Green victory turns up heat on leaders
EVERY game is a big game when you are looking for promotion but Saturdays game for the Green in context was huge as the travelled to second placed Cheadle Hulme, many peoples favourites for promotion.
The wicket had a very green tinge to it and on winning the toss the Cheadle captain Nauman Akram elected to field first, was this because of the wicket or do they prefer to chase only time would tell.
Hawk Green opened with captain Josh Hampson and Jack Needham facing the Cheadle attack of Scott Howarth and Nauman Akram and it was the former who was first to strike as he had Hampson caught behind third ball for a duck.
Ben Littler joined Needham and whilst both are normally free flowing batsmen they had to dig in and weather the initial problems posed by both bowlers.
Slowly and surely they began to gain the upperhand and played some delightful shots with Needham on 35 looking in excellent form until a slog sweep against slow bowler Tom Balderson found Archie Beckley on the deep backward square boundary and the chance was comfortably pouched, 64-2.
Next to the crease was in form Dylan Heginbotham and after a cautious start he gradually began to play some attacking shots but when Howarth was reintroduced into the attack he fell for a run a ball 24, caught behind.
Jordan Henderson strode out to great expectations following his feats the previous week but he struggled to come to terms with the slowness of the wicket apart from one brief glimpse of what he is capable of,
Littler was next to fall needlessly run out by Henderson for a vey hard earned 44, 115-4.
Sam Messih and Peter Richards came and went in quick succession, 1256, Henderson eventually fell bowled Shir Wali for 15, 133-7.
Brad Home and Paul Needham took the score to 152 when Holme was out for 10, Needham with the tail took the final score to 168 closing on 11 not out. Would this be enough for the Greens attack to work with?
Last week’s match with Barnton was a nailbiter this was game was to prove that cricket is the greatest leveller of all sports.
Cheadle openers Chris Taylor and Humayun Khalid faced the Greens opening attack of Dylan Heginbotham and Jack Needham and for the first few overs they struggled a little until a few loose deliveries from Heginbotham gave then renewed hope.
That was until Taylor was bowled by the same bowler for 18 in 44 balls hard work indeed, 41-1.
A couple more overs from the pacemen and skipper Hampson turned to his two slow bowlers Jordan Henderson and Mark Richards – they did not let him down as they strangled the flow of runs.
It was Richards who was first to strike as he bowled Wild for 10, 66-2.
New to the crease Nauman Akram ably supported Khalid until with the score on 91 Richards dismissed the latter caught Jack Needham for 45.
With the score on 115-3 Henderson bowled Akram, 115-4 and almost immediately after he bowled Robinson for 2, 119-5.
Richards took his third wicket when he dismissed Potts trapped lbw for 11, 121-6, and the game was very much in the balance, seven overs remaining, six wickets down and 48 runs required.
New to the crease Sam Walker and Archie Beckley rose to the occasion and for a while it looked as if they had taken Cheadle to victory only for skipper Hampson to throw the ball to his third slow bowler, George Ridings, and he did not let his team mates down as in his first over he had Walker stumped by Littler for 14, 143-7.
Needham replaced Richards at the end of his allotted overs, in the next over Ridings had Howarth caught by Paul Needham for 5, 157-8.
Then Needham bowled Beckly for 19, 162-9.
So to the last over, six runs to win, five to tie, one wicket for a win for the Green. First ball a dot, second a single, third a single, fourth a single, fifth a dot, last ball – Ridings bowls Balderson for a victory by skipper chose to field first with the usual bowling attack of Jack Needham and Dylan Heginbotham against Draper and Joseph.
It was the former who took the attack to the
closed with three wickets each and two for Holme.
The Green passed this total in just 13 overs with Hampson and Needham steering them home with 33 and 43 respectively. hopeful that, with nine games remaining, things can still be turned around. Soon, a run of games against sides lower in the table begins, the recent ones having been against sides at the top.