Here are the latest reports from the last week from Moddershall Cricket Club…
1st Team v Little Stoke – Winning Draw for Moddershall
1st Team visited near rivals Little Stoke and just failed to come home with a victory. Having been asked to bat first on a fine sunny afternoon, Moddershall openers were soon on the attack and batted freely, scoring heavily in an outstanding opening partnership of 162, with Fraser Hawkins, just failing to score a well earned century, top scoring with 94 and Sam Kelsall scoring 75. At 194-1, Moddershall looked set for a large score on a fast scoring ground but Dan Richardson returned figures of 7-49, with Moddershall losing the last nine wickets for only 40 runs. With Tom Hope scoring 20, they were bowled out for 234 in 52 overs.
In reply Little Stoke started well with opener Richard Adams scoring 50, but Moddershall stuck to their task well and took wickets at regular intervals, Richardson capped a fine all round performance with a quick-fire 41 in the middle of the innings but Kelsall juggled his bowlers around and with just over 3 overs to go they had taken 9 Little Stoke wickets but defiant batting from the final pair saw Little Stoke limp home to 193-9 in 58 overs and hang on for the draw. Craig Ferns 2-15, Tom Hope 2-22 and Matt Goodwin 2-50, being the main wicket takers. Another closely fought game which Moddershall just fell short in getting their fourth league victory of the season.
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1st v Leycett (T20/20 Cup – 2nd Round Group 4) – Won By 88 Runs
1st played Leycett in their opening Group 4 game, and won with relative ease. Having been inserted, Moddershall scored a daunting 151-6 off 20 overs with Usman Salahuddin scoring a fine 50 with Matt Goodwin 21 and Ali Shah 21 not out off 12 balls being the main contributors. In reply, Leycett were no match to a disciplined Moddershall attack with youngster James Clark 3-10, Mitchell Spencer 2-3, Craig Ferns 2-10 and Tom Hope 2-13 all contributing towards the demise of Leycett as they were dismissed for 63 in 16.6 overs.
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1st v Whitmore (T20/20 Cup – Group 4 Final) Won by 17 Runs
1st now faced hosts, Whitmore who also beat Leycett, in the final of Group 4. Being asked to bat first Moddershall yet again scored well, with opener Fraser Hawkins setting the tone with a quick 28, but Salahuddin, again showed his class with a fine 60 not out off 49 balls and he received good support with Goodwin 42 not out off 33 balls leading the way to a Moddershall total of 144-3. In reply Moddershall yet again were disciplined and despite Kumar scoring 25, they were reduced to 75-8 with Craig Ferns taking a remarkable 4-19 off his 4 overs. Moddershall looked to be cruising but a belligerent 56 off 37 balls by Dean Pritchard had Moddershall sweating a bit until Goodwin finished the innings off and thus had figures of 3-18, to put Moddershall into Final’s Day. A successful day for Moddershall, who have a chance of success, where they face Checkley in the semi-final, with Stone or Wood Lane in the other Semi-Final.
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2nd Team v Elworth – Moddershall Winning Draw
The 2’s entertained Elworth and were looking to produce a better performance than last weeks poor display. They won the toss and batted first. They batted solidly with all batsmen reaching double figures, but youngster Greg Clark led the way with his highest score since joining Moddershall with an excellent 92. Nilesh Setunga 33, Mitch Kelsall 25 and James Falcounbridge 22 taking Moddershall to 236-6 off their 50 overs. Moddershall were now looking to get the 10 wickets for victory and reduced Elworth to 81-6; however Elworth captain Barnett had other ideas and scored a defiant 91 to take Elworth to 207 when he was dismissed. Elworth looked on course for victory but Moddershall dug deep and took a further 2 wickets to leave them 209-9 with 2 overs to go but were unable to press home the victory as Elworth closed on 223-9 off 52 overs. Pick of the bowling was Kieran Griffin with 4-31 and James Clark 4-95. An excellent match, from which Moddershall, can be satisfied with, even though victory was not quite achieved.
