Timperley travelled to Appleton for their first game of the 2026 season. Unsurprisingly the Appleton pitch and grounds had suffered in the recent poor weather resulting in a shift in the wicket to avoid soft patches on the outfield.

Fisher called correctly at the toss and asked Appleton to bat on a green soft one that was likely to be low and slow. This was indeed the case and batting proved difficult throughout the day with batters struggling to time the ball or get full value for their shots through the slow outfield.

Jackson and Cross had opened for Appleton and taken the score to 23 when Hickman bowled Jackson (15) with a ball that nipped back a little to hit off stump. This brought Collighan to the crease but he did not stay long before being trapped Lbw for 5 to a ball that kept low. 34 for 2. With the Timperley bowlers on top Cross dropped anchor to play an anchor role and he eventually batted into the last over of the innings for an ultra patient 45 which would prove to be the highest score of the game.

Neville had replaced Goodson in the Timperley attack and he bowled with some pace. He was rewarded early in his spell when Buck slashed at a wide one but mistimed it to give Hickman a comfortable catch in the gully region. 42 for 3. With overs starting to run out the Appleton batters tried to accelerate but struggled. Ranns (3) was caught at point by Reddy off McIlroy to make it 74 for 4 and Mannion picked up a useful 15 before being bowled by the reintroduced Phadake. 98 for 5. Three more wickets fell in the last few overs to conclude Appletons innings at 111 for 8 with the Timperley bowlers on top for most of the innings. The pick of the bowling was Phadake with 3 for 25 off 7, well supported by Goodson with 0 for 12 from 8.

The Timperley innings was opened by Hodgson and Reddy and they both batted confidently against the accurate opening spells from Howard and Lloyd. The score was 12 when Lloyd bowled Hodgson for 5 to bring Coad to the crease. In partnership with Reddy they inched the score to 63 with Reddy being the faster scorer. He had reached a well played 43 before he was caught at deep mid-on. Hickman came in at 4 but looked a bit flakey before getting out Lbw trying to slog Jackson over midwicket. He had made 3. Neville was next in and both he and Coad stepped on the gas to hit a few boundaries to take the game away from Appleton. The scores were level when Coad was lbw to Lloyd for a patient 43 allowing Fisher to come in and score the winning run to make 112 for 4.

This was a great win built on a good toss to win in combination with a disciplined bowling performance and a great deal of patience when batting. Onwards and up!