WINNING the toss and in distinctly damp conditions, Grappenhall elected to insert the opposition who found the going tough on a slow, seamy wicket and very slow outfield.
After 40 overs Bramhall had limped to 115 for 5 and a total of around 160 looked a likely score. At this point the home side launched something of a counter attack, and with the loss of only one further wicket reached 204 for 6 at the close of their innings.
For Grappenhall Sam Guest bowled a marathon spell from the start, and returned later in the fray, picking up 3 wickets for his efforts, with Gaz Burns also bowling well for 2 wickets and Barnsey the other. Will Sharp standing in as keeper with the skipper out injured, acquitted himself well with two fine catches standing up to the wicket.
In reply Grappenhall`s response never got going, with wickets tumbling at an alarming rate, as the wicket seemed to deteriorate further and Bramhalls bowlers exploited the conditions. An all out total of 47 and a loss by the margin of 157 runs was certainly one of Grapper`s heaviest defeats for a very long time. The only bright part was that of fourteen year old Arthur Pennington who top scored with 15 not out.
Next weeks match at home against Macclesfield will be an opportunity to get back on track, and the return of one or two players who missed the above match should strengthen the side.
Grappenhall 2nd were also beaten after being bowled out for 102 by Congleton.
They fought back, making it difficult for the visitors to score runs and taking key wickets. But Congleton ended up reaching the target with six wickets down and plenty of overs to spare.
To complete a disappointing weekend for Grappers, the 3rd XI travelled to Hyde and were also heavily beaten.
Batting first, they hit a respectable 186 all out inside 37 overs and Paul Tyerman top scoring with his second 50 in two weeks.
Hyde rattled off the runs to win by eight wickets with their part-time 1st XI player smashing a ton.
