Frankton

AFTER a convincing eight-wicket victory Frankton firsts remain within touching distance of the league leaders in the Shropshire County Cricket League Division One table.

Frankton inserted opponents Shifnal second XI and cruised to their target as they replied later in the afternoon.

A target of 122 all out was set by the visiting Shifnal side which struggled to hit the ground running.

Their opening two batsmen were dismissed for six runs, before Mark Bissell posted the best score of the afternoon for his side with 25.

The side slumped to 122 all out, before Frankton’s top order batsmen wasted no time in chasing down the target in reply.

Brent Doubell’s 21 before he was trapped lbw was helped by Ian Whitticase’s 33 and Thomas Wilkie’s 49 not out.

Scott Hale added four to take the side to 125-2 to confirm the win.

The firsts pay a visit to Shrewsbury seconds on Saturday.

Frankton second XI were unable to mirror the success of the first XI after they lost to Newport seconds away.

The home side batted first and did well to reach 194-6.

Dave Nock was the best of the day as he scored 72.

Helped by a 33 from skipper David Atherton and 31 by Stuart Anderson, smaller contributions from the side pushed them to a score of 194-6 from their 35 overs.

Elwyn Jones’ 30 in reply for Frankton was the best the side had to offer.

Tom Llewelyn’s 19 was the second best effort for the side but it was a difficult afternoon all-round at the crease as Nock brought his batting form to his bowling side of the game as he took three wickets.

The seconds return to action again on Saturday to take on Church Aston firsts at home.

Frankton thirds suffered defeat away at Whitchurch third XI.

After Whitchurch set a target of 195-9, Frankton stepped up and started well with Ambrose Mochan managing 60 runs.

The rest of the batting order struggled with the next highest score being 16.

On Sunday, Frankton thirds take on Cound third XI.

Ellesmere

ELLESMERE first XI managed their first win of the league campaign in the Shropshire County Cricket League Division One as they beat Bridgnorth seconds.

Batting first, Ellesmere reached a score of 258-5 with some high scores across the whole team.

Leading the way was skipper Tom Davies who managed 60 runs to spearhead his team’s batting efforts.

Sam Budd hit 56 while, Jonathan Mitchell also performed well to score 46.

The target for Bridgnorth seemed a difficult one to reach, but they came close to doing so after a good batting display of their own saw them fall just short when they scored 223 all out.

Ellesmere had Fraser Duncan to thank as he took five wickets during the afternoon to make it difficult for Bridgnorth to find momentum.

The pairing of Charlie Walker and Cameron Wallis scored 110 which bumped their score up, but with some good bowling on show and three catches by Mitchell, Ellesmere were able to see off their opposition and claim the victory.

They will look to start a winning run on Saturday when they travel to face Newtown firsts.

Ellesmere second XI continued to struggle as they lost away to Allscott Heath seconds in the Shropshire County Cricket League Division Seven.

With the hosts batting first, skipper Richard Addison did some damage early on as he managed 65 runs to put Ellesmere on the back foot for the afternoon.

Allscott eventually reached a target of 199-8.

In reply, Ellesmere looked good at times but failed to be as consistent as their opponents as they reached a score of 120 all out.

Captain Jason Wirdnam scored 32 to make him the side’s top scorer on the day, however difficulty in getting runs for the tail-end of the batting order left Ellesmere 79 runs short as they were taken out.

On Saturday, they face Allscott Heath seconds again in the return fixture.

Ellesmere third XI lost to Shelton thirds on Saturday after their target of 57-7 was met by Shelton who managed 58-2. They face Oswestry thirds on Sunday.

Chirk

CHIRK first XI stormed to a comprehensive victory over Lilleshall first XI as they continue to chase league leaders Wellington seconds.

Another convincing win saw Chirk bat first and post a target of 211-8. Ollie Gough and Shaun Walker racked up 45 runs between them to start the afternoon, however it was a surprise when Nicholas Flack was taken out for just seven runs.

James Carter added eight more runs before captain Andrew Swarbrick looked to push his team on. Eighteen runs from 15 balls for Andrew Swarbrick was accompanied by 24 runs courtesy of Billy Swarbrick.

Lilleshall were throwing a lot of balls but failing to take the Chirk line-up in quick enough fashion. Mark Shaw was the highest-scoring player on the day with 38 from 41 balls.

Frank Macdonald-Brown, Luke Gardner and Wynn Jones took the team towards their total of 211-8.

