Winning draw lifts Grappers out of relegation zone

A WINNING draw was enough to lift Grappenhall out of the Vivio Cheshire County League relegation zone – but they were unlucky not to claim victory.
Batting first at Toft, they got off to a terrible start with three batsmen back in the pavilion with only 16 runs on the board.
But Pete Barnes steadied the ship with a patient 52 and Aussie Owen Lynch chipped in with a useful 41. Ben Bodha with 28 and Gaz Burns with a lively 49 pushed them towards a final total of 206-8 from 55 overs.
Toft lost a couple of early wickets but Lancashire player Rob Jones – who hails from Stockton Heath – scored freely until he was caught on the boundary by Lynch. And from that point the game changed and Grappers sensed the chance of victory.
But Toft shut up shop and played for the draw, finishing on 193-8. Adam Roylance took 3-52, Lynch 2-25 and Matt Titchard 2-59.
Grappers 2nd also picked up a winning draw at home to Oxton, batting first and posting a commanding 233-8 in 44 overs. Steve Rooney hit 59, Will Sharp 48, Dave Tully 39 and Ian Wright 36.
In reply, Oxton made a real game of it, finishing on 223-7. Ben Cagna claimed three wickets and Ross Arrowsmith two.
Grappenhall 3rd lost heavily to Alderley Edge, a depleted side being rolled over for 104. Will Metcalfe top scored with 29.
When they bowled, a couple of chances went begging and Grappers did not get the early wickets they needed. Alderley Edge took the honours with only three wickets down and plenty of time to spare
Warrington went down by seven wickets at Davenham – a disappointing result after they had made a promising start through Ashley Scholes, 27, and Malcolm Agar, 14.
There followed a middle-order collapse and only James Rudd, at number eight, 30, and Ryan Swart, 14 not out, reached double figures as the side crashed out for 110.
It was never going to be enough and Davenham cruised to 112-3, Johan Els, 1-11, Rudd, 1-20 and Brad McIntosh, 1-31, claiming a wicket each.
It was a different story in the 2nd XI match at Walton Lea, which Warrington won by eight wickets.
Davenham were bowled out for 92, openers Simon Hewit, 4-34 and Raj Soni, 1-12 pinning down the early batsmen and Phil Whelan, 3-19 and Harley Barrett, 1-15, cleaning up the rest.
Warrington coasted to 94-2, skipper Simon Swain hitting 22 and Harley Barratt 49, supported by Mark Ewing, 14 not out.
Warrington 3rd travelled to Upton and bowled out the home side for 136, making them work for their runs. Billy Gilbert took 5-41, Ben McCarthy 2-31, James Shaw 2-33 and Harry Charvill 1-25.
But Warrington were rolled over for 113, with Aaron Soni, 43 and McCarthy, 37 the only batsmen to offer resistance.
Warrington 4th went down by 99 runs at Bowdon Vale after the home side hit 156, riding their luck hitting the ball in the air but it seldom going to hand.
Theo McCarthy took 5-44 while Kyle Roden, 1-26, Jon Burgress, 1-36 and Bruce Jardene, 1-43 offered good support.
Then Warrington were tumbled out for 60, losing their first three batsmen without troubling the scorers and then forced to fight a rearguard action with only Paul Agar, 18 not out and Andy Jones, 11, reaching double figures.
In the Cheshire League, Lymm Oughtrington Park went down by five wickets at Congleton after their batsmen failed to perform.
Skipper Travis Scholes hit a gutsy 50 but received little support as the side were bowled out for 108.
Congleton had little trouble reaching their target, finishing on 110-5. Syed Khan took 2-44.
Lymm Oughtrington 2nd reached 162-7 in 45 overs against Christleton who managed to scrape the winning run with a ball to spare and after losing eight wickets.
The “derby” match between Appleton and Stretton at Lyons Lane ended in a two wicket win for the visitors.
Appleton managed 154-7 in 45 overs and Stretton responded with 155-8 in 40 0vers.
The 2nd XI game at Stretton ended in a draw, Appleton batting first and hitting 190, Liam Mannion hitting 68, J Nesbitt 67 ande H Salim 31.
Uma Zeb took 4-30 and Shahid Khan 4-32.
Stretton never kept up with the run-rate and finished on 128-7. Joe Cooper taking 2-33, Josh Coghlan 2-27 and Sherry Yaar 2-32.
Appleton 4th took a beating at Timperley whe batted first and declared on 236-4. Appleton were dismissed for a paltry 54.
Glazebury were well beaten by Westminster Park at Hurst Lane.
The visitors batted first and reached 201-9 in 42 overs. Hakeem Dahou took 3-41 and Jules Moore 2-25.
Glazebury were dismissed for 120 in 31 overs, Anthony Meulman top scoring with 35 and Dahou hitting 33.
The “derby” between Glazebury 2nd and Appleton 3rd ended in a win for Appleton after Glazebury were bowled out for 143, skipper Wayne Hargreaves hitting 26 and Jordan Carroll 47.
Michael Cumberland took 6-34 for Appleton.
Appleton reached their target for the loss of four wickets, Neil Thompson hammering 78 not out and Tim Parker 32. Jack Whitehead took 2-18.