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‘A’v 1st Team v Bagnall and Norton – Won By 12 Runs
The ‘A’ Team continued their upturn in form and produced another fine but tense victory. Winning the toss and batting first, Moddershall started cautiously in difficult conditions after overnight rain. Jacob Sargeant added some tempo mid innings with 24 and Ollie Sutton 21 added a flurry towards the end as the A team limped to 131 all out off 41.2 overs. In reply Bagnall / Norton started strong with an experienced opener, Mark Graham, and their Professional, Dhammika, putting on 48 for the first wicket before the introduction of U15 bowler Harry Bailey changed the direction of the game, he then produced some devastating and match winning bowling in 2 splendid spells, in taking 8-29 off 12 overs and thus bowled Bagnall out for 119. A superb performance by Bailey which enables the A team to move up the league table and put further distance from them and the relegation zone.
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‘A’ 2nd Team v Ashcombe Park – Lost by 8 Wickets
The A Team 2nd’s travelled to Ashcombe Park and suffered a heavy defeat. Having been inserted the A team were completely undone, despite a gritty 40 by opener Joe Mason who top scored with 40, by a unbelievable spell of bowling from Ashcombe opening bowler, Jake Johnson who bowled 12 overs and finished with 9-19, as he reduced the A 2nd’s to 74 All out in only 25 overs. In reply with very little to bowl at Moddershall took 2 late consolation wickets as Ashcombe reached the victory total in only 13 overs. A disappointing loss, after last weeks great win.
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Phoenix v Porthill Park 3rd XI – Won By 129 Runs
The Phoenix continued their relentless pursuit of the Stone League title with a comprehensive 129 Run victory. Electing to bat first, they attacked the Porthill bowling from the start with Captain and opener Tharaka Jayawardane leading the way with 85 which included 13 x 4’s and 3 x 6’s. Despite the fall of several top order wickets he was supported by No.7 bat Prasanna Tennakoon, who also was in a belligerent mood and finished 68 not out which included 7 x 4’s and 3 x 6’s, this enable the Phoenix to declare on 246-9 off only 40 overs. In reply Porthill were always going to face an uphill task and despite there best efforts to stall the inevitable they were bowled out for 119 off 43.1 overs. Kamala Aluthgedera taking 3-20, Sadeep Jayathilaka 2-10 and Shameera Weerasinghe 2-36. Another fine victory which leaves the Phoenix 29 points clear at halfway point of their season.
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ACADEMY
U17 V Norton-in-Hales – Lost by 8 Wickets
U17’s visited Norton in Hales, with a much depleted side as most players were playing in the first team in the T20 competition, and suffered their first defeat of the season. Having been inserted the U17 made steady progress with openers Harry Bailey (45) and Elliot Colclough (35) being the top scorers as they posted 138-7 off their 30 Overs. In reply Norton made extremely light work of getting the runs in 21 overs and won by 10 wickets. U17’s remain in 2nd place with a game in hand on leaders.
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U15 v Knypersley (Pete Gething Cup Final) – Won by 25 Runs
U15 entertained Knypersley in the Final, and produced a superb performance to win the Peter Gething Cup. Having been inserted, Moddershall batted aggressively with Ollie Sutton 27 retired, Harry Bailey 25 retired, Dan Grounds 21, Greg Clark 21 not out and Connor Ball 20 all contributing to an extremely challenging 130-4 off their 20 overs. The boys were fired up and then backed up their batting with a disciplined fielding performance and restricted Knypersley to 105-8 with Greg Clark producing excellent figures of 3-7 off 2 overs to guide the side to victory. Dan Grounds received the trophy, on what was a memorable night for the U15’s who are in prime position to complete the double by still remaining top of the league as well.
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U15 v Barlaston – Won by 8 Wickets
U15 entertained Barlaston and had a comfortable 8 wicket victory, Barlaston elected to bat and off their 20 overs were restricted to 63-4. In reply Moddershall made light work of their victory target and achieved it in only 10.3 overs for the loss of 2 wickets, with Greg Clark scoring 38 retired. This keeps U15’s 4 points clear at the top of the table.
