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Cheshire County Cricket League

2016 NEWSLETTER : WEEK 21– SEPTEMBER 10

Alderley Edge thrash 2015 champions to win 2016 title

ALDERLEY EDGE were celebrating their first ECB Premier League title since 2008 on Saturday evening after beating reigning champions Hyde by 112 runs at Moss Lane. They are 44 points clear with one game to play so cannot be caught. Congratulations to Adam Worrall and his team, beaten only once since the second week of the season

Lancashire all-rounder Jordan Clark was the key to their 13th victory, scoring a quality 119 in a fifth wicket stand worth 142 with Richard Wilkinson, 45 in a tally of 243-6, Will Walker taking 3-77. Winners of the title themselves in the past two seasons, Hyde batted limply in reply and were all out for 131, Harry Dearden 48, Andy Windle 4-31, with Clark, 3-15 and Wilkinson, 3-50 completing outstanding personal performances.

Word had by then come through that their only realistic challengers Bowdon had lost by 68 runs at lowly Nantwich. Fighting hard against relegation, the Dabbers ran up a modest 193, Rob Cook-Sievewright 50 with Chris Ashling, Dan Williams and Richard Carter sharing nine of the wickets. Bowdon’s unreliable batting let them down after tea when they were bowled out for 125 by Ollie Griffiths, 5-26 and Jimmy Warrington, 3-22.

Nantwich needed these points with relegation rivals Macclesfield also winning, by three wickets at home to Timperley who posted 167-9, Craig Grindley 38, Rob Porter 4-37, Ollie Marsden 4-41. Macc responded with 189-7 led by their inspiring Aussie, Nick Bertus, with 72 not out

In key final fixtures on Saturday, Macc will host the Dabbers with two other clubs suddenly involved in the mix - Toft and Timperley - meeting at Booth’s Park.

Enlivened by their T20 successes, Bramhall beat fading Chester by 118 runs at Church Lane. Dan Lamb 65, Dale McKay 60 and Nick Cantello 52 not out, top-scoring in a tally of 50. Boughton Hall were bowled out for 132, Will Owen 41 not out, Lamb and Luke Littlewood both claiming three wickets.

Neston swept away any relegation worries with a comprehensive eight wickets victory over Toft at Parkgate. Their visitors were dismissed for 82, Matt Stewart 4-17, then Simon Stokes, 45 not out, led Neston’s charge.

Relegated Urmston put up a sorry show at home to Cheadle, losing by 10 wickets after bowled out for 82, Callum Parkinson 59 not out, Dan Brown 5-34. Cheadle, whose inspirational skipper Paul Sperring is leaving to play for Woodford next season, coasted to 83 without loss in 13 overs, Nick Fletcher 34 not out.

Division One promotion & relegation settled

DIDSBURY and Grappenhall both clinched promotion from Division One, three points separating the pair with one game remaining. Didsbury will host Bollington, while Grappenhall go to Oxton.

Marple were bowled out for 138 at Didsbury, Matt Gregson 5-19, the leaders replying with 140-4, Nick Anderson 40.

Grappenhall, meanwhile, scored 123-5 (Peter Barnes 61) to top Weaverham’s modest 119 (Kevin Waterhouse 42, Andy Pennington 3-17).

Oulton Park will finish third after taking full points at relegated Tattenhall. Danny Leech scored 62 not out as they totalled 162-6 to overhaul bottom club Tatters’ 161, Sam Green 51.

Cheadle Hulme are also relegated after losing by a massive 203 runs at Davenham who muscled to 304-6, South African Givon Christisan contributing 156, the division’s highest tally of the summer. ‘Hulme were bowled out for 101, Ryan Blackie 5-20.

Warrington enjoyed a winning draw at Oxton where they posted 186-9, Huw Stone 38. Oxton replied with 170-9, Shaaiq Choudhry scoring 53 after an earlier 3-52 bowling stint. Warrington ‘s James Rudd produced bowling figures of 6-32 after his 6-16 two weeks earlier

Skipper Rick Hough carried his bat for a splendid 104 in Bollington’s 122-runs home victory over Sale.

