Stone Cricket Club’s 1st XI had another successful weekend with back to back victories in the league and cup, ensuring their good run of form continued.
On Saturday they faced lowly Newcastle and Hartshill in league action and after winning the toss skipper Richard Harvey had no hesitation in batting first on a good looking track. His decision was justified as Stone’s in form opening duo of Luke Cheadle and James Dawson compiled their second century stand in as many weeks, and 174 was on the board before Cheadle’s was the first wicket to fall to Newcastle spinner Babar Khan. The scoreboard continued to move at pace however and Dawson was unfortunate to play on for a forceful 92, which left Matt Coxon to score a quickfire 44 off just 34 balls, allowing Harvey the luxury of an early declaration, which came after just 45 overs and with 268 on the board.
Newcastle’s reply made a steady start, but a flurry of wickets meant that at 91 for 6 the writing looked on the wall. The left handed pair of Simon Wood (51) and skipper Andy Whitehead (17) provided stubborn resistance however, and with a late attack from Khan (51) the defending champions were made to work hard for the victory which eventually came at the end of the 60th over, with Newcastle eventually dismissed for 203. Coxon took the bowling honours for the home side with 5-49 off 19 overs, and he was ably supported by young leg spin prospect Adam Pursell (2-39) and Steve Morgan (2-56). The 25 points was enough to lift Stone to 2nd in the league, 6 points adrift of leaders Whitmore.
Stone visited league leaders Whitmore on Sunday and contested a thrilling Staffordshire Cup semi-final. Having won the toss and electing to bat, the Stone batsmen found the slow and low track difficult to come to terms with, and despite a steady start, a middle order collapse of 4 wickets for just 6 runs ensured the innings could never kick on, and instead it was left to Sunday skipper Liam Hickey (19) to hold the latter part of the innings together, as Stone stumbled to 143 all out with more than 4 overs left unused.
Stone’s never say die attitude again came to the fore in the second innings and when the home side were reduced to 59-5 the game was swinging in Stone’s favour. However a partnership of 55 between experienced Raj Kumar and left hander Joe Bridgewater swung it back towards the home side, although Steve Morgan’s dismissal of Kumar gave the visitors renewed hope. Then with the total on 133 and just 11 runs required Whitmore felt the pressure of some tight bowling and fielding and lost 3 wickets for 0 runs, leaving the final pair the task of edging them to the victory line. With 2 runs required from the final 2 balls of the innings they attempted a quick single, however a direct hit from Matt Coxon saw last man Ryan Haynes short of his ground and sparked wild celebrations among the Stone players and supporters, whilst Whitmore could only reflect on a defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.
Stone’s reward for this fantastic result is a home tie in the final on August 23rd against either Porthill Park or Longton.
