Grappers facing the drop after crushing defeat

GRAPPENHALL were well beaten at top-of-the-table Nantwich, leaving their Vivio Cheshire County League premier division survival very much in doubt.
The home side’s quality and well-funded resources soon told as Nantwich hit 247-5, with Ireland Test star Niall O’Brien hitting 114.
Josh Hayes took 4-20, but the rest of Grappers’ attack toiled mostly in vain.
Grappenhall were then bowled out for a meagre 58, with only two batsmen reaching double figures.
Next week Grappers face second-in-the-table Timperley.
Grappenhall 2nd put in an excellent performance as they were the better side against run away division leaders Nantwich.
Grappers posted a decent 196-6 after a late rally, with Iain Wright top scoring with 57, Steve Dickson 47 and Matt Titchard and Mike Holden with invaluable 30’s.
The Grappers bowlers were superb with Matt Tichard picking up 4 wickets as Nantwich clung on for a draw 40 runs short and eight wickets down at the end.
Warrington travelled to Runcorn to pick up a three wicket victory.
The home side chose to bat first and were dismissed for 199 in the 42nd over.
Warrington reached their target in 40 overs for the loss of seven wickets.
The result kept them in fourth place in the league, still with a faint chance of promotion.
In the Cheshire League, Lymm Oughtrington Park lost by 51 runs as their relegation worries grew
The home side won the toss and elected to bat, hitting 211-9 in 45 overs.
Syed Khan was the pick of the Lymm bowlers with 3-35 and Matthew Bradshaw and Andy Hossack took two wickets each.
Lymm were bowled out for 160, Jack Hughes top scoring with 46, Paul Tong 25 and Khan 24.
At Oughtrington Lane, Lymm 2nd also lost, going down to Woodford by 59 runs.
The visitors hit 187-9 in 45 overs, despite some tidy bowling with Tony Spaven, Jack Hughes and Robert Hutton taking two wickets each.
Lymm’s reply got off to a poor start and although the tail wagged briefly they were back in the pavilion for 128.
Stretton romped to a 122 victory at home to Poynton.
Batting first, they declared on 194-6, opener Mohammed Yousuf hitting 46 and Jagdish Rainagri 77.
The visitors were tumbled out for 72, A Zubairi taking 4-24.
Stretton 2nd had to settle for a draw at Neston where the home side amassed 310-8 in 45 overs. Stretton were 194-3 at the close.
Appleton won by 58 runs at Lyons Lane after taking 228-6 from the Wilmslow Wayfarers attack.
There was a solid batting performance from Appleton with Martin Cooper hitting 33, Chris Morrison 34, Ali Sharif 46, Graeme Rowlands 40 and Amir Aslam 40.
The visitors were dismissed for 170 with Joe Cooper taking 4-37 and Aslam 3-45.
Appleton 2nd were well beat at Upton. Mike Arnold scored 64 for the visitors but Appleton could only post 169-8 from their 45 overs. Graeme McGowan then belted a quick 90 to take Upton to victory in just the 27th over for the loss of just a single wicket.
Heaton Mersey Village gave Appleton 3rd a sound beating at home. After having been invited to bat, the visitors recovered from 75-8 to post 143-9. But HMV took just over 29 overs to record an eight wicket win.
Appleton 4th came off second best in a high scoring game at the Grange. Fifties from Toby White and Kevan Lomas helped them declare on a season’s best 229-8. But Ashley Academy got there with four overs to spare, thanks to a century from John Lloyd.
Glazebury went down by two wickets in a closely-fought game at Knutsford where they batted first and totalled 148.
Opener Jack Warhurst top scored with 36 while dad Paul Warhurst chipped in with 21 down the order.
The home side got the runs for the loss of eight wickets, despite Jack Warhurst rounding off a fine all-round performance with 4-53.
Glazebury 2nd earned a draw over the Knutsford second string at Hurst Lane.
The visitors batted first and were all out for 222. Hakeem Dahou took 5-42 and Alex Wort 3-68.
Skipper Wayne Hargreaves top scored with 40 when Glazebury replied and Ian Black blasted 39, with five fours and two sixes. But Glazebury’s last pair were at the wicket with 184 on the board at the close.
WOMEN’S CRICKET
APPLETON lost their first league match since the second week in May when they lost out to reigning champions Oakmere in the Cheshire Women’s League.
Oakmere moved back to the top of the table by virtue of a faster scoring rate in the rain affected game.
Appleton hit 76 in 35 overs, Emma Barlow top scoring with 24. Oakmere were 39-1 in 13.4 overs, giving them 25 points to Appleton’s three.
Appleton’s chances of gaining the title now appear to rely on Oakmere slipping up in one of their last two games.