The Thunderbirds travelled to Warrington for the penultimate game of the season looking to keep their 2nd place position. Chester lost the toss and were invited to have a bat on a surprisingly hard wicket despite the overnight rain.

The inform Fox and Thistlewood opened the batting and looked solid from the outset. Foxy playing his majestic cover drives and Thistlewood dispatching the bad balls was a pleasure for the chilly fans to watch. Ian “Foxy” Metcalf brought up his 3rd consecutive 50 with a trademark backward cut and Thistlewood wasn’t far behind in reaching his 50. The skipper was looking for a brave declaration and so the pace picked up and the 100 run partnership was reached in the 21st over. Thistlewood eventually fell for a superb 59 with the score on 136 in the 26th over. The destructive Craig Evans joined the cool calm and collected Fox at the crease and destructive is what Evans was, the declaration was getting closer and Ste Treen playing his last match of the season was victim of pad rash in shed! The Fox reached his second century of the season with a lightning fast 2 to fine leg, a classy, faultless and chanceless innings from the 3XI senior. Evans raced to his 50 (6x4s, 3x6s) and was given 2 more overs to reach his ton, unfortunately that wasn’t enough time and Fishy brought them off the field with the score on 254-1 off 42 overs. Ian Metcalf finished with a supreme 104 not out and Craigo Evans a magnificent 83 not out.

After a quick lunch and only needing 9 wickets Chester were quite confident with the bowling attached they had. Bhanu and Townend opened the bowling and runs were kept to a minimum. Bhanu struck with 2 quick wickets (the first a fine catch from specialist square leg Jackson and the second a good catch at mid-off from Mr T), young Alex created chances at the other end and was unlucky not to finish with a wicket and had figures of 0-18 from 6. Jackson replaced Wiggy and was nearly bankrupt after his first over (£1 per no ball, £3 owing!) but was creating chances. The Fox and Thistlewood rallied around young Jackson to offer their wise words which obviously worked as Jacko finished with superb figures of 3-21 off 6. (Would have been 4 wickets but the skipper dropped which would have been catch of the season at Gully, more of a fantastic stop everyone agreed!) Bhanu kept plugging away and got his 3rd wicket with a decent catch behind from Williams and Bhanu finished with 3-22 off 11 (43 3XI wickets for the season now). With only 3 more wickets needed and 40 overs left the score on 51-6 and Chester were looking certain for a maximum 25 points. Slater replaced Bhanu and got his first wicket with an absolute Jaffa that jagged back and took off stump. Fishy came on with a spell of off spin at the other end and with just 2 wickets needed, plenty of overs remaining and hundreds of runs needed Warrington didn’t seem interested (It could be a long one everyone though!) John Scott (Full clothed) was keeping morale up in the field with wise words which worked a treat, Fishy taking a catch at Gully of the bowling of Slater who finished with 2-12 off 7. Fishy wrapped up proceedings with a juicy full toss which was taken well at cover by Craig Evans and finished with 1-12 off 5.1. Warrington were all out for 87 in the 36th over.

A really impressive all round performance from Chester keeps them in second place and a trip to Urmston last game of the season where the winner will take to spoils.

It was the last game of the season for young George Jackson who has had a great start in adult cricket and there’s much more to come from the young man, a pleasure on and off the field, well done Jacko! Also last game of the season for die hard Chester and Wolves fan Ste Treen who has impressed with the bat this season and behind the stumps when required, well done #LID.

3XI - Oxton 3 (H)

Saturday saw the birds entertaining Oxton at Filkins lane looking for 25 points to move them further up the league table.

