Mixed fortunes for cricketers

There were mixed fortunes for Audlem's cricketers yesterday in the Cheshire Cricket Alliance as the 1st XI strolled to a comfortable victory, while the 2nd XI crashed to a heavy defeat.

The 1st XI travelled to Sandbach for another South Cheshire derby. Batting first, the home side reached 154 for 8 in their maximum of 48 overs. Hugh Ratcliffe (4 for 45) and Graham Jones (3 for 35) were the main wicket takers for Audlem. Youngster Chris Hardwick, playing in only his fifth senior match and making his 1st team debut, bowled a creditable five overs, taking 1 for 10.

In reply Audlem got off to a cracking start with opener Andy Capper scoring 53. Requiring 50 to win off the last ten overs, Tom Measures (42 not out) and skipper, Chris Shenton (18 not out) saw Audlem to victory as they reached 155 for the loss of only four wickets, still with four overs remaining. Sandbach gained 10 points while Audlem gained 20 to move up to fourth in Division 3.

In Division 5, the 2nd XI had a disastrous day at home to Heaton Mersey Village. Put in first, Audlem's batting suffered a giant collapse on a difficult wicket. At one point they were 23 for 7 and only a slight recovery by the tail end saw the score reach 46. Credit must be given to HMV's Navid Ahmed (5 for 16) and Krishnamurty Praveen (4 for 25) who both bowled extremely accurately. None of Audlem's batsmen managed to reach double figures.

HMV knocked off the required runs for the loss of only one wicket, which was taken by John Chadwick. The only bright spot of the day for Audlem was youngster Ollie Burney's bowling spell of 5 overs for only 3 runs. HMV gained 20 points whilst Audlem tally for a miserable day was just 1.

Next Saturday the 1st XI entertains Port Sunlight, whilst the 2nd XI travels to Capenhurst. Both matches start at 2pm.

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