Sunshine backdrop for 175th landmark
THE 2022 cricket season was unique in one aspect, the weather! At Victoria Road only 20 or so overs were lost to the rain, unheard of in recent memory.
Looking back across the season the Club, celebrating its 175th anniversary, held its own in all its competitions, and throughout the club, from under 7s to Over 40s conceded only one fixture. A remarkable achievement and full credit to all the coaches and captains.
For the 1st XI, looking to consolidate their position in Cheshire County Cricket League Division 1 they got off to a flier beating Cheadle, who would be Champions at the season end, quite comprehensively by 56 in a low scoring match.
The season then fell into a pattern of win a game , lose a game, which kept the team mid table without really threatening the top teams.
However, August saw the wheels come off as 4 straight defeats, and with minimal bonus points gained, saw relegation became a distinct possibility. With two of the last three games against fellow relegation threatened teams, victories became imperative.
The first game against Lindow proved a nail bitter as Macclesfield determinedly battled to post a competitive score but 161 / 8 off 50 overs was below par. Lindow were always favourite but the Macc bowlers kept chipping away with regular wickets. With three overs left, the visitors required 3 runs with the last pair at the crease. But an attempt to hit the winning runs with one shot only found a fielder to give Macc vital breathing space.
Whereas Lindow was a game Macclesfield snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, the opposite almost happened the following week at struggling Bramhall. A last wicket partnership of 50 gave the home side a total of 140 all out but in their chase, after a solid start, Macclesfield lost regular wickets. Eventually they prevailed with two overs left to secure 7th position in the league.
It is obvious where the Macclesfield need to improve and that is the batting. Only twice did they scor
e more than 200 runs and no century from any batter. Rob Porter top scored with 425 runs from 16 games, and his experience opening the batting was crucial. But he was the lowest top scorer of all the 12 teams in Division 1. The highest individual score was Jack Massey with 81.
The bowling was a different case with Craig Melrose snaring 41 wickets closely followed by Miles Bradshaw with 36. The team is still very young with many teenagers gaining valuable experience, the future therefore looks rosy, if the batting performance can be addressed.
The 2XI, having been relegated from the Premier Division the previous year, were looking to bounce back at the first attempt. But it didn’t turn out that way as it was not until their 6th match that they managed a victory. A follow up win in match 7 was followed by 3 more defeats and relegation was threatening.
The turning point came with a battling draw at Grappenhall when a determined Sam Hughes batted 73 balls to avoid defeat. There followed 6 victories on the bounce to take them clear of the relegation places. The highlight being Adam Longshaw’s 89 to take Macclesfield to victory against a strong Brooklands side who would be promoted at the end of the season. There was also a cameo performance from former first team captain Tom Parfett, making his only appearance of the season, who scored his maiden century for the club against Brooklands.
With the talent pool at the club it was a surprise that the team struggled in the first half of the season but this can be partly attributed to player availability. 46 players were used during the campaign with many changes early on. Once some stability returned the results improved. The final league table showed the club in 10th place but well clear of the relegation zone.
A difficult task for skipper Tom Isherwood but he had good support from Otis Palmes who gave stability to the batting with a number of solid displays opening the batting. Palmes was top run scorer with 360. He was also the lead bowler with 36 wickets with the best return of 6/35 in a losing match at Romiley. The other bowling support came from spin bowler Hughes who snapped up 23 wickets with 7 of them taken in a must win game against Didsbury.
For the 3rd XI, competing in the Cheshire League, they play win / lose cricket, so no draws. And with 2 promotion and 4 relegation places, the league is very competitive for the 12 clubs. The pattern of results were a mixed bag with some good wins and disappointing defeats. The highlight was a comprehensive victory over an undefeated Knutsford side who would run away with the league.
However the closeness of the league is such that Macclesfield went into the last game needing a win to avoid relegation, which they achieved, and attained a creditable 6th place in the league table!
The batting was strong with skipper Chris Flint leading the way with 471 runs, closely supported by
Robin Farmer with 456 and Oli Becroft with 396. Robin was one of two century makers with 116* in the win against Maritime and Ian Kenny with 111 in the defeat versus Stockport Trinty. Alex Griffiths was one run short of emulating Tom Parfett by getting a century on his only appearance of the season in the Knutsford fixture.
The bowlers shared the wickets with Becroft and Tony Moores leading the way with 23 a piece supported by Miles Horner with 21. Star performances by Ben Farmer with 6 wickets for 12 runs in a losing cause at Stockport Trinity and Ollie Jennings 6/24 in a thrilling one wicket win against Northwich.
For Macclesfield 4th XI, their 2nd season since reforming it was important to build on the previous campaign’s building blocks and initially it was a struggle, losing their first 10 matches. The turning point came in July when they posted 204 against Congleton. Charlie Cresswell top scored with 44 and followed it up with 4 wickets.
There followed a couple more defeats then a wining streak of 5 matches which meant at the end of the season a 7th place in the league. Leading run scorer was Aju Peter Clement with 311 supported by Ray Sharma with 259. Highlight of the batting was a maiden senior ton for 13 year old Leo Burns
The bowling was led by skipper Matt Cunningham and Ollie Mitchell both with 16 wickets. Ollie had his best performance with 6 wickets for 21 against Wistaston Village. Jacob Tidswell also starred against the same side in the reverse fixture with 5/15
The Sunday XI, like the 4th team, is an opportunity to give young players experience of senior cricket. This was achieved but in fairness it was a struggle, despite the efforts of skipper Robbie Jennings, as Macclesfield were in a division too high.
There was an early win against Hale Barns, thanks to 166 partnership between Richard Flint (86) and Jacob Tidswell
79*) for the 4th wicket. July saw a win at Woodley, a quick fire 22 by George Montaldo adding to the 226 total.
There was a remarkable game Bredbury where Macc posted 236 (Sam McDowell 63) but still lost in 30 overs. A good example of the difference in class between some teams.
They signed off with a victory at Didsbury thanks to runs from youngsters Tidswell (47) Harry Boyd (41) and George Ackerley (33) and backed up with 3 wickets for Fin Nash.
Tidswell topped the batting with 250, followed by Burns 211. Harry Martin led the bowling with 11 wickets.
The Over 40s had a most encouraging season registering 5 victories and 5th in the league. Led both on and off the field by Scottish immigrant Keith Dixon, the team thoroughly embraced the competition enjoying themselves immensely in the games and the bar.
The highlight of the season was, for once, getting the upper hand against neighbours Bollington!
Leading the way with the bat was Robin Farmer (166) and Paul Butterworth (144) and with the ball Steve Whittingham took 11 wickets.
The Club fielded two ladies teams this year, Team Treacle and Team Silk. Treacle won nine out of 10 games to win their league whereas Silk, in their fledgling year, kept improving all season.
The season was primarily softball cricket but the enthusiastic ladies progressed with a few games of hard ball. And a big feather in their cap was that Michelle Lloyd turned out for the over 40s, quite an achievement.
Other notable highlights during the summer was the fixture against the MCC to mark the Club’s 175th anniversary and the annual T20 match v the Rugby Club.
And last, but certainly not least, the continued development of the Academy as cricket is provided for seven year olds and above, is something the club can be proud of during 2022