League: North Staffs and South Cheshire League Premier Division A – 2015
Little Stoke visited Longton looking for a change of fortune having lost three of their last four fixtures. Skipper Gareth Morris won the toss and elected to field and club professional Gurshwin Rabie soon removed former Little Stoke opener Tom Steele with just 18 on the board. However, the home side recovered well as Richard Holloway and Dave Wheeldon took the score on to 99 before Holloway was bowled by James Ecclestone for 52. Wheeldon went on to make an excellent 81, eventually becoming the 2nd scalp for Rabie with the score on 212-4. With valuable runs coming from Stefan Rduch (35), Alex Thorley (40) and an unbeaten 30 from Eddie Jones, Longton declared on 272-5 from 53 overs. Little Stoke’s best bowling came from Rabie with 2-76 and Morris with 2-83.
With rain during tea and a delay before the restart, Little Stoke had just 44 overs to claim an unlikely victory and when stand-in opener Dave Ecclestone was caught from the bowling of Eddie Jones, Longton were in full control. Despite a solid 37 from Rabie, Little Stoke were struggling to make progress and at 98-5 Longton had victory in their sights. Alex Kay and Billy Thorley then came together and batted with confidence and great spirit as they developed what was to become an impressive 122-run partnership for the 8th wicket. Thorley was eventually bowled on 60, as Jones claimed figures of 5-59 for Longton. Kay’s unbeaten 67 helped Little Stoke reach 237-7 to secure the Winning draw and 12 points to climb off the foot of the table.
