A fine 94 from opener James Dawson was not enough to save Stone from a quarter-final Staffordshire Cup exit against Knypersley.
Stone, batting first, made a solid start, with Dawson and Luke Cheadle sharing in a 50-run opening stand. Dawson continued to progress with support from Phil Cheadle (21), Richard Harvey (23) and Matt Coxon (19), and 202 in their 45 overs looked to be a good score.
Knypersley got off to a slow start but when rain intervened reduced the target and runs available. This gave the visitors an advantage which Nayyar Abbass (60) and Staffordshire captain Paul Goodwin (51) capitalised on, with Knypersley crossing the finishing line with nine balls to spare. Johnathan McCredie with 2 for 25 was the pick of the bowlers.
Stone 1st’s batters fail to fire against Hem Heath
Stone 1st X1 welcomed Hem Heath to Lichfield Road and ended up on the receiving end.
Asked to bat first, they were dismissed for a lowly 98, with only James Dawson with 29 and Liam Hickey 20 making progress. Andrew Harris with 5 for 29 and Stephen Atkinson 4 for 42 inflicted the damage with the ball
In reply, Hem Heath reached the total with 5 wickets down, with New Zealander Craig Spearman leading the way with 66 not out. For Stone, George Hawbrook (2 for 17) and Calum Price (2 for 29) were pick of the bowlers. Stone slip to 6th in the table
Victory for Stone SP 2nd XI
At Norton in Hales it was better news for the Stone SP 2nd XI who chalked up a rare victory. Batting first they reached 179 for the loss of 7 wickets, with Lewis Banks (68) and James Dale (33) among the runs.
In reply, Banks continued to dominate with the ball, taking 3 for 8, with Ash Jones chipping in with 3 for 26.
The win helped the side move off the bottom of the table into 10th.
The Stone SP 1st XI match versus Norton in Hales was abandoned due to unfit conditions at Swynnerton.
