Westminster collapse as 1st XI win

Audlem 1st XI got back to winning ways on Saturday after two straight defeats with a nervy four-wicket win against Westminster Park.

It was a pleasant day in Chester and on a soft, green pitch, the home skipper won the toss and chose to bat first in a slightly delayed start. Park began in watchful fashion and it was clear the sluggish outfield meant running between the wickets would be key to amassing a respectable total.

However the third over saw the first of two run outs for the home side. An edge was well stopped by Andy Rothwell at first slip and – still on his knees – he brilliantly threw down the stumps with the batsman stranded four metres down the wicket. His partner looked to atone for the error by scoring some quick runs, but boundaries proved hard to come by.

Another run out quickly followed after smart work from Tom Kural and keeper Stu Stanway saw the batsman well short of his ground. The pressure began to tell and Stuart Elkes picked up three quick wickets including two in two balls to leave the home side in serious trouble at 14 for 5.

Callum McIlveen deservedly picked up two wickets of his own as a reward for his probing length. The tail wagged though, and Westminster's first boundary was a six over deep midwicket off Neil Humphries.

At the other end, Simon Swift was using all his variations in an attempt to prevent a late onslaught as Westminster reached 45 for 8. He picked up two wickets and Humphries returned one as the home side was finally all out for 57. Only three batsmen scored double figures, with Naseer Majid top scoring with 26. Elkes finished with 3 for 11, McIlveen 2 for 10, Swift 2 for 17 and Humphries 1 for 18.

In reply, Audlem got off to the worst possible start with Rothwell falling for a duck in the first over and his fellow opener Stanway followed a few overs later with the score 4 for 2.

Chris Shenton came to the wicket with the intention of finishing the game as quickly as possible. Several hoiks over deep mid-wicket yielded him 13 useful runs before he was clean bowled. Kural (6) followed in the same manner and when Toby Banfield was also bowled for 2, Audlem were still far from home at 30 for 5.

Kemal Toraman (11) cracked two boundaries as Richard Wilson (11 not out) played a captain's innings at the other end, digging in and grafting out the runs. It was eventually left to McIlveen (3 not out) to see the visitors home by 4 wickets in a match which despite the conditions, they should have won more comfortably.

The win saw Audlem pick up 25 points to stay third in Division 2, 17 points outside the promotion places, whilst Westminster Park gained just 3.

The 1st XI host mid-table Bowdon Vale at the Gorse Croft tomorrow, starting at 1.30pm.

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