Cricket Report

A mixed weekend for Audlem's cricketers with victories for the second X1 and the Sunday team but a defeat for the first X1.

Second XI v Stone

The second X1 kept their promotion hopes on track with a comprehensive victory over third placed Stone last Saturday, winning by eight wickets as they enter the final stages of the season.
In the formative stage of the contest Audlem restricted their opponents to 129 all out , dismissing them in the 32nd of their allotted 40 overs thus giving the home team another eight overs to attain the target. In the event they were not needed as Audlem made serene progress in their quest, losing just two wickets in pursuit of the victory as the winning runs were scored in the 35th over.

Captain Conor Howard won the toss and asked the opposition to bat first on what looked like a decent wicket and a fast parched outfield. The Stone openers made rapid progress with 32 runs on the board in quick time before the fall of the first wicket. The introduction into the attack of Vijayan Rahul turned the game on it's head as the batsmen had no answer to him as he proceeded to take five straight wickets in a devastating spell leaving the visitors in complete disarray as the score collapsed to 100 for six at the end of his spell of bowling.

If the Stone batsmen thought the onslaught was over the introduction of Dave Parkinson into the attack gave them little comfort as Dave soon cleaned up, taking the remaining four wickets in quick time.
Vijayan Rahul ( 7 overs 5 for 24 ) Dave Parkinson ( 4.3 overs 4 for 9 ) Conor Howard ( 4 overs 1 for 28 ) were the wicket takers on the day.
Given the small total and extended overs, Audlem had few concerns in reaching the target especially with Tom ( Measures ) opening the batting in his customary determined manner as he reached yet another unbeaten half century ( 52 not out ) . He was well supported by Chris Shenton ( 18 ) , Andy Jackson ( 15 ) and Rahul with a belligerent 28 not out to complete a fine individual performance and get his team 'over the line'.
Audlem gained 18 points for the win whilst Stone accrued 4 batting / bowling points in their defeat. Next Saturday, the second X1 are away to Congleton at Mossley CC.

First XI v Barlaston

The first X1 went down to a 35-run loss at Barlaston on Saturday . The hosts were asked to bat first and Audlem managed to keep them in check and restrict them to 198 for 6 off their overs with Bertie Hardy once again the top wicket taker with 3 for 33 off his 7 overs. Jake Topping was also on fine form in bowling his full allocation of nine overs and only conceding 26 runs and claiming a wicket in the process. Simon Swift ( 6 overs 1 for 27) was the other wicket taker with the other batsman the victim of a run out.
As customary, Audlem flew out of the blocks in the run chase and were 78 without loss in the seventh over with Venu plundering 49 off just 30 deliveries. The game was open and with Irfan in the unfamiliar opening batting slot holding firm Audlem looked in a good position, but when he was dismissed for a fine 48 the innings stuttered badly and were dismissed for 163 in the 35th over of the reply.
Audlem gained 7 points from the game to maintain their mid-table position in the league. Next week Leek are the visitors to The Gorse Croft.

Sunday XI v Acton Scott

The Sunday team made their way down to Acton Scott in South Shropshire. A delightful ground near Church Stretton overlooking The Long Mynd with views over the Clee hills in the opposite direction.
Audlem were asked to bat on a sporting track giving the bowlers plenty of assistance. With only 7 runs on the board and two batsmen out without troubling the scorer things didn't look at all good but a fine counterattack by Dave Parkinson ( 50 not out ) & Marcus Taylor ( 10 ) added 39 valuable runs for the third wicket . The middle order batsmen struggled with the variable bounce giving assistance to the bowlers with only Bertie Hardy ( 10 )reaching double figures before the defining partnership of the match between young Ryan Anderton( 36 ) & Richard Irvine ( 32 )who added 73 match winning runs for the eighth wicket as Audlem closed on 178 all out off the final ball of the allotted 35 overs.
Tea was taken in the village hall which is situated a short walk away from the ground where Audlem's contingent of players and supporters were well catered for with a delightful spread.
After the restart Audlem made steady inroads into the Acton Scott batting line-up as the hosts lost 3 wickets in the first 20 runs before a fine 69 run fourth wicket partnership put the game back in the balance. Another 46-run partnership for the fifth wicket left the score on 140 at the fall of the 6th wicket. Bertie was the partnership breaker on both occasions as he completed his allocation of 7 overs with 2 wickets for 28 runs. With overs running out, the bowlers regained the upper hand as the final wicket fell with 3 balls remaining of the innings and just 15 runs short. Ryan Anderton 5.4 overs 2 for 17, Conor Howard 7 overs 3 for 23, Richar Irvine 5 overs 1 for 25 & Dave Parkinson 7 overs 2 for 37 were the other wicket takers.

Next Sunday Audlem have once again been invited to be the opposition in Hodnet & Peplow's President's Day celebrations