A busy week of cricket saw mixed results for Mainsforth Cricket Club, reports Danny Hooper.
The latest round of fixtures got off to a good start as the 3rd team made the most of Thursday’s early evening sunshine, beating Murton CC by 7 wickets. Batting first, Murton struggled along to 64/9 from their 20 overs. In response Mainsforth lost three wickets before reaching the target, finishing on 65/3 in 16 overs. Lewis Wilson was player of the match in that one after picking up a wicket and then seeing his side home with an unbeaten score of 18.
The sun was still shining on Friday night, but the result was a much different story as the 1st team travelled to Dawdon in the Cliff Jones Cup. After winning the toss, Dawdon’s openers made the most of some awful (being polite) bowling and sloppy fielding by Mainsforth. Cries of, “I love you, Kevin” from the crowd confirmed that Kevin Dixon was the pick of the Mainsforth bowlers, picking up three wickets as Dawdon set a challenging total of 208/5 from their 20 overs. The Mainsforth openers made a good go of the reply but the mountain was just too steep, despite 47 from Ryan Nicholson before he was run out with no need for the 3rd umpire. Dean Storey finished unbeaten on 87 but it wasn’t quite enough as Mainsforth finished on 153/2 from their 20 overs, giving Dawdon the win by 55 runs. Mainsforth’s player of the match was Dean Storey.
On Saturday, the 1st team looked to bounce back from that defeat as they played host to Littletown in DNECL Division 1. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Littletown openers looked to make hay while the sun shone. That was not to be however as excellent bowling by Thomas Teesdale saw wickets fall regularly and kept Mainsforth right on top. Teesdale finished his spell of 9 overs claiming 7 wickets for just 25 runs. Shelley came in and played big shots as he looked to get the Littletown innings to a respectable total, but he came across the experienced Danny Hooper, who picked up his wicket in his first over to finish the innings with Littletown bowled out for just 59. Mainsforth made light work of the chase, reaching the target in just 12 overs, with Nicholson finishing not out on 21. Thomas Teesdale was an easy choice for player of the match in this one, his deadly bowling setting up an easy win for Mainsforth.
The 2nd team also recorded their first win of the season up at Esh winning, also on Saturday afternoon. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Esh Winning a steady but unspectacular to their innings. The fireworks only started when captain Kieren Jowett decided enough was enough and brought himself on to bowl. The Esh Winning batsmen had no answer for the deadly spin on show and were bowled out for 91 with Jowett claiming 5 victims for just 13 runs. The reply couldn’t have got off to a worse start as Mainsforth lost a wicket to the very first ball. Luckily, they had a head full of experience and bat well touched with Aidan Nichol steadying the ship and guiding the side to the total. Nichol scored almost half the team’s runs with a cultured 44, with Mainsforth winning this Division 5 game by 4 wickets. Player of the match in this one was skipper Kieren Jowett.
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