Stone welcomed local rivals Little Stoke to Lichfield Road this week and had the better of the tie. Stone batted first and after the loss of early wickets David Womble (37) and Richard Harvey (53) dug in and were the backbone of 179 for 7.
For Little Stoke Peter Turnbull with 3 for 71 was the most successful of the bowlers, with Daniel Colclough and Gareth Richardson chipping in with two apiece. In reply, Little Stoke were in deep trouble on 29 for 5, with James Ecclestone picking up 3 for 28. Captain Gareth Morris held his sides innings together though and they were left clinging on at 119 for 8 at the close. Stone took the points for the winning draw
Brave defeat for Stone SP 1st XI
At Swynnerton, Stone SP 1st XI were hosts to Oakamoor. The visitors won the toss and put Stone into bat on a wicket effected by the week’s rainfall. Wickets fell at regular intervals as no batsmen grabbed the initiative. The ever-dependable Adrian Butters with 26 was top scorer. All out for 120 with what appeared a below par total the Stone bowlers didn’t give up though. Oakamoor passed the winning line but they lost eight wickets in the process, Jack Thorley with 3 victims, Sam Bamford and Butters two each.
Mixed fortunes for Stone 2nd XI
On Saturday they visited Moddershall and suffered defeat but on Sunday bounced back and took the spoils against Knypersley. The batters scored 182 for 7 against Moddershall, with Lewis Banks top scoring on 51. Moddershall reached the target for the loss of 5, Paul Minshall picking up 3 for 49.
On Sunday, they restricted Knypersley to 186 for 5, Minshall again picking up 3 scalps. In reply, Lewis Banks was again in form with the bat scoring 44 and his Dad Ian picking up 62. George Hawbrook with 33 finished off the match and secured 20 points for the team. They remain second in the table
Weekend to forget for Stone SP 2nd X1
Travelling to Oakamoor they dismissed the hosts for 121, with Nathan Bennett picking up 3 for 13. The batsmen then collapsed, however, and were all out for a lowly 45.
