Widnes tail hold
SATURDAY’S visitors to Victoria Road for the latest Division One clash were Widnes CC, in a game sponsored by The Balti Kitchen.
Macclesfield 1st XI were looking to build on the previous week’s win against Weaverham.
After winning the toss, the Widnes skipper elected to field on a good pitch which looked like it would offer something for both the bowlers and batsmen.
Macclesfield opened the batting with the experienced pairing of John Birchall and Rob Porter and got off to a strong start, putting on 41 before Birchall was bowled for 22 by a delivery which nipped back.
In at three was Tom Tudor who was looking to build on his 52 against Weaverham the week before. However after he fell for nine, Macclesfield were left looking to rebuild during the middle overs.
Porter was looking solid and was building on his good spell of run-scoring form, ably supported by vice-captain Peter Barron.
The pair added 103 to the score to push Macclesfield up to 158 before Porter was caught for a well-constructed 77.
Barron continued to score freely before he was eventually dismissed for a solid 60, with Macclesfield going well at 180-4 and looking for a big finish.
However, it was only Finlay McCance who could put together any sort of cameo (19) as Oli Marsden, Craig Melrose, Adam Longshaw and Chris Moores all fell in quick succession, leaving Macclesfield slightly under par at 213-9.
However, a fantastic 10th wicket partnership between Alex Griffiths and Otis Palmes, helped by a maximum from Griffiths and some inventive shots from Palmes – including one off the back of his bat which flew for a one-bounce four over the keeper’s head – pushed Macclesfield up to a commanding 247-9 off 50 overs.
In reply, Widnes shot out of the blocks and got to 35 before Palmes trapped the opener LBW for 15.
Palmes and Melrose stuck at the task well to no avail when Porter decided it was time for a double bowling change introducing himself and John Birchall to try and break the partnership.
It was Birchall who struck first removing the other opener for leaving Widnes 67-2.
Several of the Widnes batsmen managed to build starts, however Macclesfield managed to keep pegging them back. After some clever bowling from Birchall and some rare turn and bounce for Porter, backed up the field, Widnes were left struggling at 197-9, Birchall and Porter both finishing with four wickets apiece.
With Macclesfield sensing back to back victories on the horizon, and Widnes shutting up shop with the ever increasing run rate, Porter decided to mix up the bowling in a desperate effort to take the final wicket with Marsden, Moores and Tudor all bowling overs in an attempt to finish the game.
However, it wasn’t to be as the Widnes tail held out leaving them 215-9 off their 50 overs.
Overall, it was a frustrating afternoon for Macc who ended up with a winning draw and were left to rue missed chances despite playing the better cricket out of the two sides. Macc took 15 points to Widnes’ nine.
On Sunday, Macclesfield travelled to Bramhall in the second round of the Cheshire Cup, looking to build on their first round success over local rivals Bollington.
In a game where Macclesfield handed first team debuts to five players, stand-in skipper Peter Barron lost the toss and Bramhall decided to bat.
Palmes and Ben Winrow opened the bowling and it was the former who struck first having the opener well caught by Miles Bradshaw at square leg leaving Bramhall 10-1.
Bramhall then started to build a partnership before Tudor struck twice in quick succession to remove the other opener and number three batsman, aided by a fantastic diving catch by Barron at gully with the score 108-3.
This brought to the crease Bramhall’s dangerous number five, Naseer, who wasted no time finding the boundaries.
It was the return of Winrow that spelled the end of Naseer as he was caught behind by Fin McCance.
The final Bramhall wicket to fall, and the first in the first team for young leg spinner Miles Bradshaw, came courtesy of a phenomenal catch by Tudor, running in from the cow corner boundary.
After looking like he’d misjudged the catch and ran in too far, Tudor leapt backwards and snaffled the ball at full stretch above his head.
After the 41 overs, Bramhall ended on a competitive score of 290-5.
A lot of credit must go to the bowlers who stuck at the task tremendously against a strong batting line-up.
In reply, the Macclesfield innings didn’t get off to the best start when first Alex Griffiths, and then McCance, were quickly dismissed bringing together Tudor and Barron.
However, both departed and after a flurry of middle order wickets, Macclesfield saw themselves slump to 59-7.
This brought to the crease Miles Bradshaw and Tom Carter, the latter top scoring with a quick fire 26 to move the Macclesfield score to 81-7.
The Bramhall bowling attack proved too strong for the lower order and Macclesfield were eventually all out for 95 after some lower order striking pushed the score up.
Overall, it was a good performance against an experienced Premier League side and a big learning curve for all involved. Big credit to a number of players for coming in last minute to bolster the side.
Also a big thank you must go to academy player Jack Massey who volunteered to be the scorer for the day and did a fantastic job, operating the Bramhall electronic scoreboard on his own for the majority of the afternoon. Next week Macc are back in action, with an away trip to Marple CC followed by a Beach Party themed club night back at Victoria Road, we look forward to seeing you there in your best flip-flops!