Chirk

Excellent bowling performances from Chirk duo Billy Swarbrick and Nick Flack helped the Colliers to their first win of the season on Saturday against Bomere Heath.

The pair took three wickets apiece to keep their score of 149-8 out of the reach of the visiting Bomere men, eventually securing an 11 run victory.

Chirk were put in to bat first and got off to a slow start as they lost James Carter for a duck early on.

Shaun Walker was joined at the crease by Gareth Partridge, and the pair put on 15 runs together before Walker was run out by Henry Preece.

Bomere’s Chris Stevens took out Partridge (17) and Flack (5) in quick succession to take both his wickets for the afternoon.

Tom King was not as easy to dismiss when he started his defence of the wickets, as he picked up good momentum scoring 24 from 38 balls faced.

Ollie Gough came in and proved tough to crack for Chirk, as he added runs patiently while wickets fell around him.

Mark Shaw was dismissed for a duck, before Luke Gardener joined Gough and scored a run-a-ball for 13.

Wynn Jones replaced him and joined Gough, adding 13 before he was caught out by Sean Jones.

Billy Swarbrick joined Gough to see out the remainder of the side’s 35 overs, to post a target of 149/8.

Bomere’s reply looked to be going well despite the early dismissal of Preece (2).

Matt Jones (26) and Harry Gregson (35) tried to inspire their side, but Flack and Billy Swarbrick stopped them in their tracks.

The middle order fell quickly for Bomere, until a respectable 36 from Stevens which will have had Chirk’s bowlers concerned late in the afternoon.

However, a good catch from Partridge stopped the batsman as he looked to be hitting form, and Bomere Heath reached the end of their 35 overs as they sat 11 runs behind the Colliers.

The win puts Chirk third in the Shropshire County Cricket League John Rees Division One table.

On Saturday, Chirk make the trip to Powys to face Alberbury.

Knockin

In FORM bowlers for Alberbury denied Knockin & Kinnerley the chance of getting their first win of the season at the weekend.

Hoping to test their opposition, Knockin won the toss and elected to field.

Despite 46 runs early on from Alberbury’s top-order, Dominic Zaza, his side struggled to get going with many players adding low scores to their total.

Dominic Zaza’s start was a promising one, but Michael Crawshaw (13) and Lara Jones (1) both fell in quick succession, before Jordan Zaza was dismissed for a duck as Rhys Williams completed a hat-trick of catches early in the afternoon for Knockin.

Middle-orders Matthew Bevan and Ieaun Griffiths both managed more than 20 runs, before both were dismissed by Owen Washington who took a total of three wickets throughout the match.

Sam Morris was run out after 18 runs, while Lawrence Fletcher was caught out for zero.

Oliver Corbett and Myles Thomas were the last two up to bat, and put together 28 runs between them, before reaching the end of their allotted overs.

In response, Knockin’s batsmen got off to a slow start as they chased down the 179-9 target.

Jak Jones was bowled out by James Bird for 15 before Joe Kynaston was run out for seven runs.

Things got worse for Knockin as both Lawrence Hitchin and Rhys Williams were dismissed for a duck each.

But Tom Breese was determined to give his side a chance at reaching the target, and returned 51 runs before he was caught by Bird.

His efforts went unmatched by his teammates for the remainder of the match however, with Luke Beckett and Jamie Birch managing 13 apiece and Shaun Davis getting 14.

Knockin were all out for 128 giving Alberbury the victory.

Alberbury have now won two from two, putting them at the top of the Shropshire County Cricket League John Rees Division One table.

Knockin remain bottom as they await their first victory of the season.

On Saturday, Knockin’s first XI will host Pontesbury firsts.

Meanwhile, Knockin IIs suffered a two wicket defeat at home to Alberbury IIs

Knockin IIs face Pontesbury IIs on Saturday.

Cae Glas

Cae GLAS Cricket Club IIs suffered a heavy loss at the hands of Pontesbury IIs who owed victory to an impressive middle order display.

After being put in to bat first, two of Pontesbury’s opening three batsmen saw their wickets fall without scoring a run, while top order Jake Edwards was dismissed for nine runs.

But the side did not need to worry about their difficult start, as the pairing of Howard Robinson and Sean Byrne were in formidable form.