Fishy, fresh from a good night’s sleep, won the toss and invited Oxton to have a bat on steady Boughton Hall deck. Bhanu and Fishy opened and Bhanu got the breakthrough in his 4th over clean bowling the Oxton opener for 1 with the score on 5-1. Fishy and Bhanu were bowling tightly and runs were hard to come by even against the potentially destructive former Chester player Eddie “Vu Vu” Filer. Mark Slater who has had 100% availability for the last 4 games (a revelation) dropped an absolute dolly off Fisher at gully and when Fisher finished his spell he was unlucky not to have a wicket and had 0-22 of 7. Slats replaced Fishy and was bowling extremely well with Bhanu and the latter got his 2nd wicket to take him to 40 for the season with the score on 23-2 and Bhanu finished his first spell with 2-9 off 9. Jackson replaced Bhanu and apart from the no balls Oxton were struggling to score on a seemilngly batter friendly wicket, Jackson got his reward in his 2nd over and finished with 1-25 off 6. Slater got the scalp of Filer for 48 in his 10th and finished with impressive figures of 1-22 off 11. Young “Warno” Maddocks replaced Jackson and Fishy replaced Slater and wickets continued to fall, Maddocks unfortunate not to finish with at least one wicket, yet another dolly dropped by Slater! (Who also conceded 4 at fine leg because he was too busy watching the innings of B Evans on the front pitch!) Fishy finished proceedings with 3-51 off 14 and Oxton finished on 165-7 off their 50, a score which was easily gettable.

The two Ians (Metcalf and Thistlewood) opened and 2 quick wickets fell with Thistlewood for 4 and Craig Evans for 0 who by all accounts got a rip snorter first ball. Bhanu went in at 4 and missed the “quicker googley” for a score of 13 and John Scott raced to a quick 21 before being caught at point. Cue young George Metcalf! With the father and son partnership at the crease anything was possible, the fox is in fine form and young George hits it as hard as anyone (Nearly killed Craig Evans who was umpiring!) Foxy passed his 50 with a glorious trademark cover drive any rivalled by some of George’s drives. These two saw the innings out and Chester got the runs only for the loss of 4 wickets. Ian Metcalf finished on 78* and young George on 14*, a real pleasing sight at Chester to see these two finishing proceedings and it looks like George has a really exciting future at the club.

With Upton’s loss on Saturday it puts the thunderbirds in to second in the league after their fantastic run of form. Warrington away at the weekend and Urmston away are the last two fixtures. Special mention to Olly Snowden for his fantastic gully fielding and Jon Scott who stayed on his feet all game!

3XI - Irby (A)

The Thunderbids travelled to Irby hopeful of 25 points to continue their push up the league. Fishy lost the toss (again) and was invited to have a bat on a sticky wicket.

M.Treen and Thistlewood opened the batting before Thistlewood hit one straight to mid-on for 14. Budding all-rounder Slater missed a straight one first ball up which brought S.Treen to the crease (everyone was hoping there was no run-out with these two at crease!) S.Treen got a genuine snick behind for 0 and Williams and Bhanu followed shortly afterwards for 6 and 5 respectively. Scott came to crease and started with two 4s then decided to take a little break, feeling dizzy and seeing 3 of everything (he was given a kit kat chunky and a few chocolate eclairs by a very nice Irby spectator) Fisher joined Treen with the score on 88-5 and Treen reached his 4th socre of 50 in 5 games until he ran himself out trying to run 2 to 3rd man up in the circle a decent knock of 60 for Michael. Fishy went for a breezy 14 and the youngsters of Townend and Maddocks were in the middle looking good until Alex tried to push the score along and was caught at mid-on. Scott returned for his second innings and played as freely as ever with good support from Maddocks who went in the same fashion as Townend to mid-on. Specialist square leg Jackon was in next and hoping for 2 consecutive innings where he hasn’t been ran out and it happened! Scott smashed the last ball for 6 (after M.Treen umpiring took the Irby bowler off for bowling 2 beamers at Scotty). Scott finished 33 not out and Jackson 3 not out. Chester 182-9.

