1st and 2ndXI Topple Hawk Green

A rare double-header saw both the 1st and 2ndXI take on neighbours Hawk Green over the weekend. A successful day for the Jets saw both sides chase down a target to strengthen their respective positions at the top end of their divisions.

1stXI v Hawk Green

Saturday saw the 1stXI host Hawk Green in a fixture that had been circled on the calendar for some time. The visitors arrived at London Road as the form side in the division on the back of a 7-game winning streak and backed by a large away following that heightened the atmosphere for this 1st v 3rd clash. With the mercury topping 30 degrees, the Jets finally won a toss and elected to get fielding out of the way - albeit getting off to an inauspicious start as the game’s first delivery was a no-ball speared down leg to the boundary. 

Better was to come as the home side slowly established some control, and they won the opening stages by removing a dangerous Hawk Green top order. Manning Berry (2-41) got things up and running before Toby Carson delivered the key wicket of Elliot Young in a prolonged spell of accurate swing bowling that yielded 3-26. Brad Holme countered with a well-made 38, but when he holed out in the deep there was only the late hitting of Jordan Henderson (24) to help scramble 150 which was made to look well short of par in a dominant reply.

Stands of 85 and 62 for the only two wickets to fall were just what the doctor ordered as the openers weathered an early pace burst before cashing in against the change bowling. It wrapped up a real team display as Jake Reynolds (55) was the first to pass fifty, unfurling a wide range of sweeps that never allowed the spinners to settle. The skipper’s dismissal then saw opening partner Saul Gould take on the mantle of aggressor, continuing his fine form as he raced to a third consecutive half-century that included ten boundaries and a first maximum of the year. He narrowly failed to carry his bat, eventually bowled for 70 (147-2), but an 8-wicket win was soon wrapped up.

Hawk Green v 2ndXI

The reverse fixture also saw the Jets in the field, this time at the behest of their opponents. Limiting scoring opportunities on the small ground at Hawk Green is always a challenge, so it was a real result to keep the hosts to under 200 in their 40 over allocation. Opening batters Hill (61) and Headridge (74) both passed fifty but strike rates were held in check enough that there was still pressure on the middle order to accelerate in the latter stages. Chester Bowden was the main beneficiary with 2-15 at the death, helping to limit the hosts to 197-7 and a manageable chase for a strong batting lineup.

Matt Mullany continued his relentless charge towards 1,000 runs for the summer with 46 from the top of the order, eventually third man out with the score on 94. A stand of 78 between Owen Johnson (48) and Saturday cricket debutant Kyle Philander (51*) then took the game away from the hosts, OJ finally showing some of his 3rdXI form for the twos and the new recruit looking every bit a potential 1stXI player. Both fell with victory in sight which allowed Matt Wragg to smite the winning runs up and over the Hawk Green practice nets to seal the win in style.

3rdXI v Cheadle Hulme

Another Saturday full-house was confirmed with the news that the 3rdXI had won a tight game away to Cheadle Hulme with Ben Cole completing a fine individual performance. In just his second game for the Jets, Cole helped himself to the rare feat of a five-for and a fifty in the same game. His 5-27 helped wrap up a first innings that appeared to be getting out of control with the hosts’ middle order starting to fire. Instead they were all out for 172 inside 34 overs but a late intervention would also be required in the second innings which also didn’t start well for the Jets.

At 68-6 they were staring down the barrel of a heavy loss with Ed Parkinson managing to be run out without having a ball amidst the carnage. 27 from Luke Johnson helped to rebuild, but it was the entrance of Elliot Ashton-Bryant (27*) to join man-of-the-match Cole that turned the game on its head. The pair added an unbroken stand of 62* for the eighth wicket, the winning runs fittingly arriving from Cole’s bat and taking him to 51* in the process at better than a run-a-ball to complete a great win.

Ashley v 4thXI

Ashley denied the Jets four out of four across the weekend but it was still a great game of Sunday cricket as the hosts chased down the Jets’ 199 all out to win by 4 wickets. Batting first, no fewer than nine batters made double-figure scores but no contribution more significant than Ed Parkinson’s 39. This prevented posting a truly dominant score as the batting lineup largely got in and got out but the hosts would still need to score at a healthy five runs per over to achieve victory.

They managed just that as, unlike the Jets, they found a match-winning contribution in Jim Doyle’s unbeaten 58*. That helped Ashley to victory for the loss of only six wickets as North East remain second but well short of runaway leaders Didsbury whose ground will be the venue for the upcoming Twenty20 finals day. Damien Mullany’s charges will have opportunity to get revenge on Ashley as they clash in the second Semi-Final with the opportunity to claim some silverware