1st XI beat the weather in Styal

The 1st XI travelled to Styal hoping to play their first match in July and rekindle their faint hopes of promotion from Division 2 of the Cheshire Cricket Alliance.  Skipper Chris Shenton lost the toss and Styal’s captain, John Saxon, decided to bat first.

Simon Swift took two early wickets before Charlie Williams hit an excellent 52 for the home side.  However, once he fell to left-arm spinner Neil Humphries, there wasn't resistance from the remaining batsmen.  Humphries took 6 for 44 as Styal were bowled out for 133 in 45 overs.

Following the normal weather pattern for this July it duly rained during the tea interval and four of the scheduled 45 overs were lost before Audlem’s innings started.  Aware of the likelihood of further rain, openers Andy Rothwell and Qhama Matthews set about Styal’s bowlers and smashed 60 off the first six overs before Rothwell fell lbw for 25.

Kemal Toraman joined Matthews and they added a further 24 runs before the heavens opened, seven overs later.  A further hour’s play was lost, meaning that only twelve overs were left to reach the target.  Both batsman continued to score quickly with Matthews reaching his half-century.  Toraman won the match with a huge six, which took his score to 52.  Matthews was undefeated on 54 as Audlem posted 137 for 1 with three overs still in hand.

Audlem gained 25 points and Styal 7.  The win leaves the 1st XI in 5thplace, still 80 points away from a promotion slot, as all the top five teams won gaining maximum points.  On Saturday they welcome sixth-place Heaton Mersey Village to the Gorse Croft.  The match starts at 1.30 pm.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.