Victory boosts survival hopes
AFOCUSED Macclesfield 1st XI played a must-win game against Timperley CC on Saturday in a match sponsored by Mopart UK Limited.
The Macc boys were under pressure to win, as a loss would have seen the side being relegated. Captain Rob Porter lost the toss and the visitors put themselves into bat.
It seemed a good choice by the visiting skipper as Timperley were ticking along nicely at 60-2.
Good bowling by Ollie Marsden and John Birchall brought Macc back into the game with Marsden taking two more wickets to have Timperley 85-4.
The inspirational leader Porter then turned to himself and Sultan Raja who bowled unchanged for the rest of the innings, doing a great job of starving the batsmen of runs but taking wickets too.
The highlight of the first innings though was the catch by Harlan Grieg, running to his left took a full length diving catch to turn the game in Macc’s favour.
Timperley finished their 55 overs 167 for 9 with Porter and Ollie Marsden finishing with four wickets each.
The run chase didn’t start off well with the early wickets of both Ben and Ollie Marsden.
Tom Parfett showed some fight and played some nice shots but when he was dismissed with another dubious lbw deci- sion followed quickly by the fall of Birchall’s wicket, Macc were in trouble with the score at 50- 4.
Porter and Bertus took the score to 85 before Porter was lbw which brought James Cross to the crease who played the innings of the day with 37 quick runs which changed the game in Macc’s favour.
When Cross was bowled with 24 runs to win and another quick wicket the Macc faithful were getting nervous.
Enter the experienced veteran Barney Cutbill who’s 11 runs were vital in the final overs.
With 5 runs needed Bertus finished the game with a 6 to finish 72 not out and it was a vital 3 wicket win for Macc who now play Nantwich next week with a win seeing Macc staying in the Premier league next season.
In their penultimate game of the 2016 season Kerridge hosted Rylands at Clarke Lane with the visitors winning the toss and electing to field first.
Kerridge initially scored well but after losing the opening duo of Ste Regan (19) and Alan Harbige (4) needed some hard work to recover from 27/2.
This came from Josh Capper and Luke Wild who in a mammoth 157 run stand broke the back of the Rylands attack. Both batted well playing some delightful strokes hitting numerous boundaries, the partnership eventually broken when an exhausted Wild was stumped after making 103 fantastic runs. Capper (44) fell shortly after adjudged LBW miss- ing out on a deserved half century. With runs also coming from Knight and Januszewski Kerridge were able to declare on 218/7 after just 28 overs. Adam Sharples the pick of the Rylands bowlers claiming 3/19
After some fine teas and a potential 62 overs in the field the opening attack of Jimmy Knight and Adam Banks set about the Rylands batsmen. Knight bowling S Brady (0) and P Taylor (1) almost instantly.
A fine one handed catch at slip by Regan again from Knight saw the end of T Taylor(0) to see the score at 3/3, Banks (2/4 off 9 overs) had Sharples(5) edge behind and then bowled McGrath (5)soon after. A runout ensued next over when Ravenscroft fired at the stumps, leaving Rylands teetering on 17/6.
Some resistance came late on from Barker (22) but he too lost his stumps to Knight who finished with fine figures of 4/14 off 15 overs.
Major and Moores put a dogged 25 on together for the last wicket before keeper come bowler Wild had the last laugh pulling off an almost unbelievable diving catch off his own bowling to remove Major for 16 and claim the victory for Kerridge.
A catch worthy of winning any game at any level. With 25 points taken Kerridge’s final game on Saturday versus Heaton Mersey at home sees top play second with a winner takes all scenario guaranteeing one of them the title.