Byrne managed a decent 71, while Robinson played at his very best as he scored a century.

The Cae Glas bowlers were unable to dismiss either of the pair, and they finished the 40 overs not out, leaving their side on a commanding 223-3.

An already difficult task was made even harder for Cae Glas as they stepped up to bat, when Andy Kemp was caught out after five runs, and Steve Dakin was trapped LBW after making just four runs.

Cae Glas were unable to find any momentum as wickets continued to fall in quick succession.

Aled Roberts was dismissed for eight, while Connor Hindley was out after four runs.

Shaun Southern was the first to hit double figures for his team, but only barely as he was dismissed after making 10 runs.

Alex Carter scored highest for his team with 19 before he was caught and bowled by Tom Edwards who took three of the Cae Glas wickets.

A disappointing finish saw Cae Glas all out for 95.

The result means Cae Glas are bottom of the Shropshire County Cricket League Border division table.

On Saturday, they face Welshpool IIs at home while Cae Glas travel to Calverhall away.

Ellesmere

Jonathan Mitchell’s half century was the highlight of Ellesmere’s performance against Sentinel but it was not enough to give his side the win.

Batting first, Ellesmere lost a wicket after making just two runs, as Felix Ashley was dismissed.

Simon Rickett joined Mitchell, but was dismissed after making 14 runs, and was replaced by Jack Cockayne who lost his wicket after 13 runs.

Dan Harrington was Mitchell’s next partner, but he could only manage 11 runs before he was caught out by Alex Johnson.

Mitchell guided his team past the 100 run mark before he was caught out after a strong 51 from 70 balls, including six fours.

Kieran Barry stepped things up again for Ellesmere with 22 runs, but those around him were unable to emulate his success with the bat and saw their wickets fell cheaply in quick succession.

The Meresiders finished their innings with a total of 145 all out for their opponents to chase.

Despite taking the opening two wickets after 33 runs, it was the performance of a middle-order trio of Niall Salisbury, John Leah and Marc Lovelock who pushed Sentinel to victory.

After losing top order Ralph Bishop for six runs, and Russell Morris shortly afterwards for 11 runs, the visitors were relying on a strong performance from the remainder of the side, and they managed to do enough as Salisbury kicked things off with a respectable knock of 25.

Leah added 31, while Lovelock was the standout performer for the side, managing 44 not out.

Sentinel lost six wickets, but still reached the target set by Ellesmere to remain unbeaten this season.

Meanwhile, Ellesmere have won one and lost one of their opening two fixtures, leaving them in third place in the Shropshire County Cricket Shrewsbury and West Division Two table.

On Sunday, Ellesmere IIIs faced Whitchurch IIIs and suffered a heavy 147 run defeat.

On Saturday, Ellesmere travel to take on Shelton IIs while Mere IIs take on Knockin & Kinnerley IVs on Sunday.

Frankton

Frankton Cricket Club faced tough opposition in Wellington on Saturday and were unable to post a target high enough to stay out of their opponents reach.

Batting first, Frankton scored 35 runs before their first wicket fell, setting them up well to put a good total of runs together.

George Dickin and Scott Hale added runs patiently as wickets fell around them both.

Sam Todd was dismissed for four, while Mark Lammie and Callum Jones fell for just six runs each.

A middle-order pairing of Jack Hutchinson and Jordan Parry saw 40 runs added to Frankton’s growing tally of runs but after their dismissals wickets fell quickly and they ended their stint batting with a score of 169 all out..

Despite top order Mat Batkin being dismissed after picking up just four runs early in Wellington’s reply, his partner Tom Masters had started well, and formed a solid partnership with Dan Lloyd.

By the time Masters and Lloyd had been dismissed, Frankton were at 117-3 and had the target in sight.

William Lewin and Wendell Wagner formed a strong pairing to race to 138-4, before Lewin’s dismissal saw James Flynn come in and score a comfortable 20 to secure a six-wicket victory for the hosts.

Having now lost both of their opening two fixtures, Frankton’s are currently sat bottom of the Shropshire County Cricket League Premier Division Mike Robinson Group.

On Saturday, Frankton welcome Whitchurch to Hardwick Park with both teams searching for their first win of the season.