After a lovely lunch and a business plan discussion between the Treens and Scotty (Heisenberg!) Chester set about the Irby batsmen on what was still a tricky wicket. Bhanu and Townend opened and the latter was unlucky not to get a wicket in his speall with 0-10 off 5. Marella ella ella got the breakthrough in the 11th over clean bowling the Irby opener. Kat Slater was bowling well at the other end and keeping runs to a minimum as Bhanu was mopping up at the other end, a wicket in his next 3 overs to take Marella to 4-14 off 9. Slater finished with 2-12 off 6. Young Joe Maddocks replaced Slater and because of the Hyderabad express at the other end could only get 3 overs 0-10 before Bhanu finished awesome figures of 8-16 off 15 a superb bowling performance and Irby were all out for 52 in the 28th over.

A great performance from the Birds who have a great team spirit at the moment! Special mentions go to; George Jackson for giving no runs away at square leg (a few diving stops) and not getting run out (again!), Bhanu for his terrific bowling performance, Treen with the bat, Scott for a decent 2nd innings knock and Slater for begging to go in slip and then dropping one! The 3s entertain Oxton next week at home and would like nothing more than another 25 points to continue the charge up the table.

3XI - Upton (H)

The Birds took on 3rd Place Upton at Filkins lane on a wet, rain interrupted day.

Fishy lost the toss and Upton invited Chester to bat on a sticky wicket.

With the fox unavailable for 2 weeks Ian Thistlewood was pushed up to open with in form Mike Treen. Upton got the valuable wicket of Treen off only the 3rd ball of the day, the ball getting big and Treen snicking behind. The next wicket was that of Thistlewood (8) who was caught off a decent catch one handed at Mid-off. S.Treen and Williams followed for the popular score of 8 and Bhanu fell for 4. Chester were looking in real trouble here with the score on 52-5. Bob Knight playing his last game of the season was sent in at 7 to stop the fall of wickets and together him and Scott started building something for the Chester bowlers to bowl at. Scott was eventually caught trying to pull a short one and the score now on 90-6 off 31 overs. Fishy went in at 8 and him and Knight started building a partnership, Knight rotating the strike and Fishy scoring the boundaries. These two were looking good and all of a sudden 150 looked attainable which was passed in the 43rd over. Knight was there until the second to last ball when run out trying to give up the strike, Fishy finished proceedings with a nice straight four finishing on an unbeaten 94. Chester posted 205-8 off their 50 which looked impossible at one stage.

Chester skipper had to retire during the lunch interval after taking a ball on his ankle, the specialist fielder Jamie Wood was deployed. Ian Thistlewood looked after affairs and after a rain effected start Upton had 44 overs to reach the total. The familiar opening partnership of Bryen and Bhanu started and runs were extremely difficult on a pitch which still had a few surprises, Upton 15-0 off 10. The 12th over saw in-form Bhanu take 2 wickets in 2 balls the score now 29-2 off 12, Bryen bowled well at the other end and finished his first spell with 0-10 off 6. Townend replaced Bryen and had a short spell of 0-12 off 3. Jackson fresh from his modelling session pre-lunch bowled 3 overs with figures of 0-19. Bhanu got another wicket in his 8th over and finished his first spell with 3-28 off 9. The stand-in skipper kept the changes coming and brought Knight on for Bhanu and Bryen returned at the Milne end. Knight got wicket in his 3rd over after a superb catch of Townend running backwards towards the pavilion diving and catching it over his head, he really is a superb fielder. Knight got his second victim the next over clean bowled and Upton were looking in trouble on 81-5 with 18 overs left. Bryen continued to bowl tightly and got his reward in his 10th over bowling the Upton opener for 50 (amazing what happens when you bowl on the stumps Wolfey!) Bhanu returned and got 2 more wickets in two over and finishing with a fantastic 5-36 off 15. Bryen picked up another wicket caught Matty Williams behind the stumps and finished for an impressive 2-28 off 14. Unfortunately Chester just couldn’t find that last wicket and Upton finished on 124-9off their 44 overs.

Another special mention for Bryen again this week, Two catches in two weeks now, this guy is really learning his trade as a specialist cover fielder!

Chester travel to Irby next week and need the 25 points to continue their push up the table.

3XI - Cheadle Hulme (A)

The 3XI travelled the Cheadle Hulme looking for a maximum to aid their climb up the table.