SEPTEMBER 10 NEWSLETTER: p2

Widnes celebrate in style

WIDNES celebrated receiving the Second Division championship trophy from League chairman David Humpage with a stylish 85-run victory over Lindow at Beaconsfield road, their 10th maximum pointer in the last 11 games.

Opting to bat, Widnes declared at 252-3, Matt Burns, 103 and South African Marcus Fourie, 65, putting on 132 for the first wicket before Alex Hewitt cashed in with 75. Lindow lost their last wicket at 167 after late order batsmen Ben Tyler, 53 and Pat Chrystys, 30 almost pulled off a draw with one over left.

Also promoted, Upton won by five wickets chasing Mobberley’s 206-8 (Abdul Aqeel 61). They had just one ball to spare at 207-5, Dan Owen 67, Matt Ingram 58. Mobberley’s decent 10 points return, however, means they need only two from their final game at Barrow to escape the drop.

The second club to go out of the League looks also certain to be Congleton, who lost by four wickets at home to Brooklands, despite Ben Scowen’s fighting 50. Caleb Jones took 5-58 for Brooklands, who go third.,

At the foot of the table, demoted Middlewich lost by five wickets to improving Christleton, for whom Matt Astbury took 5-39

There was some high-scoring at Moss Farm where Alvanley enjoyed a winning draw with Northwich. Steve Charles (96) top-scored in Alvanley’s 243-7, Sam Stoneley taking 4-53, to which Northwich replied with 205-7, James Plant 46.

Stockport beat Barrow by two wickets at Cale Green after dismissing their visitors for 101, M. Green 4-21 then running up 104-8, Shea Gribben 55 not out, Iro De Silva 5-33.

SATURDAY’S MATCH DETAILS ….

ECB Premier League

At Moss Lane:

ALDERLEY EDGE (25 pts.) beat HYDE (won toss, 3 pts.) by 112 runs

Alderley Edge 243-6 (55 overs: J Clark 119, R Wilkinson 45 = 142 for 5th wicket, W Walker 3-77).

Hyde 131 (40 overs: H. Dearden 48, D Berry 32, A Windle 4-31, J Clark 3-15, R. Wilkinson 3-50).

At Church Lane

BRAMHALL (25 pts.) beat CHESTER BOUGHTON HALL (won toss, 5 pts.) by 118 runs:

Bramhall 250 (55 overs: D. Lamb 65, D McKay 60, N. Cantello 52no, A. Davis 3-65, J Williams 3-72);

Chester 132 (39 overs: W Owen 41no, L Littlewood 3-31, D. Lamb 3-39).

At Whitehouse Lane:

NANTWICH (won toss, 25 pts.) beat BOWDON (4 pts.) by 68 runs:

Nantwich 193 (52 overs: R Cook-Sievwright 50, S. Rimmer 34, R Carter 3-38, C. Ashling 3-41, D Williams 3-59);

Bowdon 125 (45 overs: D Williams 27, O. Griffiths 5-26, J Warrington 3-22).

At Parkgate:

NESTON (won toss, 25 pts.) beat TOFT (0 pts.) by 8 wickets:

Toft 82 (31 overs: J Drummond 19, M Stewart 4-17);

Neston 85-2 (13 overs: S. Stokes 45no).

At Victoria Road:

MACCLESFIELD (25 pts.) beat TIMPERLEY (won toss, 7 pts.) by 3 wickets:

Timperley 167-9 (55 overs: C. Grindley 38, R Porter 4-37, O. Marsden 4-41);

Macclesfield 169-7 (47 overs: N Bertus 72no, J. Cross 37, J. White 4-52).

AT UCG:

URMSTON (won toss, 0 pts.) lost to CHEADLE (25 pts.) by 10 wickets:

Urmston 82 (29 overs: C Parkinson 58no, D. Brown 5-34);

Cheadle 83-0 (13 overs: N Fletcher 56no, G. Dixon 25no).

