Alderley Edge First XI reached the half-way point of the season with back to back victories over the weekend as Sam Perry's side continued to climb the Cheshire County Premier League table.
On Saturday Alderley clinched a one-wicket win in a nail-biting finish at Neston after the hosts won the toss and elected to bat first in a shortened game after morning rain delayed the start and reduced the match to 38 overs per side.
Alderley's seam attack made life difficult for the home side's top order in the early part of the first innings reducing Neston to 83-6 on the back of three wickets for Dan Fesmer and two wickets for George Valentine as the visitors took control of proceedings. Battling knocks from home skipper David Hurst, hitting 32 from number 5, and number 7 Luke Jones, who hit a quickfire 40, carried the hosts into 3 figures as Neston fought back.
Skipper Sam Perry claimed a pair of wickets at the back end of the innings to finish with 2-9 but a fluent 22 not out from number 9 Guy Bradshaw helped the home side close on 158-9. Alderley made steady progress in reply reaching 59-1 before Subhaan Mahmood was trapped lbw by Chris Edwards for 27, who then landed a hammer blow in having George Bell caught behind off the next ball.
Opener Perry, who hit 33, steadied things with number 5 Pat Ashling who struck 24 as the pair carried Alderley past the 100-run mark before Neston's bowlers fought back once again, chiefly through a three-wicket haul for Shahrukh Khan which rocked Alderley's lower order slumping from 136-5 to 161-9.
Final pair George Valentine and Dan Fesmer held their nerve to knock off the 11 runs needed to see Alderley home with 2.4 overs left, Fesmer sealing the 24 points with a customary leg glance to the fine leg boundary.
On Sunday Alderley travelled to Timperley in a fixture re-arranged from the washed out second weekend of the season where the hosts won the toss and asked Alderley to bat first under cloudy skies.
Captain Sam Perry led from the front striking 65 from the opening berth, again combining well with Subhaan Mahmood as the pair added 101 for the second wicket to take Alderley to 130 before Ed Galley claimed Perry and 15 runs later Mahmood for 45.
The middle-order continued the momentum the top 3 had built with George Bell hitting a quickfire 34 from 31 balls and Liam Yahathugoda helping himself to 33 off 36 balls before a spell of 3-45 from Nathan Brown curtailed Alderley's rate as the visitors reached 208-5. Alderley's lower order played selflessly in the search for quick runs as the visitors closed on 253-9 from their 50 overs, Timperley skipper Galley finishing with 3-40 and opener Chris Page 2-44.
Timperley started strongly in reply with Viraj Sorathia (38) and Jamie Matthews (32) compiling an 82-run opening stand before a game-changing spell of 3-13 off 5 overs from Perry removed the hosts' top three with some assistance from the safe hands of Alfie Usher and Ben Chapman in the deep as they slid to 96-3.
Dan Fesmer continued his good form with the ball working in tandem with Saami Welsh, who registered a season's best 3-48, to rip through Timperley's middle order reducing them to 147-9. Number 10 Jonathan Fowler hit a breezy 34 from 29 balls to hold up Alderley's victory, sealed with Fesmer collecting his third scalp (3-25) as the hosts were dismissed for 125 to give Alderley a 20-point win and carry them into a mid-table position.
Alderley's Second XI faced a stiff test on Saturday at Moss Lane hosting second-place Timperley and asking them to bat first upon winning the toss.
Timperley opener Freddie Timmins responded with an unbeaten 114 supported by scores of 57 each for fellow opener Dylan Parekh and number 4 Rob Matthews as the visitors closed on an imposing 293-4 from their 50 overs, Charlie Boddy's 2-43 from 6 overs the pick of the Alderley attack.
In the second innings Muhammad Usman's 4-39 backed up by Callum Yates' 2-51 put Alderley on the back foot straight from the off as the hosts fell to 48-5 in reply. Henry Stevinson's 89 from 103 balls from number 6 kept Alderley in the hunt for a time but with a lack of wickets remaining Alderley's lower order were swept away to be dismissed for a deficit of 96 runs in the final over of the game, Charlie Boddy hitting 26 from number 10 in a solid all-round display for the hosts in a losing cause.