Fishy won the toss (for once) and put Cheadle in on what was obviously going to be a tricky wicket, lots of grass and a few holes! Bryen Specner-Wolfe and Bhanu opened the bowling, the first wicket came In the second over with the score on 0 caught Fishy at gully off the bowling of Bhanu. The next was another Bhanu wicket caught at point by Thistlewood at point, so far the catch of the season! Returning Matty Williams took a great one handed diving catch to give Bhanu figures of 3-4 off 11. Bryen bowled really well and finished his spell with 1-2 off 7 (One of them was a wide!) Townend and Jackson bowled in tandem and continued to restrict scoring and pick up wickets at regular intervals, Townend finished with 3-10 off 6 and Jackson with 1-10 off 5, Jacksons wicket was a catch which was held by Bryen at cover, he must have been concentrating really hard, not only to hold the catch but he managed to stay on both feet, Well done Bryen! A couple of run outs (M.Treen with an under arm from slip) wrapped up proceedings and Cheadle were all out for 60 in the 33rd over.

Straight turnaround as lunch wasn’t quite ready, saw Ian Thistlewood and in-form Treen open up the batting (Metcalf protecting his average!) Chester reached the total in the 13th over with the loss of zero wickets, Treen 24 and Thistlewood 29.

A really impressive performance from the 3rd XI who continue to put pressure on the teams ahead of them, it’s not often you get chance to witness a 10 wicket victory (Unless you followed the 1s to Birkenhead the day after!)

3XI entertain high flying Upton at home next weekend.

3XI - Neston 3 (A)

Fishy’s 3XI travelled to league table toppers and old adversaries Neston

Chester were put in to bat on a slightly damp track after some overnight rain and opened with the inform M.Treen and Metcalf. Treen and Metcalf were looking their usual classy selves and got the scoreboard going straight away giving Neston very few chances although the Fox was dropped in the covers on 11 (oops!) The 50 partnership came up in just the 11th over and both batsmen were looking extremely comfortable, Joe Killoran due in at 3 was wondering if he was ever going to have a bat after an intense 6 hour net session earlier in the day! Runs kept coming and Metcalf reached his 50 with a classy square cut for 4, the 100 partnership came in the 27th over and Neston were struggling with ideas having already used 6 different bowlers. Metcalf was demoralising the Neston attack and kicked on is superb fashion, Treen reached his third consecutive 50 and the 150 partnership came about in the 33rd over and brought drinks. First ball after drinks Treen advanced down the wicket to opening bowler “The Edge” 4 straight over his head, young Joe Killoran loved that shot and le the Edge know from the boundary. Treen eventually fell chipping one up to mid-off trying to move the score along on 65. A third consecutive half century by Treen and a fantastic opening stand with the fox of 185. Joe Killoran had batted for 6 hours in the nets earlier and lasted all of 6 minutes, completely miss-judging a full toss from the Edge. Young Tom Wyatt soon followed and was replaced by Bhanu who scored a quick fire 17 including a lovely 6. Metcalf passed his 100 with a sublime “guided” edge down to 3rd man, a great innings applauded by all, the Fox has really impressed this season. The Fox eventually fell for a magnificent 122 in the 45th over trying to pull one to the leg side and getting a top edge. The rest of the Chester Batsmen all chipped in and Chester finished on 278-8 off 50.

