After two successive wins to start the season, Stone 1st XI crashed to a disappointing defeat on their travels to Knypersley, slipping to fifth in the table.
Having won the toss and putting their hosts into bat, a score of 71 for 5 including the prize wicket of Nayyar Abbas had the spirits of the Stone supporters high. David Womble was again questioning the batsmen with some good bowling and despite being frustrated by a few drops in the slips he finished with figures of 3 for 40. Knypersley recovered through Phil Dutton 55 and Tom Edwards 54 to reach 186 for 8 off their 55 overs.
Dries Nell and Russ Ballard picked up 2 wickets each, but overall, the attacked leaked too many runs and the Stone side lost control of the match. In reply, the Stone batters never looked comfortable against the experienced Knypersley pace attack who knocked over the stumps 5 times.
Wickets fell at regular intervals and only Russ Ballard with 27 not out, looked set in what was a poor total of 113 all out.
This week Captain Harvey will be looking for improvement against visitors Hem Heath.
The rest of the Stone teams however recorded their first wins of the season.
At Swynnerton the Stone SP 1st X1 played Fenton. Batting first and despite losing two early wickets Stone reached 183 in their 55 overs. Achieving with the bat were Ashley Lunn 54, Shafique Hussain 52 and Will Weston 36. In reply, Fenton lost frequent wickets and were dismissed for 129. Wasim Khan 4 for 52, making his debut for Stone was the pick of the bowlers, supported by young Staffordshire bowler Aidan Schmid, picking up 3 for 13. This week they travel to Crewe.
In the reverse fixture Stone SP 2nd X1 also tasted victory. Fenton were all out for a lowly 76, with 15 year old Evan Bradford picking up 4 for 15. In reply, Bradford also featured with the bat, scoring 34, helping his side to a 6 wicket win.
Stone 2nd X1 were buoyed by the return of Captain Oliver Perry. Perry picking up 5 for 26 against Norton. Norton won the toss and put their hosts into bat at Lichfield Road. Richard Whitehead (68) and Declan Wardell (53) enjoyed an opening stand of 93 to lay foundations to the innings. An innings of 222 for 4 declared, with the part timer Chris Banks scoring 48 valuable runs. Perry supported by veteran Paul Minshall (3 for 19) didn’t give the opposition a sniff and dismissed them for 137.
On Sunday, Ollie Perry’s side welcomed Elworth in a re-arranged league fixture. The visitors batted first and recorded a good total of 207. With the ball, Paul Minshall 3 for 14 impressed. In reply no Stone batsmen managed to capitalise on a good start, Ian Banks with 33 top scored and Minshall again weighed in with the bat scoring 32. Stone fell short on 198 but picked up 10 valuable points. This week Stone travel to local rivals Little Stoke.
