Cruel end to the season for Macc
MACCLESFIELD 1st XI’s final game of the season against Nantwich CC took place on Saturday at Victoria Road, in a crucial winner-stays-up encounter, sponsored by East Cheshire Mortgages.
You certainly couldn’t put your mortgage on which way this game was going to go however, with both sides in good form coming into this mouthwatering relegation battle.
The visitors won the toss and put Macclesfield into bat on a glorious September day.
Macc started well through opening batsmen John Birchall and Ben Marsden, who played the dangerous Cameron and Warrington admirably.
The pair took the score to 50 inside 10 overs. However, Warrington soon struck twice in two overs to remove Marsden for 16 and then Birchall for an entertaining 35.
Macc rebuilt through Bertus and Parfett, but just as they approached 100, Macc’s talisman, Bertus, was poorly adjudged to have edged to the wicketkeeper for 20.
The hosts were then in deeper trouble when Parfett was run out sharply for 27, leaving Macc on 103-4 with 20 overs to go.
Barron and Porter then pushed the singles around and struck the odd boundary to try to give Macc a platform to hit from for the remaining overs.
The pair took the score on to 135-4 when Porter was caught on the boundary for 23, trying to accelerate the pace of the innings. Barron was then bowled for 20 by that man Warrington, who then very next ball dismissed one of Macc’s big hitters, Craig Melrose, claiming his fourth victim of the day.
It left Macc on 144-7 with eight overs to go. James Cross and Harlan Greig then put on a masterclass of how to bat in the final overs. They struck the ball fiercely and ran hard to get as many runs as they could. Cross hit three huge sixes, while Greig hit some powerful boundaries as well.
The pair added 50 runs in no time, taking the score to 195-8, when Greig was eventually run out for 24 in the final over. Macc finished on 200-8 off their 55 overs, with James Cross ending on 32 not out.
In the field, Macc took the early wicket of Cameron, when Melrose trapped him LBW for 8. Nantwich then rebuilt through Simpson and Brown.
Brown batted with freedom and elegance as he took the score past 50 with the able support of Simpson.
Macc did eventually get their much needed breakthrough, however, when Simpson was smartly caught by Parfett in the covers off the bowling of Porter. Not long after the Porter/Parfett combination aligned again when Doyle skied one to leave Nantwich on 75-3.
This put more pressure on Brown and after hitting a couple more boundaries, it eventually told, as he danced down the track to Porter, but yorked himself and James Cross duly obliged with the stumping, to dismiss Nantwich’s star batsman for 47, leaving the visitors on 96-4.
Macc were now firmly on top in this game and this was reaffirmed when a flurry of wickets, from Porter, Raja and Birchall left Nantwich on 127-7 with around 15 overs to go. The Macc faithful were now increasing the volume somewhat.
However, because of Nantwich being six points ahead of Macc going into the game, it became apparent that if Nantwich reached 160 for the loss of seven or eight wickets, then they would stay up. Macc would need nine wickets (two more) to gain an extra bowling point to stay up.
Johnston dug in though for Nantwich and wasn’t giving his wicket away easily. Cowap supported the youngster for a few overs before he was caught behind off Raja.
This left Nantwich on 143-8 with around seven overs to go. Macc needed one more wicket to stay up, or less likely, keep Nantwich below 160 in the next few overs.
Unfortunately for Macc neither of these happened as they toiled away but just couldn’t prize another wicket as the resolute youngster Johnston (29 not out) stood firm and the experience of Warrington (21 not out) at the other end, showed no signs of nerves.
Nantwich finished on 173-8 off their 55 overs, taking six points from the game, while Macc took 12 points.
This meant both sides finished the season on 242 points, but with Nantwich winning five games to Macc’s four across the season, the East Cheshire outfit are confined to relegation.
It was a cruel way to end a disappointing season for the side, but the team are confident of bouncing straight back next year.
A spokesman for the club said: ”The club would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to Australian Nick Bertus, who has been an instrumental figure at the club in his time here and leaves a lasting legacy behind.
“He’s been a revelation in terms of his sterling performances on the pitch, his help off the pitch with coaching the academy and his work at King’s School – and he’s been a fantastic asset for the club to have over the last two years. He will be missed but is welcome back anytime.
“We wish him the best of luck with his cricket when he returns home to Sydney this week.
“The club now winds down for the winter apart from the annual bonfire night which we hope to see you all at! Many thanks for all your support this season whether you are a spectator, member or sponsor!”