Following cancellations to both First and Second XI games on Saturday due to issues with the grounds at both Moss Lane and Bowdon which were still suffering from the midweek rain, all eyes turned to the First XI fixture at Lindow on Sunday in the first round of the Cheshire Cup competition.
Alderley skipper Sam Perry won the toss and elected to bowl first on a balmy summer afternoon and was immediately rewarded with the big scalp of former Cheshire captain James Duffy, trapped lbw by George Valentine with the score on 3 before Valentine claimed his second of the afternoon (2 for 36 off 8 overs) to leave the hosts on 39-2.
When Dan Fesmer removed Aussie opener Bailey Wisnewski and Perry had number 4 Dan Newton caught behind for 39 Alderley were making steady progress in challenging bowling conditions to leave Lindow on the back foot at 106-4.
A 60-run partnership for the fifth wicket on the back of Charlie Hodge's 46 turned things around for the home side and with skipper Alex Matthews hitting 25 from the middle order the hosts recovered to 182-5 before two wickets in an over from Ollie Kenyon sparked a collapse in the lower order with Lindow losing 4 wickets for the addition of just 18 runs in the closing overs as Alderley seamers Chris Sanders and Dan Fesmer backed up Kenyon's economical final spell to close out the 40 overs with a target of 201 for the visitors.
An opening stand of 58 put Alderley in control in the second innings before Perry was dismissed for 27, but fellow opener Pat Ashling continued to punish the Lindow attack in making his way to 99 before being caught on the long on boundary, unfortunate not to make a deserved century.
Ashling and Subhaan Mahmood put on 104 for the second wicket before Ashling's departure as Alderley looked to be coasting to victory. There were a couple of twists left in the tale however as Dan Newton collected two wickets in two balls before a run out 3 balls later saw Alderley reeling from 176-2 to 177-5.
Mahmood continued to marshal the chase through its latter stages until Rob Herriott claimed 2 wickets in 3 balls, including Mahmood for a well made 40, to leave Alderley on 199-7 and the home side sensing the chance of an upset.
But Alderley's number 7 Ollie Kenyon put paid to any further drama, soaking up the pressure being applied by the Lindow attack before completing the chase with a nicely timed cut to the boundary to see the visitors to their target with three wickets in hand. Alderley now progress to play Hyde in the next round of the competition on the 2nd June at Moss Lane.
Match report by Andrew Windle.
