Little Stoke CC 1st XI v Hem Heath CC 1st XI, North Staffs and South Cheshire League Premier Division A: After a narrow, high-scoring defeat at JG Meakin on the opening day of the season, Little Stoke CC’s 1st XI welcomed Hem Heath to the Sid Jenkins Ground on Sunday 25th April.
The visitors won the toss, electing to bowl first. Tom East soon had the hosts 14-1 with Richard Adams caught behind for 8. Gareth Morris and Salman Hanif moved the score on to 69 before Stephen Atkinson claimed the wickets of Hanif for 20 and Morris for 27 in quick succession. New batsman Rob King quickly settled in and had progressed to 32 from just 33 balls before being trapped lbw from the bowling of Abdul Razzaq. The Hem Heath attack continued to frustrate the home side, keeping the lower order in check but Daniel Richardson once again top-scored with an excellent unbeaten 42 to help Little Stoke post a target of 201 from their 54 overs.
The pick of the visiting bowlers were Atkinson with 4-42 and Razzaq with 3-46.
In reply, Hem Heath opened the batting with experienced Kim Barnett and promising youngster Liam Banks and were 16-1 as Gurshwin Rabie had Banks caught behind for just 12. Barnett though went on to make a solid 39 before being caught by Dan Richardson from the bowling of Scott Winnington. Little Stoke forced the visitors to work hard for runs and with rain interruptions a draw looked the most likely outcome. Hem Heath pressed towards the target with Fida Hussain (44) Razzaq (40) and Spencer Byatt with 33 all making valuable contributions but in the end they finished on 187-6 to claim the winning draw.
Little Stoke’s best bowling figures came from Dan Richardson with 2-44 and Gurshwin Rabie with 2-56.
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Audley CC 2nd XI v Little Stoke CC 2nd XI (25.04.15)
League: North Staffs and South Cheshire League Premier Division B – 2015
Little Stoke 2nd XI visited the Kent Hills Ground and were sent in to bat first. Openers Josh Renshaw (26) and Andrew Hurd (17) started brightly but with David Cooper claiming 5-63 for Audley, runs were restricted and the experienced Nick Bratt with an unbeaten 41 was the pick of the batsmen as the visitors finished on 154-7 from a reduced 46 overs.
Audley in reply, put on 98 for the first wicket as James Rogers and Dean Bamsey made a great start for the hosts. Greg Whalley got the breakthrough removing Rogers for 57 and Bamsey went on to reach 48 before being run out by Mat Phillips with the score on 117-2. Audley were heading towards their target and finally reached 156-4 in the 43rd over to seal victory. For Little Stoke, Huw Owens returned great figures of 2-17 from 3.3 overs.
