Cricket report 8th August 2021

The weather was the dominant feature in the weekend matches with intermittent rain disrupting Saturday's league encounter with Wedgwood then overnight showers and more downpours during the morning giving the captains little option to call the game off early to prevent Poppyfields a fruitless journey from the west Midlands.

With skipper Chris Shenton still away on honeymoon Callum McIlveen took the reigns for the encounter with mid-table Wedgwood from Barlaston, promptly lost the toss and unsurprisingly was asked to bat first. With the prospect of disruptions imminent with the gathering rain clouds never far away the advantage is always with the team batting second in such conditions.

With both regular openers missing ( Chris Shenton & Dan Butler ) Andy Rothwell and Callum himself went out to the middle. Callum soon perished attempting an ambitious drive quickly followed by Kemal Toraman which brought limpet like Tom Measures to the crease to add some stability to the innings. The pair took the score to 70 before Tom fell trying to accelerate the scoring rate followed 25 runs later by Andy ( 63 ) but not before he had given his team a fine platform to launch their assault on the opposition. Prolific allrounder Dave Parkinson ( 49 not out ) now took over ably supported by Sanimon Nait ( 19 ) & then Neil Humphries ( 11 not out ) to set the final total of 165 for 5. A short rain break intervened to disrupt the innings but both captains agreed on an early tea to try and prevent the loss of playing time and enable Audlem to complete their full allocation of overs.

Audlem were confident at the changeover point that they could restrict their opponents as the outfield had slowed up considerably due to the occasional rain but Wedgwood have a long batting line-up and were always in the game despite losing their first four wickets with only 35 on the board. Oliver Bennett (33 ) & Shea Moore ( 12 ) took the score to 75 before they both fell to the returning Callum McIlveen . With the rain now looking set in and the light fading the captains decided to end proceedings which handed victory to Audlem thanks to the Duckworth Lewis scoring system . Callum and Sanimon both claimed a brace of wickets whilst Simon Swift and Neil Humphries claimed one apiece as Wedgwood finished on 88 for 6 off 23.4 0vers.

Special mention must go to Wedgwood who were content to play on despite the challenging conditions and accepting the final result with grace then all sharing a drink and a social after the game. A top set of lads. Also the dedication shown by Audlem stalwart Simon Swift who interrupted his camping holiday in Herefordshire to travel back for the game then return in time for his curry supper.

The win moves Audlem up to third in the table just 5 points off second placed Kidsgrove and everything still to play for in the remaining games. Next Saturday Audlem are at home to Audley ( 1:00 pm ) and the following day the Sunday X1 are hosts to Wistaston ( 1:00 pm ).

John Wainwright

Audlem Cricket Club