No change of fortune in cup

WIDNES travelled to Didsbury with a much changed team from Saturday, hoping to for an improvement of fortune.

They were dealt a further blow when captain Tom Evans pulled a muscle which hampered his involvement in the match.

Having won the toss and electing to bat first, much depended on openers Maher and Chughtai to get Widnes off to a flying start.

Ali Chughtai started brightly but was then caught for 12. McKenna joined Maher but the run rate slowed dramatically as both batters struggled to gain any momentum.

With the score on 60, McKenna was caught and bowled for 14 off 33 balls.

Burns played solidly and the score limped along to 122 off 30 overs before Maher was bowled for 48.

Rohan Luthra joined Burns and hit a run a ball 33 by which time he had been joined by Alex Curlett, following the dismissal of Burns for 45.

Curlett hit a quick fire 25 before the innings ended after 40 overs for 189.

Chasing a total of less than

200 was unlikely to trouble the home team and so it proved.

The Didsbury openers achieved the first 50 in the 12th over and Tim Hughes posted 50 runs off a run a ball.

The hundred came up in the 17th over as Didsbury cruised to victory.

The first wicket fell at 145 when Hughes fell for 65 to Soni and 5 runs later Hafiz had Fisher LBW for 4.

Noah Croes steered Didsbury home with an undefeated 84 and he passed the Widnes total with 11 overs to spare.

Two defeats over the weekend will test the resolve of the team and Evans will be looking for a strong reaction in the weeks ahead.