After a splendid lunch Chester were looking good for all 25 points, not over confident though as Neston had already chased 280 off 40 overs against the Hall last season. Fisher turned to regular openers Bhanu and Townend. Townend got his breakthrough in only his 2nd over dismissing Neston number 2 for a similar score. Bhanu continued at the other end and both were bowling well with runs hard to come by, Neston were falling well behind the rate and Joe Killoran let them know. Townend finished his first 6 with 1-14. Replaced by Fishy for a short spell of 2 overs (a little expensive we shall say!) Bhanu got the next breakthrough with a snick behind to keeper S Treen who loves a catch a Neston, diving full length one handed and snaffled it in front of first slip a sublime catch from Nomad’s under 12’s Keeper on the season in 2006. Wyatt replaced Fishy at the other end and was getting some great shape and got his reward in his second over caught behind (S Treen was not dropping anything behind those stumps) Wyatt finished with 1-25 off his 5. Bhanu dismissed other opener LBW (suspicions of an inside edge) and finished his spell with 2-22 off 10, Neston were 82-4 off 20. Knight replaced Bhanu and Jackson replaced Wyatt. Jackson was very unlucky not to pick up a wicket and has 1 and half chances dropped at mid-off by the skipper (not his day). Fishy moved himself out the firing line and in to cover and earned himself a sharp run out, a classy bit of keeping from Treen who elegantly took the bails off as he fell over nearly sitting on them (That could’ve hurt) Knight bowled his tight lines as always and finished with 2-22 off his 8 including a good catch in the deep by Wiggy Townend. Neston now 164-7. Joe Killoran was given one over to try and get a wicket, we’ll leave that there and he was immediately replaced by Bhanu who got a wicket in his first returning over Neston now 167-8 off 39. Just 2 more wickets needed for a memorable victory for the Thunderbirds. Townedn returned but couldn’t get the breakthrough and the Skipper gave himself the last over with 2 wickets to win. Off his second ball the Neston batsmen hit the full toss straight to Killoran in close on the leg side, a great sharp catch. 1 wicket needed with 4 balls left, unfortunately it wasn’t to be and Neston batted out for the draw finishing on 203-9 off their 50.

A great performance from the 3XI and in particular mentions to Ian “Foxy” Metcalf for his classy ton, M.Treen for his 3rd consecutive 50, S.Treen for a fantastic catch behind the stumps and G.Jackson for not getting run out!

Chester take on Cheadle Hulme next week looking for a maximum to keep them moving up the table!

3XI - Macc (H)

The weekend saw Chester entertain Macclesfield at Filkins Lane.

Due to late unavailability woes Fishy recalled former overseas pro Dalat Gulzar, to the delight of the spectators!

Fishy won the toss and decided the let Mac have a bat on what looked to be a decent batting track once again. Ryen and Townend opened the bowling and Ryen got the breakthrough in the 7th over with the opener snicking behind and caught by Treen. Ryen finished his quick paced 7 over spell with figures of 1-17 off 7 and Townend was unlucky to finish with figures of 0-28 off 6. Fishy replaced Townend and soon took himself off again (we won’t discuss the figures) to be replaced by Wasim Dalat Gulzar and Bhanu replaced Ryen. Macc were looking comfortable on 72-1 until Bhanu bowled a well-disguised slower ball which was lobbed up into the covers for an easy catch for Thistlewood. Gulzar was being the economist the other end and Chester’s next breakthrough came in the 27th over with Mac now 116-3, a good leg side catch by Treen behind the stumps off bowling of Bhanu. Bhanu finished his spell with 2-36 off 9 and was replaced by Knight. Knight got the breakthrough in only his second over bowling a lovely full toss and caught by Townend in the deep. It was now all left to Gulzar who was bowling as if he’d never been away since 2007 and finished his fantastic spell with figures of 4-51 off 15 and Knight finished with 1-38 off 9. Macclesfield 212-8 off 50

212 was always looking like and under par with the batting line-up Chester had. In form Mike Treen opened with returning Ian “Foxy” Metcalf. Short boundary and quick outfield helped the Chester batsmen and the score was on 76-0 before Metcalf was given out LBW (suspicions of an inside edge were raised by Metcalf), a good 37 set Chester in good stead. Thistlewood replaced Metcalf and was dismissed in similar fashion for 17 (suspicions of another edge on to pad), Thistlewood was obviously disappointed (we’ll leave it there). Newly promoted Slater was in at 4 and played his free flowing game keeping the runs ticking, meanwhile Treen reached his 2nd consecutive 50 until he was caught at slip for 51. (50 and out again Michael) Fishy could only contribute 3 to the total before he was bowled, Slater soon followed for 20 after the catch of the season, Gulzar , managed 10 before being caught behind. Chester were now 150-6 but with batting right the down until the end Chester were confident of 25 points. Scott returning from his wedding hit a quick 19 including a majestic 6. It was left to the all-rounders of Bhanu and Townend to finish the job. Bhanu finished on 11* and Townend a really impressive 19*. Chester 214-7 of 39

A really good all round performance from Chester who continue to move upwards in the league.

