Check out the latest Cheshire Cricket League results for all the action and updates from Week 18
CREDIT: Cheshire County Cricket League
Week 18 – Another beautiful weekend saw results of great significance as the season moves into its final
stages, with nerve-jangling finishes, and Lindow going through to the Cheshire Cup semi-final
PREMIER DIVISION
Didsbury moved a step closer to winning their second Prem title in three seasons after a tense and hard-fought two wkt win over Chester BH. Choosing to bat first, Alex Money’s attractive 74 helped get CBH away strongly, but Dids fought back to reduce them to 142-6 in the 32nd. Andrew Metcalf (78) then stood tall for his side as he marshalled the lower order to add another 117 and set the hosts 260. Dids were 95-1 at halfway but Ash Davis found his range, bowling Nick Anderson, and Money dismissed Tom Hafil for 62. Davis clean bowled two more batsmen and at 245-8 it was anyone’s game. However, Will Street proved a more than capable ally for Steve Green, the Dids all-rounder’s fine 2025 with the bat continuing as he made a fifth half-century of the season, ending 56* as Street hit the winning boundary with an over to spare, Dids a crucial two wkt win and knowing that three wins from their final four matches will be enough. They travel to Timperley next Sat before facing Hyde in the Cheshire Cup semi on Sun 24th.
Hyde’s pursuit of the leaders was upended as Alderley Edge racked up 364 for the second time this season. Unlike that first occasion, Sam Perry was not the main reason for the huge score, the AE skipper missing out at Werneth Low but happy to watch Gennaro Reddy (70), Pat Ashling (68), Alfie Usher (61) and Liam Yahathugoda (57) all play wonderfully well, before Chris Sanders topped it off with a spectacular 84* off just 39 bs. The all-rounder walloped 8×6 and 6×4 in a jaw-dropping assault as 116 came off the final 10 overs, leaving Hyde with an absolute Everest of a run-chase. Led by Luke Young’s 92, they had a real go, but Young’s departure in the 35th was one of 3 wkts in 6 balls which derailed things badly, and despite a late burst from Andrew Jackson (52 off 25 bs) Hyde were all out 285. As a consequence, Nantwich leapfrogged Hyde after a second 7 wkt win over Oxton this season, Yash Pednekar crunching a second 111* for his new side, this one off 103 bs, as Oxton rued a costly collapse from 141-2 to 208 all out. They remain firmly at the foot of the table and haven’t won since June 7th – and although they can still save themselves, time and form are not on their side.
Neston, who have been stuck at the beam end all season, have clicked just at the right time, Bryce Jose continuing his feast or famine run with a magnificent 106 (his third ton of 2025), he and Luke Jones (82) putting on 147 for the 1st wkt, powering Neston to 301-6 at Lindow. Jones then took 3-45 as the hosts had an off-day with the bat, all out 226, Neston bagging a crucial 20 pts, even more so given the results around them. They nudged ahead of Chester and put daylight between themselves and the other sides fighting to avoid the drop. One of those sides, Widnes, picked up a vital win and moved out of the bottom two as a result, swapping places with Bowdon after an entertaining contest between the two sides. John Sanders hit an exhilarating 96 (77 bs 5×6, 6×4) as Bowdon reached 253-8 after choosing to bat. Two early losses saw Widnes sag to 23-2, but Luke McCoy then took centre-stage, ending a barren run of league form with a sparkling 130 (118 bs, 2×6, 15×4) as he and Aaqib Uppal (77) added 177 for the 3rd, Widnes completing a 3 wkt win with 8 balls to spare. Another fine match took place at Brooklands, the derby with Timperley initially going all Brooklands way, Timpers 27-5 and then 138-7 before youngster Zach Thompson made an excellent 104, which – along with 48 extras from the hosts and a 63 stand for the 8th wkt with John Fowler – helped Timperley to an
unthinkable 249-9. Having totalled 99 and 102 in their last two matches, a much stronger response from Brooklands was led by Todd Walker (87*) Brooklands making 250-5 with six overs to spare, the Cunliffe brothers each making a handy 40.
