Alvanley draw some comfort from result
ALVANLEY Cricket Club first XI faced bogey side Stockport on Saturday on a good track at the Alv but likely to off some assistance to the new ball bowlers.
This proved to be Stockport who won the toss and asked Alvanley to have first hit.
Probing new ball bowling was expertly repelled by openers Mike Rowlands and Ste Charles and they eased to 27 in eight overs when surprisingly the former edged behind a James Dunley delivery to Sam Edwards for 17.
Charles carried on with Ian McDermott to 41 before he was bowled by Alex Barber for 19.
Chris Wright joined the fray and the the third wicket pair added runs carefully and with few alarms and at drinks, 90-2 was a good platform.
Drinks brought about a refreshed bowling attach and McDermott (20), Wright (30) and Sam Baxter (4) all fell before the score had gone much past the 100.
A score of 103-5 was a problem with just 18 overs to go and 200 seemingly par score. There followed a crisp stand of 79 between Si Gee and Andy Bennion.
Both spotted singles and the two put the ball over the rope regularly enough.
Bennion fell for 35, just before Gee raised his bat for an important 50. The tail wagged enough to get the team past 200, with the last wicket falling in the final over at 205.
Stockport had to face some excellent new ball bowling from Chris Charles and Billy Ouzounidis.
The former was so unlucky not to take ● at least a couple of scalps.
Ouzounidis, on the other hand removed both openers George Barber and James Barber for a well deserved spell of 2-14 from his seven overs of work.
Alvanley’s taller bowlers seemed to get more life and movement out of the pitch and the batsmen regularly played and missed.
Ste Charles nipped in with a cracker to remove Zafar Jatoi for seven, but a stand of 73 put the game back on an even keel.
The key wicket was Danny Barber who had hit 58 off 52 deliveries before Rowlands’s leg-spin trapped him lbw in front.
A strange passage followed where the game seemed to be ambling to a tame draw. Then, from seemingly nowhere, a flurry of shots came and the away team strove for the win.
With the shots came wickets and Rowlands and Ste Charles benefited from the Field End while Lee Ainsworth was bowling a highly skilful spell at the Road End. His 14 overs passed the edge of the bat with such regularity that he was almost unplayable.
His two late wickets (he deserved many more) put an end to Stockport’s victory hopes and set up a tense finish as an array of slips and short-legs sought the final wicket for an Alvanley win.
Alas it never came for the hosts and a winning draw was the reward for an excellent day’s cricket.