2nd XI crash to defeat against Appleton

After the previous two weeks' washouts, the 2nd XI took to the field at the Gorse Croft on Saturday, blissfully unaware of the calamity that was to befall them later in the afternoon. Skipper Danny Thorburn won the toss and visitors Appleton 3rd XI were invited to bat on a low, slow pitch and only three of their batsmen scored double figures in a total of 128 all out in 44 overs.

Abbie Adams (2 for 43), Roy Wild (4 for 39), Maj (2 for 36) and Matty Day (1for 5) were well supported by excellent ground fielding and catching and these were to be the highlights of the 2nd XI's performance on a beautifully sunny, but increasingly gloomy day.

What happened next was stunning in its unexpectedness. It is seldom that every single batsmen fails in an innings, but this is precisely what happened. Against a prodigiously swinging ball nine batsmen scored the grand total of three (yes, 3) runs between them. John Eve and Leo North ground their way to the dizzy heights of four and six respectively and it was only the welcome addition of fifteen extras that lifted the total to an unrespectable 28 all out in 22 overs – exactly 100 runs behind their opponents.

Appleton gained 25 points and Audlem just 5. The 2nd XI has now slipped to ninth in a very tight Division 4.

This is only the 2nd XI's third loss in two seasons and the team must now prove the cliché that one learns more in adversity than from winning. The team has learnt painful lessons and looks forward eagerly to overcoming the challenges to come, the first of which will be the away game at eleventh-place Glazebury on Saturday. The undoubted spirit and ability in the team must now prevail over the next few weeks and ensure that this most bitter of defeats remains an embarrassing aberration as the season unfolds

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