Division 1

At Recreation Ground:

BOLLINGTON (won toss, 25 pts.) beat SALE (2 pts.) by 112 runs:

Bollington 203-6 (50 overs: R Hough 104no carried bat, T Horsfield 43);

Sale 91 (22 overs: B Guest 30, A. Durie 6-26, H Dickinson 3-30).

SEPTEMBER 10 NEWSLETTER: p3

Division 1 results contd …

At Butcher’s Stile

DAVENHAM (won toss, 25 pts.) beat CHEADLE HULME (2 pts.) by 203 runs:

Davenham 304-6 (50 overs: G Christian 158, B. Gough 60, S Hunt 51);

Cheadle Hulme 101 (28 overs: G Balderson 24, R. Blackie 5-24).

At Wilmslow Road:

DIDSBURY (won toss, 25 pts.) beat MARPLE (3 pts.) by 6 wickets:

Marple 138 (50 overs: M Barrow 32, M Makin 30, M. Gregson 5-19);

Didsbury 140-4 (31 overs: N Anderson 40, M Marfani 37no, J Menzies 3-31).

At Broad Lane:

GRAPPENHALL (won toss, 25 pts.) beat WEAVERHAM (2 pts.) by 5 wickets:

Weaverham 119 (31 overs: K Waterhouse 42, A. Pennington 3-17);

Grappenhall 123-5 (40 overs: P Barnes 61, G. McCormick 3-30).

At Townfield Lane:

OXTON (8pts.) drew with WARRINGTON (won toss, 13pts.):

Warrington 186-9 (50 overs: H Stone 38, R Heaney 36, A Green 30, S. Choudhry 3-52);

Oxton 170-9 (50 overs: S Choudhry 53, M. DeBrabender 49, J. Rudd 6-32).

At Flacca Field:

TATTENHALL (won toss, 6 pts.) lost to OULTON PARK (25 pts.) by 4 wickets:

Tattenhall 161 (46 overs: S Green 51, M. Parkinson 3-40);

Oulton Park 162-6 (43 overs: D. Leech 62no, A Mills 42, B Gibbon 3-19).

Division 2:

At Booth Street:

CONGLETON (2 pts.) lost to BROOKLANDS (won toss, 25 pts.) by 4 wickets:

Congleton 98 (36 overs: B Scowen 50, C Jones 5-58);

Brooklands 101-6 (32 overs: M Bloomfield 36, J Goode 3-48).

At Haddon Field:

MIDDLEWICH (won toss, 2 pts.) lost to CHRISTLETON (25 pts.) by 5 wickets:

Middlewich 99 (40 overs: R Clorley 36, M Astbury 5-39);

Christleton 100-5 (27 overs: J. Gittins 36, P. Parry 3-41).

At Moss Farm:

NORTHWICH (won toss, 8 pts.) drew with ALVANLEY (14 pts.):

Alvanley 243-7 (50 overs: S Charles 96, C. Wright 32, C. Charles 30no, S Stoneley 4-53);

Northwich 205-7 (50 overs: J Plant 46, M. Dufty 45, C. Wathukarage 41, M Walker 39);

At Cale Green:

STOCKPORT (won toss, 25 pts.) beat BARROW (3 pts.) by 2 wickets:

Barrow 101 (35 overs: M. Green 4-21, S Gribben 3-26, G Barber 3-46);

Stockport 104-8 (44 overs: S Gribben 55no, I. De Silva 5-33, M. Barrow 3-13);

At Beaconsfield Road:

WIDNES (won toss, 25 pts.) beat LINDOW (3 pts.) by 85 runs:

Widnes 252-3 dec. (49 overs: M Burns 103, M Fourie 65 = 131 for 1st wicket, A Hewitt 75);

Lindow 167 (51 overs: B. Tyler 53, P Chrystys 30, D Moore 3-47.)