Chester travel to table toppers Neston next weekend looking to make it 3 in 3.

3XI - Brooklands (H)

Chester Entertained high flying Brooklands at FIlkins lane looking for their first win in 3 games.

Fishy lost the toss (again!) and was put in to bat on a typically Boughton batting wicket. M.Treen and C.Evans opened and made their intentions clear from the start, hard hitting coupled with a lightning fast outfield helped push the score along and Chester were 70-0 off the first 10. Evans was playing some superb shots punishing the poor bowling and reached his 50 in no time off just 30 balls, Treen soon followed suit and reached his 50 off 71 balls until he was eventually caught at mid-off for 53 (9 x 4s), a fantastic opening partnership between the young pair of 142. Evans was joined by Henson who added 5 to the score before being caught on the boundary and Evans raced to his ton in superb fashion off just 77 balls but was finally dismissed for 113 (17 x 4s, 2 x 6s) with the score on 187-3 from 35. A fantastic innings and well deserved after a superb 91 the week before at Oxton, well done Craig! The scoring didn’t stop there, Bhanu was joined by Filkins lane all-rounder Mark Slater who uncharacteristically hit a half volley straight to mid-off (Mark declined to comment on the poor shot at his post-match interview). S.Treen (13) and young Townend (15) provided good support for Bhanu as he punished the bowling of the Brooklands attack and Fisher declared in the 48th over, Bhanu finishing on an unbeaten 51 (3 x 4s, 2 x 6s). Chester 276-6 off 48

It was always going to be hard to bowl a team out on this wicket but with 8 recognised bowlers the 3XI were confident of a 25 point win! Bhanu and Townend opened and Bhanu got the breakthrough in the 6 over dismissing Vesey LBW. Townend soon followed with a wicket in the 8th over dismissing centurion in the reverse fixture Cunliffe for 3, an absolute Jaffa of a delivery. The Brooklands number 3&4 then consolidated the innings and were looking comfortable and wickets were hard to come by, Slater and Fisher bowled their spells without reward and were replaced by the spin twins Knight and debutant young Joe Maddocks. Knight got the breakthrough in his 2nd over dismissing Jones for 48, a great catch in the covers by Maddocks. These two provided good variety and young Maddocks got his first 3XI wicket in just his third over with a great delivery bowling the Brooklands number 5 for 32. Knight plugged away with not much luck and all aerial shots were finding the boundary instead of the hands. Maddocks continued and was bowling superbly, troubling the batters with every delivery bowled, Maddocks get his second of the day caught Slater in the covers and undoubtedly the most important wicket of all in his 9th over trapping Atkinson LBW for a decent 63. Joe “Warno” Maddocks finishing with 3-32 off 9, a fantastic spell of bowling and definitely one to keep an eye on! Bhanu replaced Knight and got a wicket with his first ball, cutting in and taking the leg stump bail. Young Sam Munro (arguably the fielder of the day) replaced Maddocks and showed the seniors what he’s capable of, bowling a maiden first over, unfortunately young Sam only managed one over as Bhanu cleaned up the tail in his next over and finished with a fantastic 5-26 off 9. Brooklands 198 a/o off 46 overs.

A great all-round performance from the thunderbirds earning them a maximum 25 points.

Special mentions must go to Craig Evans for a class innings of 113, Bhanu for a fantastic all-round performance of 51 runs and 5 wickets, M.Treen finally scored more than Steve (and dropped more) and Joe Maddocks for a great display of spin bowling 3-32.

Chester entertain Macclesfield at home next weekend looking for another maximum.

