It’s been a mixed week for Alderley Edge Cricket Club as they played matches in three separate competitions, making good progress in two cup competitions but they lost their unbeaten record in the Cheshire County Premier league.
Edge set out to defend the Cheshire Cup last Sunday as holders following a memorable victory last September in the 2009 final against Elworth when they were victorious for the first time in 32 years.
Edge batted first against Grappenhall and it was their two big run scorers of the season, Mark Currie and Richard Wilkinson that poured on the runs again for Edge. A fantastic 113 from Currie, and a superb 90 not out from Wilkinson left Edge with a more than useful 257 for 4 off 45 overs.
After danger man, opening batsman James McCoy was out for a blazing 46 off 35 balls, Edge’s main problem appeared to be the weather but after a considerable delay in mid-afternoon, Alderley were able to complete a relatively straight-forward victory by 83 runs to make a confident start to the defence of their cup.
Last Thursday Edge had a fine victory at home over Hyde in the 20/20 Cheshire County League knock-out. Hyde and Alderley Edge have probably the best records in the 20/20 format over the 5-years the competition has existed in its current format, and it was a tight game that was eventually won by Edge by 9 runs due to conceding fewer extras through more disciplined bowling. Ethan Harding’s leg-spin was the feature of the evening with 2 for 13 off 4 overs at a crucial stage of the game.
It was a big disappointment then that Edge lost their unbeaten record in all competitions at Hyde just 2 days later in the league when their normally strong batting line up failed to fire and they were beaten by the large margin of 140 runs.
Edge lie in 3rd place in the Premier League with two matches to go before they reach the half-way point of the season, the first of those two matches being at home to Didsbury on Saturday.
Final score: Cheshire Cup Alderley Edge 257-4 Grappenhall 174 all out Alderley Edge won by 83 runs.
