Disley Cricket Club

An undermanned Alderley Park were swept aside by the 1stXI at a sodden Mulberry Sports Centre thanks to an emphatic chase that knocked off 118 runs inside 21 overs. Jake Reynolds (34) and Andrew Clarke (52) led the way, adding an enterprising partnership of 72 in just 10 overs together to put the result beyond doubt and set up a 7-wicket victory. The only disappointing aspect of the day was Disley’s fielding which was mixed to say the least, leaving Ross Arrowsmith (5-34), Xan Wood (3-44) and James Banner (1-31) to fend for themselves as they operated tidily without much support. The win keeps Disley in the hunt, but the gap to the promotion places has widened to 30 points as a consequence of having elected to chase.

On their first trip to the new cricket facility at Astra Zeneca, Disley were greeted with a heavily saturated wicket and were left with no other option than to chase having won the toss. Already missing some key players, the home side were sadly reduced to 10 men by a late withdrawal, but Disley were still made to work hard in the field. AP aren’t renowned for scoring heavily, but they are limpets at the crease and, to their credit given their reduced numbers, it took Disley 43 overs to dismiss the hosts. It was a relief as it meant escape from a possible point deduction, though that would have been harsh as the 1stXI’s usually impeccable over rate was compromised by efforts to maintain a match ball that was picking up clumps of mud during each delivery. The home side’s final tally of 118 owed much to stand-in skipper Simon Prime, the number three playing a lone hand for a well-compiled 56 which stood head and shoulders above him teammate’s efforts. After Xan Wood and Ross Arrowsmith accounted for the openers, he watched his middle order crumble around him with James Banner tempting Burnell to cut tamely to point either side of two LBW’s for Ross (55-5). However, Prime marshalled the tail excellently, including a pulled maximum off Arrowsmith (one of only two boundaries conceded in his marathon, unchanged spell) before he was eventually the eighth wicket to fall as he smashed a drive to mid-off. Al Brownsword then plunged to his right to terminate the innings, giving Aero miserly figures of 5-34 from 21.4 overs.

It was a decent effort from the Disley bowlers, conditions meriting an all-seam attack as Xan Wood (3-44) and James Banner (1-31) supported Arrowsmith. Sadly, another mixed fielding effort failed to meet the required standard, particularly the number of runs leaked when accurate, composed returns into Tim Baker would have yielded run-outs, but some testing conditions played their part. Anyway, lingering disappointment about the first innings was quickly removed by the manner in which Disley chased down their target.

The reply didn’t get off to the best of starts, Al Brownsword bizarrely shouldering arms to a ball that demolished his off peg (8-1), but the 1stXI were aided by what is often regarded as the enemy – the rain. As a moderate shower engulfed the ground, it gave natural strokemakers Reynolds and Clarke free license to express themselves in order to convince the umpires to see play through and it led to a rapid stand of 73. Jake was in particularly ebullient form, benefitting massively from time at the crease for the Rams Sunday XI as he looked back to his old self. He fired the ball to all corners, whilst Clarke also found the small boundaries to his liking as Searle was hit out of the attack in a period where thirty runs were added in the space of eighteen deliveries. Sadly the pair were parted when a direct hit from the deep saw Reynolds short of his ground in the 14th over (81-2), but they had set the tone and, as the rain ceased, the skipper went on to raise a forty-ball half-century with his third six of the innings. Disley would only lose three wickets, but they all proved worthy of a Phil Tufnell DVD as Clarke was finally removed with the scores level, bowled behind his legs by Sarkar who had resorted to utilising his right-arm mediums from around the wicket (118-3). It meant a mad rush on the sidelines from batsmen reapplying pads, and Tim Berryman emerged from the pavilion to tickle the winning run from his only delivery faced to secure 20 points.

Too often the 1stXI’s batting operates in cycles of wildly expansive or overly cautious, but this was the correct combination of batsmen playing aggressively but selectively as Clarke (52, 5x4 3x6) and Reynolds (34, 7x4) dominated the innings. It was a tough task for AP as an intangible amount of runs are lost as soon as you are a man down in the field, but it is hard to believe a full complement of players could have denied Disley victory.

As much as the 1stXI hate to pass up the opportunity for 5 points at the toss, batting second was probably the right thing to do given the home side’s reputation as draw specialists and they still fought hard even with their disadvantage this weekend. That attitude should hopefully see them clear of any struggle in a league now evenly split between promotion contenders and those fighting to avoid the drop.

Such determination would be welcomed in the Disley dressing room ahead of a key period of the season at the right end of the table. Chester CO (4th) and Bunbury (5th) arrive at the DASC in consecutive weeks and, despite the top two blazing a trail, everything is still left to play for if Disley can find that killer instinct and extra gear in their play.

Play-Cricket Scorecard