After too long a run without a victory, Alderley Edge 1st XI put things right in no uncertain manner on Saturday with a comfortable victory against Marple.
Things weren't always plain sailing – Alderley, put into bat, lost two very soft early wickets, but then Mark Currie (45) and Adam Worrall (46) went on the attack and put Alderley on top. Their dismissals were unfortunately followed by another middle collapse, and at 151-7 a winning score looked far from assured.
There then followed a brilliant 8th wicket partnership of 97 between Tom Foreman (64) and Simon O'Brien (59 not out) which took the score up to a more than acceptable 261-9 from 55 overs, the innings ending in an avalanche of six hitting.
O'Brien's day was far from done, and he quickly fired out Marple's top three. Their innings never gained any momentum against one of Alderley's most proficient bowling displays of the season, and ended on 100 all out, with off-spinner Charlie Reid mopping up the tail, taking 4-9. Alderley therefore emerged with a huge 161 run victory and, more importantly, 25 precious ponts.
The 2nd XI were involved in an excellent game at Marple, where the home side scored 219-6 from 55 overs. A good team batting performance from Alderley kept them in the hunt with Luke Wolstenholme and Dave Leonard both registering half centuries, but the run chase fell just short on 201-9, captain Dave Johnson and Katie Haszeldine stoutly holding out for the draw.
The 3rd XI got back to winning ways with a 7-wicket victory against Stockport Trinity, whose early batting was blown away by a remarkable spell from the talented Under-17 player Wolstenholme, who returned remarkable figures of 7 overs 7 for 12 including a hat-trick. Trinity mustered 88 all out, a total that proved not much of an obstacle to Alderley, especially once openers Jonny Scurrah and James Hill had knocked off over half the required runs without loss. A top-of-the-table clash with Trafford Metrovicks now lies in store next Sunday.
Match report by Rick Davis.
