Grappers lose – but narrow the gap in relegation battle

GRAPPENHALL went down at Neston – but still managed to close the gap on the teams above them in the Vivio Cheshire County League relegation battle.
With two games still to play, Grappers are just 13 points adrift thanks to taking eight points at Neston. Still a difficult task – but not impossible.
Batting first, they posted a decent 224-8, Adam Roylance, 51, Arthur Pennington, 52 and Ben Bodha, 50 not out all making useful contributions.
The home side lost two early wickets with only 26 on the board but after that the runs flowed and Neston reached their target with three wickets down and a couple of chances going down.
Despite the defeat, Grappers did enough to keep their premier division survival alive. They host Toft on Saturday and then travel to Marple for the last game of the season. They need to win at least one game to stay in the top flight.
A depleted Grappenhall 2nd were well beaten at home to Neston by 136 runs. Neston posted a commanding 255-2 declared off only 37 overs with their opener finishing 161 not out.
Grappers never really got close, losing wickets regularly. Skipper Ross Arrowsmith was the only batsman to play an innings of any note with 42 as Grappers were rolled over for only 119 inside 43 overs.
Grappenhall 3rd drew their final home game against Oxton in bizarre circumstances.
The visitors, in danger of relegation, opted to bowl first to give themselves the best chance of a win but the Grappers openers had different ideas as Richard Wiles, 31,) and Richard Holden, 75 runs to all parts of the ground, putting on 91 for the first wicket inside only 16 overs.
A mid innings collapse and then a wag from the tail saw Grappers post 213-7 off their 45 overs, Dave Coyne contributing a vital 37 at the end.
Wickets were hard to come by but the Oxton batsmen never really went for the win as they clung on for the draw with six wickets down at the end 38 runs shorts to all but secure their relegation. Grappers finished with 13 points.
Warrington kept their slim hopes of promotion to division two with an eight wicket win at Weaverham.
Brad Mcintosh took 4-30 as the home side were bowled out for 102. Then Jonathan Fletcher hit 47 not out and Ronan Lutha 30 not out as Warrington coasted to 105-2.
Warrington 2nd lost at home to Sale, crashing out for 116, Ashley Scholes 41, before the visitors hit off the runs for the loss of three wickets.
In the UKFast Cheshire League, Lymm Oughtrington Park kept their hopes of first division survival alive with a three wicket win in a low scoring game at Disley.
The home side were bowled out for a mere 70, Nick Chadbourne taking 5-17. Lymm also struggled for runs and were at one stage 13-5 and later 46-7. But then Andy Hossack, batting at seven, hit 25 not out and Matthew Bradshaw, batting at nine, hit 26 not out to take them to their target without further loss.
Lymm 2nd hammered 198-4, Graham Waumsley 51 and Jake Hughes 52 not out But home side Runcorn hit back with 199-5 to take the honours.
Stretton travelled to Stockport Trinity and hit 134 batting first, Jagdish Rainagin 34 not out. The home side were all out for 99, Aijaz Shah taking 6-20
Stretton 2nd were bowled out for 70 after visitors Chester Boughton Hall had.
Appleton’s promotion bid remains on track, despite being held to a draw with promotion rivals Langley.
Andy Thomas took 5-29 as Langley were bowled out for 183. Appleton’s reply never got going as they slumped to 21-4. But 30 from skipper Alex Wright and an obdurate 16 not out from 78 balls from Amir Aslam saw the visitors secure a vital batting point and, crucially, avoid defeat as they finished on 101-8. While Langley now leapfrog Appleton, they are due to play league leaders Heaton Mersey next week knowing they cannot afford to drop points.
Appleton 2nd won by five wickets against Barnton at Lyons Lane.
Four wickets for for Mike Cumberland and two for Dave Sujith saw the visitors bowled out for 170 in 41 overs. In response, Dave Lomas hit an excellent 77 not out as Appleton romped home with four overs to spare.
An astonishing batting collapse saw Appleton 3rd slump to defeat away against bottom of the table Prestbury.
Having been 79-2, the visitors slumped to 80-7 before being bowled out for 104. Appleton took two wickets in the first two overs, but after that Prestbury cruised to victory.
Appleton 4thI also lost to a bottom-ranked club as they were unable to defend 173 against Warrington. Alex Warham finished unbeaten on 49 as Appleton recovered from a terrible start to post a challenging total. Unfortunately, their bowlers were unable to keep up the pressure as Warrington knocked the runs off with five overs and six wickets to spare.
Glazebury went down by 17 runs in a keenly contested game against Frodsham at Hurst Lane.
Frodsham batted first and were all out for 154, Sam Stanier taking 6-27. Glazebury were all out for 137, Stanier hitting 54 and Jordan Carroll 34.
Glazebury 2nd also lost at Frodsham, batting first and being dismissed for 134, Andy Calvert top scoring with 45. Frodsham reached their target for the loss of four wickets.