4th XI Relegated

The Northwich Captain won the toss and elected to bat on a soft green top that looked as if it would assist bowlers and this is how it turned out in a low scoring game. Krishna & Pushka bowled solid opening spells and soon had Rajaretnam (3) and Meesala (4) back in the hutch, Meesala being particularly bemused having been bowled around his legs by Pushka (umpires fault apparently!).

Kathale (27) & Usha (14) both looked to start pushing on but got out when playing expansive shots to leave Northwich 57 for 4. Gary began to rotate the bowling and all settled to task and retained control of the scoring rate whilst taking regular wickets. A couple of sharp catches by Zain & Satya really helped the cause to leave Northwich 135 all out in 34.4 overs. The pick of the bowlers was Krishna with 3 for 35, ably supported by Maharaj with 2 for 11.

With little more than 3 an over to chase, Timperley sniffed an opportunity for an upset and Satya and Zain started quickly against the new ball bowlers. Unfortunately Satya (4) was run out after Zain refused an easy second run to make it 12 for 1. Kabir and Zain then added 18 before Zain was out caught behind off the newly introduced Muringparambil who would go on to bowl 10 overs for only 18. The introduction of slower more accurate bowling put the hand brake on the Timperley innings as Kabir & Abdullah struggled to miss fielders with their shots and 10 overs or so went by without significant score added. Abdullah (5) was bowled just before drinks and 80 odd was needed off 20 overs with 7 wickets in hand.

Unfortunately the Northwich stranglehold on the scoring rate was retained after drinks and the task got more difficult with time. Kabir (26) was undone by a superb slower ball from Ickilichan whilst Gary struggled at the other end. Krish (14) and Gary (29) had a little partnership and tried to regain the initiative but good field placement kept the scoring rate down. Krishna was run out and then Tayyab was yorked by Ansari to really scuttle the innings. Gary followed soon thereafter meekly missing a straight one from Ansari. The tail wagged slightly but the Timperley innings ultimately finished 9 short.

A good game of cricket lost by Timperley. Northwich extras were more than the winning margin combined with some ineffective running giving cause for yet another defeat and thoughts of ‘what might have been’. The vagaries of the back pitch at Urmston await in 2024 which have not been seen for quite a few seasons.

Hopefully we will be back stronger and more resilient next year