Audlem Cricket Club report

20 / 21 September ; Ashcombe Park v Audlem CC Saturday X1 : Audlem Sunday X1 v Aston Sunday X1

On Saturday Audlem made the journey into the Staffordshire Moorlands for the final game of the season wanting just 5 points to finish the campaign as champions after sealing promotion the previous week. On the other hand, Ashcombe Park, who were placed second, still needed points to fend off the challenge of third placed Alsager and a win to claim the trophy.

The rain that was forecast all week arrived with a vengeance on the morning of the game with all involved sitting in the pavilion with little or no chance of play up in the Staffordshire hills. Much to the annoyance & frustration of the hosts a live stream showing Alsager's game at Stafford was being broadcast on a TV set in the club room. The mood did lighten amongst the home contingent when play was halted at Stafford as the rain started to fall and it never relented with the game abandoned as a draw which gave Ashcombe Park the second promotion spot and Audlem were crowned Champions. A frustrating day but Audlem reaped the rewards for a hard-fought campaign with many of the games going to the wire and more often than not emerging victorious – sometimes from almost impossible situations.

The following day the Sunday X1 welcomed Aston to The Gorse Croft on a lovely sunny Autumn afternoon. As it was the final game of the season availability was high, so skipper Ollie Banfield selflessly stood down to ensure all the youngsters in the squad got a game. A fine gesture from an excellent captain as he handed the reigns to his trusty vice captain, Jake Topping, who carried on with tradition in winning the toss and electing to bat.

Audlem soon found themselves in a spot of bother as L. Taylor ( 2 for 28 ) claimed 2 early wickets for the visitors. Marcus Taylor ( 27 ) & Bertie Hardy ( 34 ) led the fightback before both were dismissed in quick succession to leave the hosts in a precarious position. With just over a hundred runs on the board and 7 wickets down at the halfway stage of the innings things didn't look great for the home team but a remarkable transformation in fortunes took place as young Alfie Hardy and seasoned veteran, Steve Ellsmore took control of proceedings as both batted through the remaining overs as the score closed on 196 for 7. Young Alfie was the dominant partner and finished with a fluent 50 not out, well supported by his senior partner ( by about 55 years ) who closed on 28 not out.

Aston soon lost a wicket to the cunning Steve Neale but managed to consolidate and take the score onto 60 before the fall of the next wicket. James Cottrell & Bertie Hardy bowled some excellent overs in tandem to put the visitors on the back foot, both claiming a wicket in the process. It was then the turn of Young Alfie ( 1 for 8 ) & Dave Parkinson ( 3 for 19 ) to turn the screw . Two more wickets were to fall in the innings, one to David Cottrell and the other to Izaak Goodall as Aston made a valiant effort to overhaul Audlem's total finishing just 17 runs shy on 179 for 9. A great knock from Aston's captain (and Audlem old boy ) Hugh Ratcliffe with 83 not out kept the game in the balance but a special mention for young C. Vorwerg making his senior debut in scoring a fluent 33 to keep his team in the game.

An excellent game of cricket to bring the season to a close and afterwards the now traditional take-away curry from Taz at Ayaans' in the village . Predictably Farmer Steve managed to site himself in a prominent position during the feasting and proceeded to relive his innings in great detail to the captive audience until young Alfie reminded him that he was the Jack Leach of the partnership whilst he was the Ben Stokes.

A fine year of Sunday cricket where everyone has contributed in some form or another at various stages of the season with a big thank you to our opponents who have all played the game in great spirit and left us all with some enduring memories. Next season we will be reinstating our Saturday second X1in the league and continue with our Sunday friendly fixtures as usual.

We are on the lookout for players to bolster our squads for the forthcoming season and have already booked some indoor nets at the Cricket Barn at Aston for the winter. The club contact numbers are to be found on audlem.play-cricket.com