In my last piece I said that if OCC play well and bring away some points from Alderley Edge, teams Cheshirewide would sit up and take notice. Well, teams are not just sitting up; they are jumping up and down as Oxton took maximum points from AE away and then beat defending champions Nantwich at Townfield Lane. 100 points out of a possible 100 and a promoted side to play next. Momentum is a wonderful thing and all OCC playing members have that in abundance right now. Mark Cashin has already made enquiries regarding the rental of a tractor and open top trailer. He has also been seen mapping out a route around the Wirral on Google Maps. This could be unrelated but the fact that the route goes down the Parkgate front four times has lead to this speculation.
WEEK 4
To be the best, you have to beat the best. Exactly what OCC did this past weekend as they beat defending champions Nantwich at Townfield Lane in an enthralling affair that could have gone either way. Nantwich mustered 169, with Bentley and Doyle making 50’s. Andrew Birley was back in the side this week replacing the Ex Black Cap test player Lou Vincent who was dropped after making some derogatory remarks towards vice captain, Ross Dixon and his fondness of windmilling before shower time. Birley however let himself down by taking just the
three wickets, Fernando the pick with 4 for 67.
City did it the squeaky bum time way, so did OCC as they crossed the finish line nine down. Andy Birley redeeming himself with the bat as he made a valuable 11 not out. Gareth Andrew weighed in with 42, Ross Dixon spared on by ‘Windmill Gate’ showed excellent resolve with an unbeaten 58.
Marple next. If OCC keep the feet on the ground, stray focused and don’t look too far into the future, I believe it will be 5 wins from 5. Ex Cheshire captain Andrew Hall is in good knick and they also have a wily spin combination of Cash and Greasley capable of causing mass damage to a batting card. Oxton have too much strength in depth right now and I see a comfortable win. I wonder who will step up and be the match winner this week.
In other Cheshire Prem fixtures, Neston gave themselves further hope of staying up by beating a lacklustre Didsbury at Parkgate.
Neston, who are unbeaten this season, inflicted a third straight defeat on Didsbury spearheaded by a five wicket haul courtesy of experienced seamer Chris Finnegan resulting in Didders posting a disappointing 127. Didsbury fought back in the second innings as Neston struggled over the line nine down, Sam Macpherson unbeaten on 35. Andrew Windle’s 4 for 39 was in vain.
The Andrew’s, Hall and McGuiness, batted beautifully, scoring 72 and 90 respectively setting up a Marple win against Widnes. Widnes never looked like they would get close to the target score of 219 and were all out for 120. Danny Naughton, in superb form, was unbeaten on 75. Joe Cash did the damage with 5 for 32.
Macc posted 236 at home against Urmston with Khalid Sawas and James Crosswaithe both falling just shy of centuries. Rob Porter and Ian Tait both took four wickets as Urmston were bundled out well short of the target score.
Toft fell to the third defeat of the year away to Hyde. TCC posted just 175, Chris Tipper taking 5 for 54. Tipper followed up his fine bowling display with an unbeaten 46 as Hyde cruised home by six wickets.
CBH lost at home to Alderley Edge, Kumar Sarna blazed a half century as Lee Dixon fell just short of one, which would have been three in three games for the teacher born and bred in Greasby. Alan Day was the match winner for AE with 99 not out. One bonus that Chester can take from this game is that winter signing Ian Linwood was involved for the first time after having his appendix removed.
THE OPENING MONTH
Oxton sit at the top with 100 points. Hyde are second on 85 and are playing some solid cricket. The top two teams first meet on June 9th which is sure to be a firecracker. Neston sit in third for the time being after creeping home unconvincingly against Didsbury. Unbeaten yet this year with 2 wins, 1 draw and a no result. It’s all a smokescreen. Widnes, Marple and CBH are all covered by 1 point. AE and Nantwich are equal 7th and 8th on 47 points. Macc, Didsbury, Urmston and Toft make up the rest of the table. Tofts currently have just 21 points to their name.
Batsmen – Naughton 230 runs, Twiney 219, Duffy 207, Hall 184, L Dixon 181.
Bowlers – Birley 17 wickets, Williams 14, Porter 13, Warrington 13, Nalesnyik 10.
Kenny’s crystal ball
Congratulations to Will Lamb on his maiden 1st XI century. Excellent reports on Alex Money’s debut too. Got me thinking about what OCC 1’s will look like in 5 years. So I had a stab at it.
1. Simon Stokes. (Finally plays a full 22 game season. Club honour this by creating the Simon Stokes medal, presented to all 1st XI players who don’t miss a single game that season).
2. Will Lamb (Cheshire and OCC run accumulator)
3. Tom Marsland (Sporting a fine hobo beard after his third divorce, Tom is now a steady bat as well as master gloveman)
4. David Hurst (Sees the light)
5. Josh Solomon-Davies (Available when not running at the Olympics/Commonwealths/World or playing Premiership footie)
6. Ross Dixon (Captain, scorer, coach, masseuse, stato, mini bus driver, the lot)
7. Gayan Fernando (UK citizen, owner of the Gayan Fernando school of quick bowling in Claughton)
8. Gary Dixon (Just can’t leave it alone, still running his marathons)
9. Jimmy Fennah (Returning after a brief spell with Colwyn Bay in Wales)
10. Andy Callaghan (Finally getting the nod)
11. Andy Birley (No longer has to even field between his overs, Birley junior makes his 3rd XI debut aged 5 years and 7 months old).
