HALE BARNS CRICKET CLUB
HALE BARNS CRICKET CLUB
HALE BARNS CRICKET CLUB
HALE BARNS CRICKET CLUB
Hale Barns Second XI slumped to a second consecutive defeat as they were beaten by 10 runs against Congleton CC after failing to chase down a below-par target of 82.
Opening bowlers Jack Wylie and Dave Saddington both took four wickets to put Barns in the driving seat, but a disastrous batting collapse meant they finished their first home game of the season empty-handed.
It took the hosts just one delivery to make the breakthrough courtesy of Wylie, whose inswinger bowled Adam Woodall through the gate.
Saddington bowled a relentless line and length and was rewarded with the wicket of Ryan Cotterill (8) before dismissing three middle order batsmen for ducks as he completed a seven-over spell with stunning figures of 4-6.
Wylie continued to plug away from the top end and finally added to his tally by removing opener Guy Baxendale, who had provided stern resistance for his 37-ball 15, leaving the visitors on 29-6.
John Evans (16) chanced his arm during a brief cameo to take the score past 50, but he and captain Paul Beaumont (8) both became victims to Wylie (4-45) with the latter falling to a precise slower ball yorker.
Tailender Nigel Hodgson adopted an aggressive approach and found the boundary on five occasions to add some respectability to the total until youngster Ben Harrison (1-0) sent him back just four balls into his spell for a run-a-ball 25.
In reply, Barns appeared to be cruising despite the early departure of Sujoy Jaiswal (4), with Clive Collins and Tom Entwistle comfortably guiding the score to 35-1.
However, Entwistle’s dismissal for 9 was the catalyst for a major collapse as four wickets fell for 11 runs, including Collins for 18 after Beaumont captured three of the top four.
Baxendale (3-24) benefited from some uneven bounce to put Barns six down, while spinner Woodall broke the resolve of Richard Fretwell (11) to put Barns on the brink of an unlikely defeat.
And with 11 runs still required, Beaumont cleaned up the final three batsmen with minimum fuss to end with a magnificent 6-19 off 10.4 overs as HBCC disappointingly succumbed to back-to-back losses.