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Division 1
Div 1 saw Cheadle take another big step towards a Premier Division return, completing an untroubled 6 wkt win at Urmston after Will Holmes put in an excellent all-round display, his 3-30 and 26* a key part of proceedings. Ollie Tyson ended 78* (92 bs) on a pleasing day for the Kingsway side, whose position was further strengthened after third place Macclesfield lost at home to a resurgent Toft, who made it successive wins after a 46 run victory at Victoria Rd. Henry Murray’s terrific 116 (118 bs, 2×6, 15×4) was the centrepiece of Toft’s 279-8 after they were put in, Dan Ward and Rohan Aggarwal putting on 63 for the 7th late on which tipped the balance of the match. Both players then starred with the ball, Aggarwal 3-52 and Ward bowling Alex Thompson and Khalid Sawas to deny both players half-centuries, Macc all out 233. That result meant Bramhall got second place all to themselves after a hard-fought 13 run win at Sale. The hosts were left to rue dropping Jack Clark twice (and missing a run-out opportunity) as he made 72 in an opening stand of 145 with Greg Dixon (61), but Bramhall’s eventual 250-9 was less than seemed likely, and they were grateful for 43 extras boosting their score. Sale replied with a fine opening stand of their own, John
Davidson (55) and James Dodds (58) putting on 96, but Bramhall kept the run-rate in check just enough to apply the telling pressure.
Port Sunlight recovered from last week’s batting disaster with a speedy 5 wkt win over Marple, who did well to reach 168 after being 40-6, PS skipper Simon Melberzs then playing the decisive hand with 53 off 25 bs. Despite three straight defeats, Marple still have a 49 pt cushion between them and Davenham, who were 0-2 after the first over playing Grappenhall, but recovered to reach 234 (Sam Hunt 71). Ben Gough’s 5-42 saw Grappers tumble to 135 all out to bring some cheer to the home support, but with the top three to play in their last four games, survival for Davenham looks highly unlikely. The other game saw consecutive thumping wins for Stockport Georgians, who made surprisingly short work of mercurial Maritime at Flowery Fields. Jordan Richards’ aggressive 55 was the standout in SG’s 246-9, with Maritime floundering in reply. Vishal Barigela was promoted to open and carried his bat for 43* as his team-mates came and went, spinner Bilal Shah overjoyed after seeing skipper Ben Staniforth pull off three stumpings, Maritime folding for 120.
Division 2
In Div 2 the situation at the foot threw up more surprises than that at the top, which remains ‘as you were’ after the top three all recorded victories of varying comfort. Alvanley got back on track after last week’s hiccup, an accomplished chase of 253 set by Christleton taking Alex Reid’s side ever closer to a Div 1 return after two seasons’ absence. Darcy Graham’s 108 (113 bs) was his third hundred of the season and the feature of Christleton’s 252, Ieuan Morris taking 4-41 and Michael Rowlands 3-57. Rowlands then clouted a swift 40 to get the Alv chase off strongly, Simon Gee (72) adding 92 for the 3rd with Reid (47) and 72 with Corey McCarthy to complete a 7 wkt win. Bollington kept up with a 4 wkt win at Upton chasing 176, although Bolly slumped to 45-4 in an edgy reply,
and later an uncomfortable 106-6, but Andrej Yaksender remained steadfast, his nerveless 82* and a swift 33* from no.8 Pete Henshall doing the business. Isaac Willett hit a superb 120* (84 bs) as third-place Romiley raced to a 7 wkt win at Stockport, reaching their 221 target with some 17 overs unused.
Defeat compounded a dismal day for the Cale Green side, unable to field a second XI and seeing their 1st XI now just two pts outside the drop zone and well within range of Haslington and Ashton OM, the bottom two both winning. AOM pulled off a handsome 5 wkt win over Ashley, easing to their challenging 250 target in a manner that made a mockery of their batting struggles this year. Charlie Eaton (72) built on a punchy 61 (44 bs) from Fraser Hay after Gautam Narayanan had earlier made 89 for Ashley. A very different but no less vital win for Haslington as they squeezed home by 1 wkt against NE Cheshire in a cliffhanger. NEC reached 93-0 (Bailey Jenkinson 51) but could only manage 186 all out. Haslington crashed to 93-6 in reply, skipper Ben Istead (64) reviving hopes, but when he fell it was 149-8 with some six overs remaining. Bold hitting and running from the NEC tail brought things to the final over, Max Ross dramatically hitting the last ball of the match over extra cover for six to noisy and relieved acclaim from the triumphant home support. In the other game, Adam Wilde led by example, the Cheadle Hulme skipper making an excellent 103 as his side beat Oulton Park by 45 runs.