SEPTEMBER 10 NEWSLETTER: p4

Tables at Week 21

ECB PREMIER P W T WD RD LD C/AB L BAT BOWL PTS.

LEAGUE (25) (16) (3) (2) (1) (7)

ALDERLEY EDGE 21 13 0 0 1 0 5 2 9 9 380 champs

BOWDON 21 11 0 0 0 0 6 4 8 13 336

HYDE 21 9 0 2 1 0 5 4 24 23 315

CHESTER BO. HALL 21 9 0 0 2 3 3 4 34 19 306

CHEADLE 21 8 0 1 0 0 6 6 17 12 274

BRAMHALL 21 6 0 0 1 2 7 5 45 20 263

NESTON 21 6 0 1 1 1 4 8 39 27 250

*TOFT 21 5 0 2 1 1 5 7 43 25 244

NANTWICH 21 5 0 2 2 0 2 10 53 34 236

**TIMPERLEY 21 5 0 0 0 0 5 11 47 19 234

*MACCLESFIELD 21 4 1 0 1 1 7 7 38 17 230

URMSTON 21 2 0 0 0 0 4 15 24 34 136 rel

* Macclesfield, Timperley (2) & Toft records includes 7 points gained from defeats in games of under 80 overs (reg. 7f)

DIVISION 1 P W WD RD LD C/AB L BAT BOWL POINTS

DIDSBURY 21 12 1 1 0 2 5 38 20 377 prom

GRAPPENHALL 21 13 0 0 0 4 4 13 8 374 prom

*OULTON PARK 21 10 1 2 1 1 6 44 25 342

WEAVERHAM 21 10 0 0 0 4 7 31 17 317

SALE 21 9 2 0 0 4 6 36 13 308

**BOLLINGTON 21 8 0 1 2 4 6 29 17 288

MARPLE 21 7 0 0 1 7 6 26 14 265

*DAVENHAM 21 6 1 1 2 4 7 45 29 258

OXTON 21 5 3 0 2 4 7 41 31 236

*WARRINGTON 21 3 2 1 2 4 9 47 34 201

CHEADLE HULME 21 3 2 0 2 5 9 35 19 172 rel

*TATTENHALL 21 1 1 0 1 3 15 36 39 132 rel

*Bollington (2), Davenham, Oulton Park, Tattenhall & Warrington records include 7 points gained from defeats in games

of under 80 overs (reg. 7f).

DIVISION 2 P W WD RD LD C/AB L BAT BOWL POINTS

WIDNES 21 14 1 1 1 3 1 26 9 412 champs

UPTON 21 12 1 2 0 2 4 16 15 357 prom

*STOCKPORT 21 8 3 0 0 4 6 35 21 283

BROOKLANDS 21 9 0 0 2 4 6 12 23 290

*CHRISTLETON 21 8 0 0 1 3 9 23 19 269

ALVANLEY 21 6 2 0 1 4 8 42 29 256

NORTHWICH 21 5 3 1 4 3 5 55 33 249

BARROW 21 5 3 0 0 5 8 46 31 246

*LINDOW 21 6 1 2 0 3 9 35 20 233

*MOBBERLEY (-6) 21 3 4 1 1 5 7 58 24 213

CONGLETON 21 4 0 0 4 6 7 21 22 189

*MIDDLEWICH 21 1 0 0 3 6 11 38 19 134 rel

Mobberley 6 points deducted for slow over rate

*Christleton, Lindow, Middlewich, Mobberley and Stockport records include 7 points gained from defeats in games of under 80 overs (reg. 7 f).

