’ hopes a similar rise in the world. Timperley visit second-placed neighbours Sale – who lost at Weaverham – in a vital final game needing just three points to clinch the title. Sale on the other hand will need 16 points from that clash with Timperley should Urmston win their final game at home to Weaverham. Plaudits to Timperley – members of Division Two as recently as 2013 - for their determined drive to reach the top rung under go ahead chairman Adam Horan. Their victory against Oulton Park was all the more meritorious as they opted to bat first and mustered the ordinary tally of 167, Asif Iqbal and Craig Grindley jointly top-scoring scoring with 36, while Oulton had a potential match winner in Andy Hards who enjoyed a magnificent unchanged stint of 25-8-66-6. Oulton’s batsmen, often so prolific, failed apart from a solid 48 from skipper Pat Roberts and they were bowled out for 111 by Chris Page, 4-46 aided by Dom Ashling 3-7 (from 18 deliveries) after Oulton had reached a winning position at 149-6. Second-placed Sale came a cropper at Weaverham where they lost their third game of the season by 36 runs after restricting their hosts to 169, Ian Eaton 67 not out, James Lewis 44, Brad Watkin 4-32. Apart from Dan Halkon 39, none of the Sale batsmen cut the mustard and they were all out for 144. Weaverham’s match winning bowlers were Kevin Waterhouse – who also pulled off a startling direct-hit run out from the boundary rope - with 3-30 and Rob McMillan, 3-40. Weaverham are capable of doing Sale a good turn by winning that final game at Urmston, who made sure their own challenge would enter the last week with an impressive six wickets victory at home to Davenham, whom they dismissed for 86 (Matt Parkinson 4-23, Callum Parkinson 4-23), replying with 88-4. Christleton battle on … Nearer the foot of the table, Christleton won their second successive game, by 79 runs against Cheadle Hulme at Little Heath and took their fight stay up into the last week. Tattenhall will need three points from their final game - at home to Christleton – to be sure of staying up. Christleton totalled 188, Jack Gittins 42, before bowling ‘Hulme out for 109, Adam Wilde 49, Zaighum Abbas 4-31. This was the last game of the season for Cheadle Hulme, and also for Oxton, who trounced relegated Middlewich by eight wickets in the Wirral. ‘Wich mustered just 97, Len Du Toit 38, while Oxton’s star Sri Lankan paceman Gayan Fernando went out on a high with a tally of 60 wickets, returning the magical figures of 12.4-3-37-7. Oxton responded with 104-2, Alex Hughes 46, Marc De Brabender 41. Only 80 overs’ play was possible in the Didsbury v Tattenhall game due to heavy overnight rain. Didsbury dominated a 15 – 8 points draw after totalling 241-8, Nick Anderson 75, Owen Williamson 3-59. Tattenhall held out at 175-9, thanks to Ollie !Thompson 60 and Josh Harding 33, while skipper Anderson completed another fine day’s work with a 3-64 return. Div. 2: Bolly and Warrington are up BOLLINGTON and Warrington are promoted from Division Two, although in what order will only be resolved next Saturday.. Last season’s TACS Cheshire League champions, Bollington won by 96 runs at Brooklands after running up 206 (Hafiz Imran 95), after recovering from 12-4 and 124-6. Luke Maitra took 4-51. Brooklands replied with 112-9, E. Parmekelus 42 not out, Hafiz Imran 3-15, Stuart Plant 3-24, batted only 10 men due to an eye injury suffered by Raj Singh which required hospital treatment. He is reported to be OK. Warrington clinched at least runners-up spot 15 points behind the leaders (both with 14 wins) thanks to a victory which put paid to Mobberley’s promotion hopes. Warrington totalled 222-7, Andy Green 82, Chris Nield 3-52, then bowled out their hosts for 91, Brad McIntosh 3-2, Ashley Scholes 3-16. Bolly need 11 points from at home to Mobberley to be sure of top spot. Relegated Bredbury continued to show spirit with a two wickets win against Alvanley whom they dismissed for 163, John Usher 3-30, Graham Barlow 3-38, then replying with 167-8, Darren Carr 42, Chris Charles 3-39. There was a superb all-round performance from Northwich’s Sri Lankan all-rounder Ishanka Chamindu in their 87-runs home defeat of Irby. Northwich ran up 225-4, Ishanka 123 not out, Sam Shepherd 57 not out, then dismissed Irby for 138, the same two players taking the wickets: Ishanka 4-21 and Shepherd 3-23. Widnes kept up their late improvement with a five wickets home win against Upton who were restricted to 165-9, (Andy Roberts 49 not out), by James Mackenzie 4-37 and Damien Moore 4-75. Widnes replied with 168-5, after being 81-8, thanks to ninth wicket partners Simon Anders, 41 and John Eccleshall 40, both not out, Congleton beat Stockport after dismissing their visitors for 125, John Higginbottom 3-1, John Copeland 3-30, then responding with 126-6, Roy Booth 41, Higginbottom 31. ! WEEK 21 NEWSLETTER: p 3 Saturday’s scorelines in detail ECB Premier League ALDERLEY EDGE (6 pts.) lost to MARPLE (won toss, 25 pts.) by 4 wickets: Alderley Edge 183 (55 overs: A Day 46, A.