2nd XI beaten by Mossley

The 2nd XI travelled to Mossley last Saturday on an overcast day with rain predicted to envelop the region by mid afternoon. 

Skipper John Wainwright strode out to the middle hoping for a correct call at the coin ceremony and, on a rare success won the toss and decided to bat.  Unfortunately the ploy didn´t succeed as Mossley won by seven wickets.

Audlem's batsmen made good progress against a decent seam attack on a green surface which was 'bowler friendly' with most of the early and mid-order batsmen reaching double figures. The innings stalled towards the end as the opening bowlers returned against the lower order batsmen to restrict the innings total to 167 for 7 off the full allocation of 48 overs. The main contributors were Paul Thorburn 30, Jake Rowe 16, Dave Parry 22, Dan Thorburn, 23 John Wainwright 38 and John Eve 14 not out.

Mossley's innings got off to a slow start as the batsmen found the conditions for run scoring restricted by the difficult wicket and good accurate bowling by Roy Wild and Parry. The fall of the first wicket proved to be Audlem's undoing as it brought the belligerent Andy Sadler to the crease.  He at once proceeded to mercilessly punish the bowlers with bucolic hits to all parts of the ground. He finished with a very fine 98 not out to guide his team to victory with 7 wickets in hand and six overs to spare.

Mossley gained 25 points and Audlem 10.  On Saturday, the 2nd XI look forward to Saturday's encounter with Stalybridge St Pauls at the Gorse Croft.  The match starts at 1.00 pm.

In their first season in the 4th Division following last year's promotion, the 2nd XI have achieved their initial aim of gaining enough points to ensure they remain in the division and look to finish the campaign in as high a position as possible. The Club will be holding indoor nets through the winter and will be looking to recruit players to push on to the next level. News on the venue and timing of the nets will be published on the village website at a later date.

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