In reply, Lilleshall were 0-2 after 10 balls with Flack taking out the top-order pairing of Thomas Mackriel and Jack Bate. The visitors endured a difficult time batting and finished on 87 all out to hand Chirk the win.

Chirk firsts face Shifnal third XI on Saturday.

An excellent total of 262-3 was also enough for Chirk seconds to secure a win over Iscoyd & Fenns Bank seconds.

Ian Skinner and Liam Walker got things underway with 115 runs between them before Samuel Davies managed 98 runs and Dale Randall pushed his side over the line with a comfortable 31.

Lilleshall scored 69-8 in reply.

On Saturday, Chirk seconds face Iscoyd again at home.

Knockin & Kinnerley

KNOCKIN first XI took on high flying Shelton on Saturday, and after winning the toss, elected to field.

Shelton’s opener Alun Morris held the innings together with a fine 64 before being caught behind, and Keith Tate scored a quickfire 57 not out, as Shelton closed on 190-4.

Kiwi import Deon Biggs was the pick of the Knockin bowlers, as he bowled his allotted seven overs for the concession of just 11.

In reply, Knockin never recovered from a poor start as Sam Griffiths ran through the Knockin order to finish with the incredible figures of 6-6.

Lawrence Hitchen was out for a duck while Rhys Williams was dismissed for a golden duck, and Thomas Dix and Joe Kynaston managed just one run apiece.

Lloyd Edwards scored 24, but the hosts were shot out for 52. On Saturday, Knockin travel to Shifnal.

Knockin remain one place above the foot of the table, however bottom-placed Ellesmere closed the points gap at the weekend after they beat Bridgnorth seconds.

Knockin second XI travelled to Condover, and chose to bat after winning the toss.

Despite losing some early wickets, Dave Jones and Julian Gallimore put on 95 for the fifth wicket, with Gallimore scoring 57, of which 54 came in boundaries.

Welshman Jones found support from Matt Tunnadine and Dean Becker in the last six overs, which meant Knockin closed on 212-6, with Jones unbeaten on 66.

Condover made light work of the target, and reached the winning line with five overs to spare and seven wickets in hand.

Jordan Barker scored 40, while Charlie Rogers remained undefeated on 88.

Gallimore picked up two wickets to go with his 57.

On Saturday, Knockin seconds take on Market Drayton.

Knockin third XI were in action on Sunday as they were beaten by Worfield thirds at home.

A great score of 317-4 set by Worfield proved too much for Knockin who could only manage 124 all out in reply.

The third XI are without a game on Sunday.

Knockin fourth XI crossed swords with Newport thirds on Sunday, and were all back in the hutch for a disappointing 72.

Gary Darlington top scored with 19, while Gary Bowen picked up four wickets for 13, however John Smith and Harry Morris managed 73 not out in reply. Next week, the fourth XI host Lilleshall.

Cae Glas

CAE Glas finally secured their first victory of the season in a close encounter with fellow strugglers Prees on Saturday.

Batting first the home team started brightly enough racing to 20 off the first four overs. However, excellent Cae Glas fielding pegged the score back and two run-outs did not help the Prees’ cause.

Hopley (21), Fowles (20) and Silvester (20), all made good starts, but were dismissed just as they started to get going.

A fine innings of 59 from skipper Phil Richards took the Prees total to 157 from their 40 overs.

Pick of the Cae Glas bowlers was Gary Davies, who marked his return to the side with 3-23 in his eight overs.

In reply, Ben Hipkiss and Ian Holgate got the visitors off to a solid start putting on 40 for the first wicket.

Matt Coulson (19) and Gaz Edgerton (35 not out), edged Cae Glas closer to their target as they won with nine balls to spare and four wickets in hand.

They will be hoping that this was the turning point as they reach the halfway stage and face league title challengers Chelmarsh at home on Saturday.

Cae Glas second XI were unable to do the same as they took on Lilleshall thirds.

Lilleshall were invited to bat first on a wicket still damp from a heavy shower and managed to post a target of 145-4. Supil Fernando top-scored with a typically stylish and risk-free 54 not out.

Tight bowling all around and exceptional fielding in the deep by Danny Percy all contributed to keep the score down.

Cae Glas made a solid reply and at the drinks interval, both sides were doing very well. Tim Turner (31), Tim Smith (25), Steve Dakin (15) and a couple of boundaries from skipper Ian Moult in the penultimate over were not enough as Cae Glas fell agonisingly nine runs short.

On Saturday, they face Lilleshall thirds again away.