1ST XI HAVE THE “EGE” IN CUP WIN!!
The 1st XI were in Derek Kay Cup action on the second day of the Bank Holiday weekend, with a trip to Egerton. A pink ball and coloured clothing are the order of the day in this competition in 2019, with the use of squad numbers being a source of relief to the visitors’ “emergency” scorer – how appropriate for the “Mayday” weekend!
For the 2nd day running, Adam Hawley lost the toss, but found his team fielding first on this occasion. By the drinks break, after 22 of the 45 overs, the hosts had made just 59 for 3, thanks to some tight bowling by the new-ball pairing of Scott Kirwin and Nick Bailey (who finished with 6-2-4-1), and the support act of Matt Sonczak & Ben Tighe, both of whom bowled their 9 overs unchanged. Neil Hornbuckle was introduced into the attack in the 32nd over and, whilst he did not strike in his first over, he did in each of his next 3, as 112 for 3 became 115 for 6 with just under 8 overs remaining. Those overs were used productively by the hosts, as they finished on 174 for 7, Neil returning figures of 3 for 45.
Following the dismissal of our skipper & Mark Dillnutt, Scott (top-scoring with 46 from 43 balls) & Neil (31 from 27 balls) stepped the pace up, dealing more in boundaries than actually running between the wickets. By drinks, although Neil had now departed, at 98 for 3 we were “ahead of the game”. Ben Tighe (42 from 56 balls) ensured that that would remain the case, the 4th of his sixes seeing us home by 3 wickets in the penultimate over. Steady support came from Matt Sonczak (23 from 47 balls) – their partnership of 47 for the 6th wicket had taken us to within touching distance of the target.
So, into the last 16 of the competition we go – whoever we play, and wherever we play them, the match will take place on Sunday 9th June.
The 3rd XI’s scheduled fixture at home to Denton was cancelled, and will take place later in the season.
Reporter: Jon Palmer
