2ndXI on the Brink of Title

The penultimate weekend of the season was a mixed affair for the Jets. For the 1st and 2ndXI it was a case of two steps back as bad defeats dropped them from promising league positions and back into midtable. The 2ndXI produced a great run chase though to leave them one final victory away from an unbeaten season and a second consecutive league title. 

Stockport Trinity v 1stXI

Champions-elect Stockport Trinity confirmed top place in the East Division on a day where an experimental 1stXI batting lineup backfired. The Jets ran into an opponent motivated by the chance to confirm some silverware and looking to avenge their lone defeat of the season which came at London Road back in Week 7. Trinity were shot out for 43 that day and returned the favour here as North East were a miserable 46 all-out.

The 1stXI certainly couldn’t blame the conditions on a fine mid-September day as the nagging medium pace of Robert Jones (5-7) immediately put them on the back foot. Of the various batting auditions only Rob Berkeley made a fist of things with XX from the top of the order as the Jets found themselves in such disarray that the more experienced batsmen in the lower order couldn’t wrestle back any momentum.

Two quick strikes from Toby Carson avoided the genuine threat of a whitewash but there was no chance of a repeat of the scenes from the reverse fixture. Zaheer Khan benefited from being dropped twice to accelerate the game to a close but failed to see the innings out as he was bowled by Jamie Henderson. It only delayed the inevitable as a poor day saw the 1stXI drop four places in a congested table.

Scorecard

Timperley v 2ndXI

The 2ndXI are one game from an invincible season but not without surviving a scare on the penultimate weekend. The team’s success has largely been built around the bowling unit but a trip to a Timperley side who have twice scored over 300 this season represented a different challenge altogether. The hosts hit out relentlessly from the first ball to post 228 all-out, opener Usman the standout with a rapid 109 as he and Shah (47) combined to strike 11 maximums.

It meant the Jets were faced with a challenging run chase and one they would have to execute with eight of their top ten run scorers missing from the lineup. They did welcome back James Banner from self-isolation though and his 62 from the top of the innings set a solid platform on which to take on the Timperley total. The hosts chipped away with wickets but Matt Mullany, one of the success stories of 2020, saw the 2ndXI home with an unbeaten 46* - his highest score in senior cricket.

Scorecard

Styal v 3rdXI

The 3rdXI failed to avenge their previous defeat to Styal as the hosts completed a league double over the Jets. 3s debutant Jack Chignall (2-10) bowled extremely well with the new ball but it was the Johnson twins who dominated the first innings. Owen marked his final game as skipper with 5-21 to lead the league in wickets, whilst a rare bowl for Luke saw him return 2-12 as Styal were dismissed for 106.

Openers Andy Hadfield (14) and Sam Scragg (22) looked to be making light work of this total but their loss prompted a second collapse of the season to the home side. The Jets were again mesmerised by the slow bowling of Juan Pardo (6-22) in collapsing to 76 all out inside 24 overs, only John Johnson (24) adding a meaningful score in a poor batting display where there was no scoreboard pressure.

Scorecard