SEPTEMBER 10 NEWSLETTER: p5

FIXTURES & UMPIRES FOR SEASON’S FINAL

DAY ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 – week 22

ECB Premier League (12 noon unless stated)

BOWDON V ALDERLEY EDGE Darrin Clark & David Gane

CHEADLE V CHESTER BOUGHTON HALL Alistair Davies & David Tait

HYDE V BRAMHALL (11 a.m.) Barrie Burns & Phil Prince

MACCLESFIELD V NANTWICH Ian Greensmith & Gary Zimmer

TOFT V TIMPERLEY Trevor Burnett & Ankit Jain

URMSTON V NESTON Paul Herring & Geoff Wellsteed

Division One (12.30 p.m.unless stated)

DAVENHAM V MARPLE Peter Davies & Chris Rigg

DIDSBURY V BOLLINGTON Brian Boys & Nigel Simms

OXTON V GRAPPENHALL (12 noon) Martin Roberts & Ken Rothwell

SALE V TATTENHALL James Emmerson & John Potts

WARRINGTON V OULTON PARK Graham Harris & Jon Hacking

WEAVERHAM V CHEADLE HULME Steve Kirkbright & John Williams

Division Two (all 12.30 p.m.)

ALVANLEY V UPTON Ged Kinsey & Brian Wareing (tel. 07780 501 859)

BARROW V MOBBERLEY Ron Bedson & Ian Wilson

BROOKLANDS V MIDDLEWICH Jason Pawluk (tel. 07730 405 106) & Ray Prescott

CHRISTLETON V WIDNES Graham Church (tel. 07740 742 830) & David Williams

LINDOW V STOCKPORT Garry Hambleton & John Lowe

NORTHWICH V CONGLETON Graham Pugh & Simon Smith

All umpiring appointments are made and notified by Geoff Young, to whom thanks are offered for season-long information.

Third Cheshire Cup final victory for Hyde

HYDE turned in a top-class performance to beat North Staffs & South Cheshire League visitors Elworth by 98 runs at Werneth Low on Sunday and win the Cheshire Cup for the third time. The two previous occasions were in 2008 and 2111.

Few would have fancied Hyde after they failed to score a run the first five overs, then limped to 14-1 off 10 and 75-2 at half-way against tight bowling, opener Rob Brierley scoring 37 after replacing Harry Dearden, called up for his Leicestershire first team debut. Skipper Danny Berry then joined Dave Fitzsimmons in a brisk partnership worth 125. Berry sparkled with 80 off 40 balls, while Fitz continued to hold the innings together and closed on 107 as his side reached an unlikely tally of 262-5, Russ Ballard 2-73.

Elworth, who entered the game fancying their chances after disposing of Alderley Edge and Bowdon in the two previous rounds. But when key professional Yasir Ali was dismissed for 17, they never threatened and closed on 164, Matt Winter top-scoring with 35. Successful Hyde bowlers were Dan Cranmer 3-29, Jason Whittaker 2-19, Elliot Young 2-42 and James Duffy 2-51.

The trophy was handed to Hyde skipper Danny Berry by Cheshire Clubs Cricket Committee chairman David Humpage, who also presented medals to the teams, umpires Alistair Davies and Gary Zimmer and scorers James Howe and Connor Flowers. Ian Greensmith rightly named Fitzsimmons as Man of the Match.

Peter Davies, chairman of the 4Cs Competition Committee praised organiser Peter Hayes for his work running the Cup and Shield for the first time and the Hyde club for providing superb playing conditions.

SEPTEMBER 10 NEWSLETTER: p6

Bramhall exit T20 National at semi-final

BRAMHALL put up a fighting performance before losing to Derbyshire’s Sandiacre Town in the semi-final of the NatWest Club T20 on the Derbyshire county ground on Tuesday, September 6.

Sandiacre went on to lose to East Anglia premiership winners Swardeston by 65 runs in the floodlight final. Norfolk-based Swardeston are also through to the National Club final at Northampton on September 20 – meeting South Northumberland - and stand to become the first club to win both competitions in the same season.

Recorded highlights of the day’s play at Derby will be shown on Sky television before the Royal London One Day Cup final at Lord’s this Saturday, September 17. The Bramhall pavilion will open early so that members can look in.

Even without unavailable Lancashire star Dan Lamb, the Bramhall batsmen put up a fine display in the early morning semi-final. Ashley West (42) and Adam Wilde (36) put on 97 for the first wicket in 13 overs before the innings closed at 156-4, Ifti Naseer scoring 27 and skipper Nick Cantello not out 26.

