Grappers start with a premier win

GRAPPENHALL made an encouraging start in the Premier division of the Cheshire County League with a five wicket win over Urmston at Broad Lane.
The visitors batted first and reached 150-8, Tony Hurdley taking 3-31 and Tom Evans 3-32.
Liam Parkinson top scored with 40 not out when Grappenhall replied with 151-5. Iain Wright hit 26 not out and opener Richard Green 24.
Grappenhall 2nd earned a draw at Cheadle, batting first and hitting 230-7. Will Sharp hit 42, Sam Guest 41 not out and Mike Sambell 33. Cheadle went for the runs and reached 222-7 at the close. Matt Titchard took 3-76 and Albert Penn ington 3-38.Warrington’s campaign started less well with a 13-run defeat at the hands of Bredbury St Marks at Walton Lea.
Aussie Steve Heydon took 6-39 and Bradbury were dismissed for 177, Ryan Swart chipping in with 3-70. But Warrington’s batting was not up to the task and they were dismissed for 164, Thomas Clutterbuck top scoring with 46.
Warrington 2nd also went down when they travelled to Irby.
The home side batted first and hit 200-7, Nick Houghton taking 4-54. Warrington fell seven runs short at 193, James Mitchell top scoring with 43, Simon Hewitt hitting an unbeaten 36 and Simon Batey 30.
Warrington 3rd earned a draw against Nantwich, hitting 119-6, Les Connolly 44 and Tim Rothwell 36. Nantwich replied with 111-3.
It was left to Warrington 4th to claim victory – and this they did in style, defeating Chester Boughton Hall by 10 wickets.
In the Meller Braggins Cheshire League, Lymm Oughtrington Park scraped an exciting one wicket victory at Woodford, dismissing the home side for 113, Terry Scholes taking 4-36 and Phil Whelan 4-44 and then reaching 114-9, Ben McIntosh top scoring with 34.
Stretton 2nd were held to a draw at Hale Barns after hitting 171. The home side were on 145-8 at the close.
In the Cheshire Alliance, Appleton batted first at home against Stalybridge. A new-look, youthful side posted 213- 9, with an excellent 103 from Tom Lomas, ably supported by Lee Stoll with 29.
In reply, Stalybridge were quickly in trouble thanks to Danny Oliver and James Darbyshire, but their captain thumped 76 to bring them close to victory. It was Appleton’s young players, 16-year-old Sam Swift and 17-year-old Andy Jackson, who took two wickets each, that saw the Stalybridge lower middle order collapse. Tom Lomas also took two wickets to leave the visitors all out on 182.
Appleton 2nd suffered a defeat at Knutsford where they batted first and paid for a slow but steady start. An explosive 41 from Aamir Rashid could not help them reach maximum batting points and they fell just short with 172- 6. Knutsford showed their batting superiority with only Mo Ahmed coming away with any credibility from the Appleton attack taking two of the three wickets as Knutsford won by seven wickets. The ultimate derby game arrived once more as Appleton 3rds took on Appleton 4ths at Lyons Lane.
The 3rds batted first and posted a below par score of 155-8 off their allotted overs. The 4ths, with the help of a half century from Eitchy Rashid, cruised to victory with four wickets to spare.
Glazebury had no problem negotiating the step up to the first division with a five wicket win over Old Parkonians at Hurst Lane.
The visitors were tumbled out for 79, Sam Stanier taking 5-27 and Rhys Marsh 3-19. Glazebury replied with 80-5, Andy Durrington bludgeoning 28 and Wayne Hargreaves 23 not out.
Glazebury 2nd went down at Eastham and Bromborough where the home side totalled 186, despite Christopher Ayre’s useful 4-43. Glazebury were dismissed for 112, Kyle Keeble top scoring with 41.
Rylands 2nd claimed a three wicket victory at Capenhurst where the home side were dismissed for 107, Nathan Lowe 3-15 and Chris Solan 3-29. Rylands replied with 108-7, Gary Moors 41 and Andrew Baxter 28.