WRIGHT AND KUMAR DELIVER WITH THE BAT FOR NANTWICH

NANTWICH rose to the occasion to defeat Widnes in their Cheshire County League Premier Division game at Whitehouse. Third-placed Nantwich were forced to dig deep, though, to secure another victory after Widnes piled up 268 all out on Saturday.

Kieran Maher’s 84 was backed up by 79 from Alex Hewitt and 39 from Qamir Hafiz - which contained six sixes - on a fine day for batting.

Dabbers paceman Jimmy Warrington claimed 5-42, while spinner Ollie Griffiths scooped 3-76. Nantwich fond themselves 77-3 in their run chase, but a 151-run stand for the fourth wicket between Ben Wright and Raj Kumar put them back on track for the points. Wright’s 93 contained 13 fours, with Kumar hitting 10 boundaries and two maximums in his unbeaten 88 to take Nantwich over the line for a five-wicket win in the 54th over.

Aaron Soni claimed a couple of wickets for Widnes. · CONGLETON won by four wickets on their trip to Urmston in Cheshire County League Division One. Muhammad Kashif and Ryan Booth took 5-47 and 3-34 respectively to limit Urmston to 158 all out, despite Lewis Jackson making 33. Booth showcased his batting skills after the interval, making 47 not out, and with Harry Podmore (32), Ben Heades (26) and Stefan Stubbs (25) all impressing, Congleton eased home. Harry Singh (3-30) was the pick of the Urmston attack. · HASLINGTON were also victorious as they won at home against Port Sunlight in Cheshire County League Division Two.

It was a day for bowlers, though, as Haslington were dismissed for 105 in the early stages, in which Jack Taylor contributed 24. Steve Graham (3-11), James Roberts (3-15) and Matthew Hodgson (3-35) did the damage with the ball. Simon Melberzs struck 25 in Port Sunlight’s response, but it wasn’t enough as they were bundled out for 76 as experienced left-arm spinner Tom Gledhill helped himself to 6-28.