Upton cling on for draw at Bollington

BOLLINGTON were left frustrated as they were held to a draw this weekend against league high flyers Upton.

Bollington were asked to bat after losing the toss and soon lost their first wicket of the afternoon, Longhorn departing for 2.

Just a further 32 runs were added before fellow opener Hough was out for 22.

The in form Yaksender joined Ward, and together they frustrated the opposition adding some needed runs in the middle overs.

The scores reached 76 before Yaksender lost his wicket for 16.

Ward was joined by Cross, and together they took the visitors over a 100 at the 30 over mark to set Bollington up for amassing a competitive total. Ward soon brought up his half century, anchoring the Bollington innings throughout.

He lost his wicket shortly after for 53 closely followed by Cross for 26 to leave the visitors in a strong position at 132-5 with 10 overs remaining.

The lower order ensured that Bollington would post a competitive total as Dickinson added a quick 25 before being caught on the boundary by a wonderful catch.

Mackinnon soon departed for 2, however lusty blows from Henshall who added 25 of 16 balls and Horsfield 33 of 9 balls saw Bollington set 217.

In reply, the hosts struggled from the offset as Whitehouse bowled a brilliant opening spell, removing both openers in quick succession.

Bollington continued to take wickets, Cross (2-25) and Ward bowling in tandem with two wickets a piece in the middle overs with Bollington firmly in control at 83-6 after 30 overs.

Whitehouse (3-37) took his third wicket of the afternoon as they hunted for victory with Ward (4-40) taking a further two wickets, including a stunning catch behind the stumps from Longhorn to leave the hosts nine wickets down with four overs remaining.

Despite best efforts, Upton held out for a draw, finishing well below par on 152.

A disappointing result but certainly many positives to be taken for the visitors who took 15 points from the fixture as they sit comfortably in mid table at this stage.

Bollington 2nd XI thrashed Cheadle Hulme by 10 wickets at The Rec on Saturday.

The visitors batted first on another terrific surface and were bowled out for 170 thanks to excellent bowling from Julian McGovern 3-40, Ben McClintock 3-19, Charlie Harper 2-23, Michael Clarke 1-30 and Toby Phipps 1-47. Special mention for Lucas Tomlinson who took a superb catch on the boundary off the bowling of Ben McClintock.

Despite Cheadle Hulme’s slightly below par total, 170 was still a score which meant Bollington would need to bat well to win the game.

They did that and much more as they chased down the total in just 31 overs thanks to a hard hit 126 not out from skipper Matt Dawson and an excellent and equally important 35 not out from Jos Collier to give the seconds a memorable 10 wicket victory.

Next up for the 1st XI is a home fixture against Urmston with the 2nd XI travelling to Ashton-On-Mersey next Saturday 21st July.