Cantello and Banthorpe alter course
BRAMHALL recovered from a poor start to take the lion’s share of the points from a drawn match at Alderley Edge.
The visitors lost the toss and Alderley Edge gave Bramhall first use of the wicket in asking them to bat.
The Beavers got off to a terrible start against a swinging ball, losing the first wicket with no score and the second wicket just one run later to leave major problems at 1-2.
The rapid loss of the two openers brought Aussie Liam Banthorpe and Bramhall captain Nick Cantello to the crease.
The two built a steady partnership that slowly began to change the momentum of the game in Bramhall’s favour.
The pair had put on a gritty 69 runs for the third wicket before Cantello fell for 18 off 67 balls, but Banthorpe’s confidence continued to grow as he passed a solid fifty, clearly becoming more accustomed to the pitch and the moving ball.
Iftikhar Naseer joined Banthorpe at the wicket to build another steady partnership before the former was adjudged LBW with the score on 109, still leaving some work to do in order to set up a total beyond 200.
The fifth wicket has added another 39 runs with Sam Johnson (28) before Banthorpe was caught behind just four runs short of a deserved debut century.
Despite no other significant contribution from his team mates, Banthorpe’s crucial knock allowed Bramhall to close in a position of relative strength on 191-8 off their 55 overs.
Whilst some disappointment existed at not gaining maximum batting points for reaching 220, their total was somewhat distant after the opening overs.
As they took to the field after tea, Bramhall felt they had a competitive score on