THE GRAPEVINE
Apparently, 1st team scorer Joseph Demetrious has been seen sporting brand new designer and high end polo shirts on a regular basis and is receiving post even on a Sunday. Also, a large cash deposit was placed in to Mr Demtrious’s account on Saturday the 5th May after the game at Alderley Edge. The Cheshire Cricket Board court of Arbitration has caught wind of this and a run doctoring trial is imminent. Joe is a lovely lad and I hope he is found innocent.
KENNY’S TRAVEL DIARY
Thursday – Packed for Queensland. I am not a good flyer and like to get through security quickly so I can get to the departure gate and come to terms with my impending fiery death. Girlfriend didn’t fully understand my apprehension and was being too slow for my liking when she was eating her Red Rooster burger so I politely told her to “hurry the fuck up”. It was a quiet flight. Early night.
Friday – Had a look around. Queensland is more how I imagined Australia to be with Palm trees and fit women everywhere. Birthday tomorrow so had an early night.
Saturday – Birthday. Got a good stash. Highlight was a video the girlfriend organised of video messages sent from mates back home. Few OCC boys on it. CD has a future in front of the camera; Lou’s nerves got the better of him however. Went to a posh casino for dinner and got a first glimpse off downtown Surfers Paradise. Think Miami meets Birkenhead at 3 am on a Saturday night.
Sunday – Went to Toowoomba with girlfriend, her mum and her dad to visit her family and see where she was born. Tried souvlaki for the first time. News first reached Australia of Gibbo’s match winning knock. Missus is getting annoyed with my cricket talk already. Early night.
Monday – Had breakfast on the beach. Full English and topless sunbathers in full view is a fine way to start the day. Went on a walk to look at a waterfall. Was wet. Taught the girlfriend how to play poker. Decided to spice up the poker game. Late night.
Tuesday – Surfing lesson today. Instructor was a character. Stopped listening when he started comparing the waves to a bus and said his toes were sea thermometers. Managed to stand up. Struggled at first, a passerby compared my first half an hour of surfing to a Craig Mathieson bowling spell. All over the place. Got the confirmation email that I passed the test allowing me to mark GCSE’S. It’s funny really because when I sat the exams myself as a 16 year old I remember thinking, when I am older and I have A levels and a Degree behind me, I really want to mark these as a profession. Living the dream. Celebrated by going for a Mexican. Got the news that the girls drew in netball, 3 winless weeks now and play top next Tuesday. We’re doomed. We’re Toft.
Wednesday – Went to movieworld (Theme park). Again, not good with heights but went on everything. Girlfriend lost respect for me due to my cowardly screaming. Told her that a cautious approach to a mixture of speed and height is just common sense and not embarrassing. She didn’t buy it. Quiet bus ride home. Early night.
Thursday – Up early for a day at Wet n Wild. Some excellent rides there but a lot were closed due to it being off season. I thought I would complain at customer services to regain some man points. Lost a shouting battle to a 40 year old Taiwanese lady. Didn’t expect a confrontation, got flustered and my argument fell apart. Crumbled like Neston will undoubtedly do soon.
Friday – Left surfers paradise area to go further north with the missus and her parents for a family wedding. Went to a pre wedding BBQ, all relatives kept saying stuff along the lines of “Oooo you will be next” to the missus and a few minutes of “banter” would ensue between the family member and my girlfriend, after the third time I pulled her a side and said “Look, I like you but this is making me feel uncomfortable, I have no intention of getting married for a long time”. Tried to fix what I had just said by adding, “Or whilst your friend Sky is still available”. Lead balloon. Early night. No longer early, just standard now.
Saturday – Wedding. Outside, nice view but too hot. Free grog. Girlfriend didn’t feel well at all so left before the deserts at about 7pm, probably a good idea as I was already through a fair old amount of beer and wine and had just settled into the rum. I don’t think I’d recover from her family witnessing one of my ‘episodes’.
Sunday – Drove to Brisbane. Brilliant city. My favourite place in Oz so far. Flight back to Melbourne was at 8pm. Contemplated missing it but then realised I had to return to Victoria for my new awesome job. Got the flight.
KENNY’S MAILBAG
Just the one email this week. James Fennah thanks for taking the time to get in touch. Made up you listened to my advice and hiring Mike Fell as your coach is the best decision of your life so far.
PREDICTIONS
AE V Neston – One sided win sees Neston lose for first time in 2012. HOME WIN.
Didsbury V Hyde – Didsbury dig very deep but Hyde just too good. AWAY WIN.
Nantwich V CBH – High scoring draw, over 500 runs. DRAW.
Oxton V Marple – Another strong showing from OCC. HOME WIN.
Toft V Macclesfield – Toft show fight. DRAW.
Urmston V Widnes – Entertaining game. DRAW.
4 right out of 6 last time around.
