Disley Cricket Club

The 2ndXI completed a first win for 6 weeks in perfect style as Jamie Pollard clipped a leg-side maximum that also took him to a first fifty of 2010. A chase of 185 would have been much less had as many as six catches not been spilled in the Alderley Park innings, but Madusha Wettasinghe carved a typically belligerent 60 whilst there were crucial knocks in support of both half-centurions from Ian Ashkettle (23) and injured 1stXI vice-captain Simon Hare (23). The latter was not supposed to bowl, but finished up taking 3-27 off a few paces after Rick Robinson-Moss (2-37) couldn’t make it through unchanged. A win finally takes Disley past the 200pt threshold and consolidates a top-half place that had faltered after consecutive losses.

With a green wicket after a week of downpours, Disley elected to chase and Mossy had visions of 5 or 6 wickets for himself and a simple win – however, appearances can be deceiving and the DASC surface offered nearly 400 runs during the course of the afternoon! For their part the 2ndXI did contribute with dropped catches that enabled Alderley Park, late arrivers having run into roadworks (sorry lads, assumed you would have gone through Macc and the Peak!), to set a good platform. Toby Carson disturbed the timbers to halt the opening stand at 25, but the score continued into three figures before the Disley got into the middle order as the skipper struck twice (104-3). From here the 2ndXI got a firm handle on proceedings with disciplined bowling and tight ground fielding, but failure to remove Sardeshpande, the remaining top-order batsman, proved expensive. Robinson-Moss finally had to retire from the attack with limbs barely attached to his torso, meaning an injured Simon Hare, supposedly down in the 2ndXI to play as a specialist batsman, was called upon to dob a few overs down off a pace or two. He found some success to lead the wicket column with three, but his last came from the final ball of the innings to remove Sardeshpande for a vital 65 – 18 of which came off the penultimate set which ruined Toby Carson’s figures as the visitors carved 30 runs from the last 3 overs for a very competitive total of 185-9.

Hare’s unplanned intervention with the ball returned 3-27 after Robinson-Moss operated tidily for his two wickets. The other end proved more problematic as Carson and Burgess leaked 116 of the AP runs, but both bowled better than the figures suggest. For the visitors the top four scored the bulk of the runs with no other batsman making it out of single figures, Disley’s successful reply wouldn’t start as solidly.

185 looked a long way away as Disley lost both openers with the score in single figures, and the visitors must have been fancying their chances as the 2ndXI were without the services of Ash Boardman who had carved Alderley Park for a stunning century in the reverse fixture. Nobody in the Disley line-up could duplicate that performance, but a partnership of 91 restored parity as the aggression of Wettasinghe (60) and more subdued approach of Ashkettle (23) proved a perfect combination. Both were bowled either side of the innings continuing on into three figures, and the stage was set for a grandstand finish in front of a healthy crowd as the 1stXI returned victorious. It could have been a damp squib as the one false shot of Jamie Pollard’s innings looped skyward, but a regulation chance was grounded and from there a second noteworthy stand of the innings took Disley to the brink of victory. Pollard and Hare scored healthily, mixing boundaries with intelligent running as the wheels started to come off for the hosts. An intelligent bowling change gave Park one last chance as Adams returned with a double strike, the second an unplayable jaffer to castle Toby Carson for a duck, but Pollard was not to be denied. 2009’s leading run-scorer looked back to his best with languid strokeplay and power belying his stature, and an effortless clip off his pads sailed over the rope to secure victory and also to take Jamie to a well-deserved 51* not out.

A successful chase was built around two half-centurions who found able allies in the shape of Ian Ashkettle (23) and Simon Hare (23) respectively. It underlined the importance not only of individual scores but of partnerships as 141 of the runs were added cumulatively for the 3rd and 5th wickets. It was particularly pleasing to see Polly back in the runs after a lean spell, if he can be a little more watchful in getting his eye in he will score stacks at this level.

A first 20pt win of the season was well received, taking the 2ndXI past the 200pt barrier and reasserting some belief in a team who had forgotten how to win recently with a run of three winning-draws and two losses. It leaves the team in an encouraging 5th place, but likely short of challenging the leaders as putting together a run of wins has proven problematic.

Next weekend the team travel to Chester to play table-topping County Officers with whom they played out a thrilling level-score draw earlier in the season. It still irks that the system awarded them more points than Disley that day, but the result shows the 2ndXI are capable of competing with anyone in Division C on their day.

Play-Cricket Scorecard