Division 3
Div 3 saw wins for the top three as Tattenhall continued their steady progression towards promotion and a possible title with a third straight win, Max Harper’s 85 spearheading a revival as Tatt totalled 286-9 against a disheartened Mobberley, who had them 185-7. Mobb were 16-3 in no time in reply and despite some defiance were all out 185 and remain stuck in the bottom two. It wasn’t all bad news for them, however, as Middlewich’s struggles continued with a third straight loss, Oakmere bowling them out for just 86 at Haddon Field en-route to a 7 wkt win in a game that lasted barely 45 overs. That result left Middlewich third bottom but Oakmere steady in third, setting up their high stakes clash with Tattenhall next Sat nicely. As for Middlewich, they travel to a buoyant Barrow side who made it four wins on the spin in extraordinary style, no.10 Darren Leach going for broke with maximum dividends at Winnington Park after Barrow were on the brink at 157-9 needing 182. Leach chose all-out attack against the WP spinners, hitting a third six to seal a 1 wkt victory and finishing 35* off just 21 balls on a famous afternoon for his side.
Warrington’s alarming slump continued at Heaton Mersey as they let the hosts off the hook, HM getting from 51-4 to 244-6, Nachiket Verlekar passing 900 runs for the season with 71 and Hashir Khan making 68. Verlekar then took two catches and two wkts, Hassnain Shah also bagging two after his rumbustious 49* (38 bs) earlier, Warrington 102 all out and facing Mobberley next in a crunch fixture. Struggling for much of 2025, seven wins in 10 games has seen Runcorn skip some way clear of danger. They now hold their destiny in their own hands after a convincing 126 run win at Hawk Green, who have now lost four of their last five, scuppering their promotion hopes. There were only limited fireworks from father & son Maher this time (Neil & Kieran were mis-related in the last newsletter, apologies!) but Will Magee’s 66 took Runcorn to 229, the 9 overs they left unused of no account as HG could only manage 103, David McNamara cleaning up with 5-16. A fourth win of the season for Over Peover, by 5 wkts over Hale Barns, may be too little too late, but with Middlewich to play on the last day, all is not yet lost for them.
2ND XI CRICKET
2ND XI CRICKET: Didsbury put last week’s set back emphatically behind them as Jack Hastings (112), Adam Slater (88) and Jacob Mills (80) all scored quickly and stylishly, the leaders racking up 318-4 after being put in at Chester BH, winning by 124 runs as CBH finished on 194-7. Toft kept up their pursuit with a workmanlike 6 wkt win over Georgians, who remain at the foot, but far from adrift with games against fellow strugglers Widnes and Neston to come, who played each other at Parkgate yesterday. It was a crucial 20 pts for the visitors, the experienced Tom Evans taking 5-28 as Neston battled hard from 133-8 to set Widnes 190. Fifties from Zach Green and Owen Price secured the win which lifted their side 40 pts clear of the drop zone and in a better place to take on Georgians next Saturday. A terrific unbroken stand of 134 between Grant Hughes (75) and Mahdi Quadri (64*) swept Oxton to a 7 wkt win over lowly Hyde, who face matches against the sides second, third and fourth in the final 3 weeks, and the small matter of Timperley next Sat, who won their fourth game in a row with a 33 run triumph over Brooklands. A Nantwich side featuring Jimmy Warrington & Phil Stockton clung on to eke out a 1 wkt win chasing just 94 at Cheadle.
Div 1 A nail-biting 2 wkt win for Lindow over Bowdon kept their advantage intact at the top, second place Alvanley wowed by 124 from exciting prospect Andy Bennion as they piled up 298-3 at Grappenhall en-route to a 102 run win. Upton stayed third after a nerve-shredding 1 wkt triumph in a low-scoring game at Marple, and with second-bottom Heaton Mersey winning, and Bramhall beaten by Sale, three sides at the foot are just 10pts apart. Mersey play Bramhall next Sat, before going to Marple the week after in a pivotal fortnight for those sides.
In Div 2 leaders Alderley Edge and second-place Urmston won with differing degrees of comfort, AE bowling out Haslington for 66 while Urmston were taken all the way in a 7 run win at Warrington. Even closer for Port Sunlight, who won by six runs at Upton to stay third, and closer still for Cheadle Hulme, for whom David Hughes made 147 in their total of 206, clinging on to beat Romiley by 2 runs. The crucial clash at the bottom did not take place as Stockport had to sadly concede their match with second-bottom Oulton Park.
Div 3 leadership changed hands as Ashley won and Winnington Park suffered successive defeats, but third place NE Cheshire also went down to struggling Tattenhall by 17 runs. That kept Tatt just ahead of Christleton, a vital 20 pts theirs after bowling Davenham out for 75.
CREDIT: Cheshire County Cricket League
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