1stXI Bowlers Skittle Northwich

All four senior sides sit in the top half of their respective divisions with nine weeks of the season remaining. Some wet wickets across the county saw only one Jets batsman pass fifty but there were a string of fine bowling performances, led by two five-wicket hauls.

Northwich v 1stXI

A gutsy performance from the 1stXI delivered an attritional win over Northwich at Moss Farm to see the first string climb into the top half of a congested Division 1. If last week the Jets failed to take advantage of conditions in their favour, here they excelled when clearly having the worst of things after being put in to bat on a sticky dog. With the keeper immediately up to the stumps and a ring field for the medium pacers, it wasn’t box office viewing and North East were indebted to the application of John Westerby.

His 48 -- eventually stumped the ball before rain curtailed the first innings as 128-8 -- stood head and shoulders above all other batsmen on the day, especially when the hosts batted themselves into a hole in reply. A circumspect second wicket stand kept wickets in hand but was so risk-averse that the 1stXI were favourites as the required rate began to spiral. The bowlers all enjoyed their work, backed by a fielding unit that threw itself around to good effect.

In a frantic finale the Jets took the wickets that they had earned with their opening endeavours as the hosts attempted to hit out. Toby Carson (5-25) was the main beneficiary, pocketing his second five-for against Northwich this season as he ran through the middle order. It was a superbly disciplined performance, bowling Northwich out for 87 to pocket 25pts on a day where the Jets were up against it the moment they lost the toss.

2ndXI v Brooklands

The 2ndXI’s outside chances of promotion all but ended on Jackson’s Edge as they fell to a third league defeat of the season. 59 from Brookland’s junior Sudanshu Rajshetty proved decisive in a low-scoring encounter on Jackson’s Edge as the 2s and 3s swapped grounds for the day. Jimmy Williams again led the bowling efforts with 3-25, whilst there were braces for returning uni students Owen Johnson (2-29) and Joe Rooney (2-30). It helped dismiss the visitors for 133, a potentially tricky chase for an inexperienced side fielding seven U21s.

Two of those, Sam Scragg and Harrison Waddington, battled hard to set up a potential positive result after the early loss of openers Dyson and Cutts. But when both set batsmen fell for 23 and 29 respectively the Jets failed to keep up with the rate despite the efforts of Matt Wragg with a breezy 23. It saw the 2ndXI fall short by 15, finishing 118-9 as change bowler Buchan (5-42) cleaned up the lower order. Hopes of silverware now rest on the Twenty20 Cup with the upcoming semi-final against Oxton for the right to face Stockport in the final.

3rdXI v Appleton

A third clash of the season between the 3rdXI and Appleton finally saw the Jets come out on top in this fixture after two frustrating losses. The threes posted maximum batting points the way they have for much of the season, top order collapse followed by lower order runs. John Johnson struck an even 50 after entering the crease at 17-3 to help set up a late flourish from Andy Hadfield (33) and Max Collins (25*) who added an invaluable 46 for the eighth wicket. It set up the opportunity to finally get one over on a real bogey side and the change bowlers delivered with runs to defend.

The wrist spin of Ben Holbrook (2-23) accounted for both openers after a solid start to the innings and the key scalp was provided by Luke Johnson. His spell of 3-15 included visiting skipper Paul White (33) whose scores of 66 and 60* had dominated the previous encounters. Despite their best efforts, the rest of the Appleton batting couldn’t keep up with the required rate meaning a welcome 18-run win for Andy Welsby’s men.

Timperley v 4thXI

After surging to the top of the table the 4thXI have subsequently fallen to defeat to their two nearest rivals, losing to Timperley on Sunday to fall back to fifth. The hosts defended their first-innings 128-9, a winning total forged largely on the back of Zain Bhatti’s rapid 49. The Jets highlight came in the form of a maiden senior five-for for junior Sam Turnbull (5-45), the youngster adding a trio of late wickets to his two scalps with the new ball.

Despite the early loss of Harrison Waddington, there was hope of a successful chase when Rory Caine (33) and Sam Scragg (23) were together. The loss of both set batsmen saw the innings quickly fall away though, Vedant Sakhi ripping through the middle and lower order with 4-9. It meant the 4thXI were 100 all out and now face another contender next week in the form of Marple.