Leaders given scare by Macc
AFTER last week’s bashing at Bollington, the 1s made the short trip to League leaders Bramhall, where both teams had to settle for a draw.
Friday’s torrential rain and inadequate covering exposed a patchy, damp wicket and upon winning the toss, captain Rob Porter rightly invited the home team to bat.
Things looked bright as Bramhall were quickly reduced to 29 for 2. Aussie Jevon Kett (21) and Nick Cantello (18) moved the score to 68 in tricky batting conditions before the former was caught by Jack Massey off the bowling of the impressive Craig Melrose. Wickets fell regularly to the Macc bowlers, Por
ter benefitting from a particularly athletic, juggling act from Chris Moores to dismiss Oliver Latter.
At 131 for 9, Macclesfield looked to have the upper hand however Bramhall’s number 11, Simon Wilkinson (22) had other ideas and together with Ryan Macciocchi, added a decisive 31 for the last wicket, Bramhall finishing on 162.
3 catches for keeper Jim Melrose and grips for Khalid Sawas and James Cross rounded up the Macclesfield fielding effort. Melrose (5-44) was the pick of the bowlers and the feel around the side was a vast improvement on last week’s performance.
Team changes having been rung, in form Dan Isherwood opened up Macclesfield’s innings with Justin Galeotti. The pitch showed no signs of improvement despite the sunshine and Bramhall’s opening bowlers made the best of it. Inconsistent bounce made runs hard to come by and the Macc pair had to dig in until Galeotti was adjudged LBW for 15.
Porter’s stubborn 23 was an example for others to follow. Isherwood fell to a nasty lifter from Latter and Sawas was smartly caught by the ever-present short leg. At 62-4, the game was in the balance and James Cross rode his luck to push the score on to 86 with Miles Bradshaw’s support before both fell quickly.
Enter Craig Melrose and anything was possible. The application that had been missing from previous weeks was evident from the top order and continued into the later batsmen. Melrose and Massey added 23 before Craig was joined by brother Jim. With the ball still flying from the returning Bramhall openers they used a combination of belligerence and telepathic running to take the visitors on to 136. A loss of balance led to Craig’s stumping but brought the experienced Chris Moores to the wicket.
They battled and for a moment the unlikely looked possible. Unfortunately, the course of the day continued and runs remained hard to come by, Macclesfield ending 11 short of victory.
A draw was probably a fair result given the conditions and the strength of Bramhall’s bowling attack but Macclesfield can take plenty away from this game. Talent is one thing but application and commitment to the team is what brings success.