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Ashley vs Stretton Date: 10/05/2009 Venue: Stretton Toss won by: StrettonBatted First:Ashley |
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After a tough set of Jack Gardner fixtures, the league season began with a trip to our good friends at Stretton. On the day of the Manchester derby, Ashley felt very much like the Blue half after two defeats and a hammering against our opposition last August.
Losing the toss and being asked to bat, Brownhill went in the 3rd over and it needed Murray and Griffiths to make the most of each being put down to then bat sensibly. The bad ball was put away and a 50 partnership developed. Griffiths was eventually beaten by the skiddy Hindle and veteran Shelston came to the wicket. Fellow veteran Murray was looking in good touch despite a broken bat, but eventually perished to one of Flanagan’s left arm over darts. Shelston soon followed & it needed skipper Burt to play an innings of a captain. He duly obliged and swatted several big boundaries. Ably support by Jackson and then a brief but entertaining knock from Wright, Ashley’s answer to Jacob Oram used the railway sleeper in his hand to bludgeon the Stretton attack. After going on 49, Rish Agrawal stepped up to the plate in a breezy 25 which signified his growing potential as a late order hitter. Martin Blain hit a classy boundary and the final total of 195 was a fine effort.
The welcome return of Will Wright after a year long sabbatical was worth the wait. Copying Indian international Sree Sreesanth, his aggressive shouting at the ball pre-delivery seemed to do the trick with several close lbw shouts in his 1st over. His 2nd over saw Blain take a very solid catch and the Ashley tails were up. Jason Taylor looked dangerous for our opponents and his partnership with Hindle was a growing concern. Agrawal bowled tidily and eventually yorked Taylor. Hindle soon followed courtesy of a Burt magic ball and Ashley smelled blood. The ultra-talented Flanagan batted effortlessly until young Ben Mckie in an all-round performance of great maturity, removed him and suddenly there was only one team in it. Matt Furness showed the great strides he has made and bowled very ably with two wickets in an over. Wright and Jackson turned the screws further and victory was in our grasp. The 9th wicket pair dug in and despite talismanic skipper Pete Burgess offering support from the sidelines, a winning draw was the eventual outcome. However, from being 55 all out and losing by 8 wickets several months ago, the rapid progress to this result is very encouraging.
There were many positives to take from this game. A mixture of youth and experience all commented favourably on the team spirit. This was also a fantastic fielding display with Shelston defying various bodily aches and pains to give a masterclass in general groundfielding. McKie emulated his brother with all-round fielding that was very impressive. Ben should be very pleased with his performance. Martin Blain again showed why he has talked about so highly in the Ashley senior circles with a very competent performance behind the stumps. Matt Furness also used his instep to great effect and controlled several drives Steve Gerrard style.
Oulton Park at home is the next game. After giving the runners up from last year a good run for their money, Ashley should not fear anyone at this league. Onwards and upwards.
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FIRST INNINGS |
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SECOND INNINGS |
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Result: |
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