Macc stall in chase attempt
MACCLESFIELD travelled to Brooklands in the first of a triple header between the clubs.
Winning the toss Macclesfield chose to bowl and had an early break through by young Harry Massey.
Further wickets were hard to come by, although the scoring rate was slow.
The home team were let of the hook somewhat as late runs allowed them to post 195 all out in the final over.
There were three wickers apiece for Craig Melrose and Oliver Mardsen. Jack Bagshaw top scored for Brooklands with 44.
The run chase never got going as the top three Macclesfield batsmen were out for single figures.
Only Mardsen showed any fight with a well constructed 60 but once he was out all chances of victory went. Next highest scorer was Melrose with 18.
Next Saturday the 1st team host Oxton at Victoria Road.
The 2XI hosted Brooklands and were invite to bat on a wicket that was soft after the recent rain. That any play was possible was a tribute to the ground staff.
It was hard going for the batsman and both openers had been dismissed with only 17 scored.
Alex Griffiths and Peter Barron battled to build a score against bowlers who took all the pace off the ball, making boundaries very difficult to come by.
However, the pair bat
tled hard, taking quick runs when possible and had put on 94 for the third wicket before Griffiths was out for the top score of 56.
Knowing wickets would be difficult to obtain, Macclesfield tried to increase the scoring rate to enable an early declaration and thereby more overs to bowl at Brooklands
This initially went well as Barron went to his 50 before being caught and Sam Buckingham contributed with a quick 39 off 38 balls. The innings somewhat fell away as wickets fell regularly with Shriraj Mody taking 5 wickets as the inning closed on 193 all out in the 49th over.
In reply an early wicket for Tom Isherwood gave the home side some hope but it was slow progress for Brooklands on a difficult wicket but gradually the required run rate increased, making any run chase a remote possibility.
Wickets fell regularly but opener Dan O’Gorman held firm before being ninth out for a very patient 71 off 134 ball. It left the last pair to see out the final overs as skipper Stu Parks tried a variety of bowlers but all to no avail.
Bowling honours for Macclesfield went to Tom Isherwood with 5 for 32 off his 15 overs , backed up with 3 wickets for Steve Whittingham.
The 13 points gained leaves the 2s top of the league as they travel to Oxton next week.
The 3rds travelled to Brooklands and batting first posted 237 for 4 off 36 overs, thanks to a stunning 136 not out by Tom Carter. They then proceeded to bowl the opposition out for 70 with 4 wickets a piece for Dave Cowen and Ben Winrow.