Shock defeat for below par Grappers

GRAPPENHALL suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of lowly Didsbury in the ECB Premier division of the Vivio Cheshire County League.
Put in on a Broad Lane wicket offering a bit of seam movement, Grappenhall, slightly below full strength due to enforced changes, totalled 204-9 – a score that was slightly below par.
Mike Sambell hit 34 and James McCoy 35 while wicket keeper Liam Parkinson hit a valuable 47 not out in the biggest partnership of the match with Steve Southward, 17.
Didsbury set off at a brisk rate, though could have been one down in the first over but for a missed chance at slip off Gaz Burns.
After that it wasn’t until 106 before the opening partnership was broken.
The next wicket fell at 169 and Grappers were only to claim one more when Didsbury were just four runs short of victory.
All three wickets were claimed by Steve Southward but Grappers were left with just seven points in a disappointing result.
The result leaves Grappers fifth in the table – with leaders Neston and runners-up Chester still to play.
Grappenhall 2nd scraped victory at Didsbury to keep up the pressure on table toppers Neston.
They bowled out Didsbury for 136, with Sam Guest taking 5-64 to take his tally for the season to 58 and Ian Barnes taking 5-66.
Grappers got off to a good start with Luke McCoy and Will Sharp until Sharp was forced to retire hurt.
Grappers reached 110-3 with Andy Tetlow hitting 43, and looked set for a
comfortable win.
But then six wickets fell for 10 runs and Grappenhall were staring defeat in the face. But last pair Guest and Shaun Phillips batted with composure to take them over the finishing line.
Grappers are now level with the leaders on points – and will face them at Broad Lane in the last match of the season. But before that they face Chester this Saturday.
Grappenhall 3rd took on Marple at Broad Lane knowing even a win could not guarantee them the league title.
In fact they were weakened by call-ups by the senior teams and didn’t help matters by losing the toss and seeing Marple take first use of a good looking wicket.
Marple ended on 230 with Richard Wiles taking 6-44 in 15 overs.
Grappenhall made a good start and at 158-3 needed 73 with plenty of overs to spare.
Then a flurry of wickets reduced them to 171-7 and the game was slipping away.
Ben Bodha reached 50 right at the end but Grappers fell short of their target.
News came through that Hyde had beaten Urmston to claim the league title which means Grappers can only come runners-up if they secure 10 points from their last two games.
Warrington look set to remain in division two after coming off second best in a drawn game with Davenham. They are fifth in the table and could, theoretically still gain promotion as runners-up, however.
But they will have to do better than they did against Davenham who batted first at Walton Lea and reached 230-7 – Kyle Adams taking all seven for 91 runs.
Chris Kirby hit 41 and James Hughes 29 when Warrington replied, but they never looked like reaching their target and finished on 125-8.
Warrington 2nd won by seven wickets at Marple after restricting the home side to 179-8, Ashley Scholes 3-26 and Simon Hewitt 3-53.
Opener Craig Vansteenwinckel was unbeaten on 98 when Warrington replied with 180-3, Andy Kirby contributing 35 and Will Fleetwood 36 not out.
Warrington 4th won by nine wickets after restricting Urmston to 164-9, Rishav Mantra taking 5-42.
Aaron Chaderton hit an unbeaten 100 as Warrington raced to 166-1.
In the Cheshire Alliance first division, Glazebury eased themselves into a respectable mid-table position with a five wicket victory over Old Parkonians at Hurst Lane.
The visitors were dismissed for 175, with Chris Ayre taking 3-53 and Jack Warhurst 4-41.
Dave Mason top scored with 40 and there were useful contributions from Warhurst, 27 not out, Simon Green, 24 not out, and Wayne Hargreaves 26 when Glazebury took the match with 176-5.
Glazebury 2nd also won at Mossley when they totalled 122, John Acton 36, Dave Warhurst 31 and then bowled out the home side for 66, Sean Cain 3-14, David Nicholson 3-9 and Dave Warhurst 2-6.
Relegation candidates Stretton and Rylands both lost.
Stretton were bowled out for 163 at Wilmslow, after the home side haddeclared on 185-6.
Rylands were dismissed for 100 after openers Ian Mason, 31 and Richard Buck had put on 56 for the first wicket and Stalybridge St Pauls lost only two wickets chasing down the total.
Appleton suffered a heavy defeat at Saughall after the home side had declared on 229-3. They were dismissed for 87 in just 36 overs.
Appleton 3rd were asked to bat first by Rylands 2nd and were dismissed for 78. The visitors replied with 79-6.
Appleton 4th hit a respectable 166-9 against Haslington 3rd, Ian Findley, 23, Alan Wright, 27 and Shahid Afzal,28, all batting well. But their opponents reached their target with six wickets to spare.
In the Cheshire League, Lymm Oughtrington Park 2nd inflicted a humiliating defeat on Oakmere 2nd.
Lymm batted first and were dismissed for a modest 105, Kerry Anderson 22. But a bedlow-strength Oakmere were tumbled out for just 24, S Chaterjeetaking 5-13 and S Littler 3-10.