Sandiacre’s strong batting always kept them ahead of the clock and they closed on 158-2 from 18.2 overs, former Derbyshire batsman Dan Birch hitting a vigorous, unbeaten 73. Chris Sanders took 1-23 and Rupes Kitzinger 1-32.

In the second semi-final, Swardeston scored 167-6 to beat Tunbridge Wells of the Kent League by 23 runs.

In the final, Sandiacre were bowled out for 85 chasing Swardeston’s 150.

UKFAST LEAGUE & ALLIANCE TO MERGE

THE UKFAST Cheshire League, founded 1974 and the Cheshire Alliance (1998) are planning to merge next season.

A statement issued by Cheshire League secretary Brian Birtles reads:

“Meetings have been held between representatives of the executive committees of the Cheshire League and Cheshire Alliance with a view to safeguarding the future of recreational cricket at this level.

The outcome is to seek the approval of member clubs to merge both leagues in 2017.

Merger details will be discussed at executive meetings of both leagues on September 21 and October 3

respectively, when full details will be issued to all clubs to allow discussions by players, volunteers and officers prior to the next management meetings on November 17 and October 20.

Final merger proposals will then be voted upon at the annual meetings of the respective leagues on January 12, 2017 and November 24, 2016.”

The statement concludes: “Full details of the proposed merged leagues will be issue to clubs in early October. Notwithstanding the above, both leagues will need to know from their clubs by December 31 this year how many teams they plan to run in 2017 and what fixture requirements they may have”.

Meanwhile, Romiley and Bredbury are promoted

AFTER beating Ashton on Mersey and Poynton respectively, Romiley – for the first time - and Bredbury St. Mark’s – after an absence of only one season - are promoted from the UKFast Cheshire League to the Cheshire County league for 2017.

Former County League champion clubs, Poynton and Heaton Mersey are relegated to Division 2. ‘Mersey had 44 points deducted for disciplinary reasons and slow over rates. The Division 2 promoted clubs are Port Sunlight and Haslington.

SATURDAY’S DIVISION 1 RESULTS

Ashton on Mersey 162 lost to Romiley 166-5; Hale Barns 131 beat Barnton 85; Irby 154 beat Heaton Mersey 92;

Poynton 117 lost to Bredbury 119-3; Runcorn 55 lost to Disley 56-0; Stockport Georgians 38-1 beat Lymm 37.

CURRENT PLACINGS

1. Romiley 367 points; 2. Bredbury 359; 3. Ashton on Mersey 315; 4. Barnton 312; 5. Disley 294; 6. Hale Barns 275; 7. Lymm 249; 8. Stockport Georgians 247; 9.Runcorn 223; 10. Irby 175; 11. Poynton 149; 12. Heaton Mersey 131

FINAL DIVISION 1 FIXTURES ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 (12.30 p.m., tea at close of play)

Barnton v Poynton; Bredbury v Ashton on Mersey; Disley v Romiley; Heaton Mersey v Stockport Georgians; Lymm v Hale Barns; Runcorn v Irby.

Results information provided by George Coull.

SEPTEMBER 3 NEWSLETTER: p7

Cheshire lose Over 60s final

CHESHIRE played well, but lost by the narrow margin of 13 runs against Kent in the final of the National Over 60s championship at Lutterworth on Tuesday last week.

Cheshire won the toss and inserted Kent, who were restricted to a modest 102-2 from their first 30 overs before accelerating to close on 203 from 45 overs. Best Cheshire bowlers were Howard Morris 2-21, Mike Cushion 2-36, skipper Chris Leers 2-40 and Bob Yardley 1-39.

Cheshire suffered a blow when in-form batsman Paul Mitchell was run out for 15, but those who followed did well, notably Bernie Bishop with 54, Colin Naylor, 47 and John Edwards, 28 before they lost their last wicket at 190 with one ball remaining

O Cheshire scorer Myra Isterling and her husband John have been invited to the OSCA ceremony at Lord’s in October.

