Macc maintain promotion bid
MACCLESFIELD CC 1st XI maintained their push for a promotion spot when they entertained Weaverham CC 1st XI on a sunny day at Victoria Road, in a game sponsored by The Park Tavern.
Weaverham won the toss and decided to bat first.
Craig Melrose and Tom Key took the new ball, and the former made early in roads as he bowled opener Alex Nash for a duck with the last ball of the first over.
The next few overs didn’t trouble the scorers whatsoever as Melrose and Key sent down maiden after maiden, with the first run off the bat coming in the eighth over!
Thanks to some very tight bowling and some tentative batting from the visitors, unbelievably the score was just 3-1 after 10 overs!
Although a few boundaries ensued, things didn’t really get much better from here on in for the bottom side in the league.
Key bowled the other opener, Lightfoot, in the 12th over and Melrose dismissed Lewis (8), Dickinson (2), Pinnington (0) and Hulse (0) not long after to leave Weaverham on 46-6 around the midpoint of the innings.
Captain and number 3 batsman, Ian Eaton, was still at the crease however and was proving difficult to dislodge.
In the end Macc managed to get the breakthrough they needed though as Eaton guided a ball down to third man and decided to take on John Birchall’s arm for two in the deep.
The pinpoint throw saw Eaton short of his ground as Jim Melrose whipped the bails off.
Eaton had been run out for 29 and surely any last hopes of a revival had gone for the away side, who were now 55-7.
There was another flicker of hope for Weaverham as number 9 batsman Kevin Douglas hit 22 off 22 balls including two big sixes.
But when Chris Moores dismissed Ryan Simm for 1 and Oliver Marsden bowled Douglas, the away team were on 77-9 and as they only had 10 men, they were now all out in just the 33rd over.
Macc began the run chase and were soon reduced to 6-1 as captain Rob Porter under-edged a pull shot to the wicketkeeper off the bowling of Douglas. However John Birchall and Tom Tudor soon settled things down for Macc as they went about their business positively. Birchall began to accelerate with each passing over and after hitting a huge six into the hospital car park he never looked back.
The experienced opener took a particular liking to McCormick’s bowling as he smashed the ball to all parts.
Meanwhile Douglas continued to bowl steadily at the other end as Tudor pounced on any loose deliveries.
Birchall and Tudor built a formidable partnership and passed the 50 mark without the loss of any further wickets.
Birchall continued to motor as he moved into 6th gear and the finish line was getting ever nearer with each ball bowled.
Birchall was finding the fence with almost every delivery at this point as he brought up a truly entertaining half century.
And he wasn’t done yet as he crashed yet more boundaries bringing Macc to within striking distance of Weaverham’s score.
The visitors had no answer for Birchall’s destructive batting style and he soon hit the winning runs in just the 12th over of the innings, with a massive six towards the bowling green.
Birchall ended with a sensational 60 not out off just 40 balls (11 fours and 2 sixes), with Tudor on 15 not out.
Macc finished on 82-1, winning by nine wickets and take an important 25 points, as they continue to battle it out for the second promotion spot with two games to go.