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U13 Blues V Eccleshall – Won By 124 Runs
Blues visited Eccleshall and came away with an outstanding 124 run victory to remain top of their league. Batting first the blue scored and excellent 148-2 off their 16 overs (Net 338), scoring all the team scoring well with Liam Raby 24, Matt Wright 24 and Ted Downes 22, Callum Hawkins 16 and Alec Price 13. In reply Eccleshall struggled to chase the daunting score and finished on 69-11 (Net 214), Alec Price 3-10, Dylan Bentley-Jones 2-6 and Owen Snelson 2-16.
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U13 Reds V Milford Hall – Milford Winning Draw
U13 Reds visited top of the table Milford and came away with a losing draw. Having won the toss they asked Milford to bat first and they scored 138-5 off their 30 overs. With Alec Price 3-11 and Ted Downes 2-17 being the pick of the bowling, In reply The Reds, although not in any trouble struggled against some tight Milford bowling and finished on 116-3 with Anun Shah 51 retired and Alec Price 33 top scoring. This leaves Moddershall in third place 177 points behind Milford.
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U11 Cobras v Dunstall (County Cup Semi-Final) – Won by 72 Runs
The U11 Cobras started a busy period by entertaining Dunstall in the Semi-final of the County Cup and pulled off an emphatic victory. Batting first they scored a respectable 108-2 off their 20 overs, with Callum Hawkins leading the way with 30 retired and he received support from Alec Price 20 no and Joe Hawkins 16no. In reply Dunstall were put on the back foot immediately with Theo Wylie taking 2 early wickets and then Danuka Tennakoon had remarkable figures of 3 overs 3 maiden 3 wickets for 0 runs and thus ended Dun stall’s pursuit of victory. In the end Dunstall could only muster 36-7 off their overs leaving Moddershall to progress to the final where they await to receive either Wolverhampton or Himley.
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U11 Cobras v Stafford – Won by 128 Runs
U11 Cobras visited Stafford and came away with a gigantic 128 run victory. Winning the toss Cobras elected to bat and scored a mammoth 143 for the loss of no wickets, (Net 343) Callum Hawkins led the way with 36 not out, with Alec Price 18 not out, Jack Knapper 17 not out, Jack Hancock 15 not out, Joe Hawkins 12 not out. In reply Cobras were merciless and restricted Stafford to 60-9 (Net 215) Joe Hawkins taking 3-13 and Rhys Hughes 2-7.
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U11 Pumas v Meakins – Won by 76 Runs
U11 Pumas visited Meakins Sharks, and came away with a fine 76 run victory, Batting first Pumas amassed a respectable 88 -2 (Net 278) with Joe Hawkins 23no, Finley Bentley-Jones 14no and Will Ellis 12no. In reply, the Pumas soon got their ‘teeth into the Sharks’ and produced a fine fielding performance in restricting them to 37-7 with Will Ellis producing a match winning all round performance with bowling figures of 3 overs, 2 maidens, 3 wickets for only 4 runs. This win leaves the Pumas 15 points clear at the top of the league and still with a 100% record.
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U9 Panthers v Cheadle – Won by 76 Runs
U9 Panthers visited bottom of the league Cheadle and came away with an outstanding 76 run victory. Batting first Panthers scored an excellent 124-3 in their 2 innings (Net 519), Liam Shone scoring 39 and Elliot Massey 22. In reply the Panthers who were well drilled restricted Cheadle to 78-9 (Net 433) with Elliot Massey taking 3-3, Kiernan Langdown 2-8 and Ajay Bansal 2-18. This victory places Moddershall in 2nd place only 2 points behind leaders Checkley.
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U9 Cobras v Barlaston – Won by 125 Runs
U9 Cobras visited Barlaston and had a superb 125 run success. Batting first Barlaston scored 68-15 in their 2 innings (Net 393), in reply Cobras scored 128-2 (net 518) and with this victory still remain joint top of the S Moorlands Section E league.
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U9 Pumas v Stone SP Storks – Won by 23 Runs
U9 Pumas entertained Stone Storks and achieved a good 23 run win, moving them up to joint 3rd place in the league.