Arrangements have been completed for the Seniors’ tour to Jamaica in November.

NORTHWICH SCOREBOX DAMAGED BY FIRE

THE scorebox at Northwich Cricket Club containing much of the groundsman’s equipment has been badly damaged in a fire on the ground at Moss Farm on Tuesday last week.

The alert was made to the fire authorities at 1.30 a.m. and men from three tenders worked for several hours to control the blaze, believed to have been started by leaking petrol.

WHALLEY RANGE INQUIRE 40s

CURRENTLY playing in the new Greater Manchester League, Whalley Range have inquired about admission to the Over 40s section in 2017.

League rules do not currently allow the admission of clubs from outside the Cheshire county boundaries.

Meanwhile, no clubs have yet indicated their intention to withdraw from the Forties set up.

A special meeting is to be held on an October date yet to be set.

UMPIRES PULL UP STUMPS

THE Cheshire County League Umpires & Scorers Association are to hold their end of season meeting at Sale on Wednesday, September 21.

A feature will be a talk by James Emmerson on ‘Scoring with the Media”.

CHESHIRE GOLF DAY

CHESHIRE County Cricket Club stage a Golf Day at Styal Golf Club, near Wilmslow on Friday, September 30 starting at 1.30 p.m.

The event is for teams of four with an entry fee of £100 and is open all, with some handsome prizes available.

For further information contact Peter Babbage on 0161 612 8213 (h); 07794 805 298 (mobile) or David Bailey 07889 774 218 or by e-mail on david.bailey@.uk

GUEST TON FOR LANCS 2

SALE batsman Brooke Guest, not an overseas player as stated in last week’s Newsletter, scored a century for Lancashire 2nd last week in a four-day friendly against Gloucestershire.

RICK’S ASHES

THE ashes of the late Rick Davis, Alderley Edge’s match manager and fixture secretary, who died on March 19 aged 59, are to be scattered at a ceremony at the club on Saturday morning.

The event will be attended by all cricket members, including the 1st XI before they set off to play their final game of the season at Bowdon, and receive the ECB Premier League championship trophy, an event Rick would dearly have loved to see.

Rick was also a well-known panel umpire before retiring to take up club duties two years ago.

SEPTEMBER 10 NEWSLETTER: p8

October, 2000 …. to Kenya for ODI tournament

WE made up our minds to visit Kenya for the ICC Champions Trophy in October, 2000 at the last minute because old touring partners persuaded us it would be worthwhile having been to Sharjah two years earlier - and Gulliver’s dropped their prices due to low take-up.

The tour was split into three parts, five days ‘in the wild’ of the Maasai Mara, followed by 12 days in Nairobi for the ODI tournment, not normally our forte. Finally, four days to relax at a beach hotel on the Indian Ocean, north of Mombasa.

We gave up the first section in order to attend the League Dinner at Mere Golf & Country Club - the year Worcestershire wicketkeeper Steve Rhodes was guest speaker. It was another memorable evening, excellently organised by John Bygate.

Next morning, we were ready-packed and away from Manchester Airport direct to Nairobi where we met up with a small party of 20 tourists, led by former Kent and England skipper Mike Denness, just back the experiences of living among the charming and enormously tall Maasai tribe.

The cricket tournament was a one-off, partly to boost the funds of the Kenya Cricket Association and they did well financially and logistically, all games being played at the well-appointed Gymkhana ground just outside the capital.

England – as was their custom in those days – were largely unprepared for the conditions and after beating Bangladesh, went out to South Africa in stage two.

We then became New Zealand fans and due to an absence of support from Down Under, we cheered them through to the final against India. This was a splendid match: India 264-6 (Sourav Ganguly 117), the Kiwis 265-6 with two balls left (Chris Cairns 102 not out). Victorious skipper Steve Fleming was so delighted with our vocal renderings he called us all in for a drink after the presentations.

Kenya, as it remains today, is essentially a poor country, with Western-style infrastructure concentrated in the two main cities. The hovels where millions of people survive on the outskirts of the capital are horrendous and corruption throughout the country was rife, as we experienced.

Wonderful salt lakes

We had several memorable outings from our hotel in the centre of Nairobi, including one through the Rift Valley to the salt lakes of Nyrere and Nakuru. The lakes are situated in abundant safari territory and provide homes to literally millions of noisy flamingos, who will spectacularly fly off at the clap of a hand.

In our party was first-class umpire Ray Julian. I had a chat with him over a pint which went something like this: MTB: “Do you remember standing in a NatWest Bank Trophy game between Cheshire and Essex at Chester in 1998 and giving Cheshire opener Paul Bryson out lbw from Mark Ilott’s first ball?” RJ: “Yes, I think I do”. MTB “Well, Paul told me the ball hit him on the side of his front pad and went off to square leg. Could you possibly have made a rare mistake?” RJ: “Mistake! Me? Let me tell you, son (!), I have been Umpire of the Year twice and if I say a batsman’s out, he’s bloody out and that’s that”. Whereupon he stalked off and we didn’t speak again – until the next pint.

The 300-mile plane transfer to Mombasa was easy enough, but driving from the airport,through the city and up the coast to our oceanside hotel was hard going and it took us two hours to go 30 miles. However, it was worth it and we had a good wind-down, even though it was Election Time in Kenya and gangs of men were in the habit of marauding up and down the sands trying to buy the votes of the beach attendants in order to re-elect the incumbent Daniel Arap Moi.

An ECB Pitch Inspector back home, Mike Denness received a telegram request to visit Mombasa Cricket Club and make an official assessment of its potential to stage future ODIs. He was kind enough to take me along for the ride and while he did his business with the Kenya officials, I had a look round a pleasant ground, although with some obvious shortcomings. I was not surprised to learn later that Mike did not pass Mombasa as a potential international venue.

Wyn had good cause to be thankful for this gentleman’s presence on the last day of our stay when she slipped and sprained an ankle badly. With the trip home looming, Mike thoughtfully phoned the airports at Mombasa, Nairobi and Manchester to arrange for a small pickup to transport us through customs and past other formalities.

So there endeth another tour. Very different from those which had gone before and were still to follow.

SEPTEMBER 20 NEWSLETTER: p9

Is your Dinner poster on display?

ALL clubs must take at least three tickets for the League’s 42nd annual Presentation Dinner at The Mere on Friday, October 7.

Posters have been widely distributed and should be displayed on all club notice boards reminding members of the event, at which former England Test selector and Cheshire all-rounder Geoff Miller will be guest speaker, supported by a top line comedian, with Rob Sproston as MC.

Total numbers from each club should be notified to League secretary Geoff Wellsteed who has issued a reminder that prices have been pegged at £30, with a £2 reduction for under 18s.

O Currently being circulated by 1st XI Competition secretary Ian Sharrock are Players Player of the Year forms. These should be completed by captains and returned ASAP. Overseas players are not eligible.

Visit League websites ….

THE website cheshirecountycl.play- monitored by Darren Sutcliffe takes all 1st XI and Over 40s results with brief match details, which should be posted by 10 p.m.

Full scoreboards MUST be posted by 12 noon the following day. Some clubs are persistently not abiding by this regulation which results in lack of information for viewers and for the Newsletter.

THE League’s Pitchero website administered by Richard Fennah, which contains pictures and documents including all issues of the Newsletter, can be located at: .uk

THE weekly Newsletter will normally be available on Monday mornings to the Press, League Officers, members of the Cricket Committee and individual subscribers who have made personal requests.

Apologies if the Newsletter has arrived late due to technical problems. The undersigned should be contacted if any copy does not appear in decent time. However, the latest issue should always be available on the Pitchero site.

Mike.t-b@

Monday, September 12, 2016

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In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

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