3XI - Oxton (A)

Saturday saw the 3XI travel to Oxton looking to get back to winning ways, two overseas transfers saw M.Treen return from Bahrain and A.Dumbavand returning from Thailand. (125,000 rupees was the total fee)

Fishy lost the toss and Oxton decided to bowl on an incredibly warm and sunny day. The new look opening partnership of M.Treen and Dumbavand lasted until the 4th over when Dumbavand was bowled by a Jaffa (Please see B.Knight for full description). Returning from King’s School duties, C.Evans came in at 3 and was making his intentions clear early on with boundaries as M.Treeen was holding up the other end. Treen was eventually dismissed for an uncharacteristic 16 off 16 overs with the score on 79. Ian Thistlewood came in at 4 and has fond memories of this ground, Evans and Thistlewood were looking extremely comfortable and were making the Oxton fielders chase the ball to all parts of the ground, the hundred came about in the 30th over and Evans eventually fell for a magnificent 91 which included 10 x 4s and 5 x 6s. Thistlewood soon followed for a decent 44 including a delightful six back over the 2nd XI bowlers head (How did he feel about that Ian?) Henson and the in-form Treen were at the wicket and carried on the destruction of the Oxton attack, Henson falling for 30 and Treen falling for 23 (One mahoosive six from the wicket keeper / sweeper/ Batsman!) Fisher and Townend did much the same and Fisher fell for a quick fire 33 including 7 x 4s, G.Jackson was unfortunately run out again and was replaced by late innings specialist Ryen Spencer-Wolfe. One ball left and Spencer-Wolfe was on strike, the bowler takes his mark, runs in, bowls the ball and Spencer-Wolfe played the most majestic leave of the day (debatably a wide) Chester finishing on 326-8.

After a most delightful tea Spencer-Wolfe was given the new ball along with Townend. The very first ball of the innings went for a 6 over 3rd man (unbelievable Jeff), at least Ryen saw the funny side. Ryen was bowling with good pace and due to being a bit of a porker could only manage 6 overs because of indigestion and was unlucky not to get a wicket. Townend picked up the opener and finished his first spell with 1-32 off 6. Knight replaced Spencer-Wolfe and Fishy replaced Townend, Fishy got the breakthrough with 2 wickets in consecutive overs while Kinght was Bobboozeling bastmen at the other end and got his reward with a fine wicket, “The slowest wicket I have ever seen” described by M.Treen. Knight and Fisher carried on, Knight finishing with 2-66 off 14 and Fishy finishing up with 4-44 off 14. Spencer-Wolfe returned to the attack and was fired up bowling bouncers at the tail end but he wasn’t happy about something “Fishy this isn’t working, we need to change the ball!”, after Ryen realised this wasn’t alowed he picked up the wicket of Oxton number 9 caught and bowled from a sharp short delivery. Chester just couldn’t remove the Oxton line-up and Oxton finished on 232-8 off their 50.

Drop catches once again seemed to have hampered Chester’s chances for a victory but a very encouraging batting display.

Chester 14 points, Oxton 8.

Chester entertain Brooklands at home this weekend and return to Oxton tomorrow evening for cup quarter final duties.

3XI - Neston 4 (A)
Scorecard
Treen Shines as Chester Fall Short

Saturday saw 10 men Chester travel to Neston with the promise of fantastic teas and wonderful ice cream.

Fishy lost the toss and was invited to bowl on what seemed an absolute road. Bhanu and Slater opened the bowling and the batsmen were showing the bowlers just how good the track was as they set about imposing a big score, 75-0 off 10. Bhanu unlucky not to get a wicket after 2 catches dropped in the covers! Fishy brought himself on for Bhanu and Knight for Slater, these two chipped away and restricted runs and Fishy finally got the breakthrough dismissing opener Palmer for 42 and a well taken catch by Wicket Keeper batsmen Treen and two balls later another wicket fell for Fishy. Knight took a smart c&b opportunity and Fishy dismissed another finishing with 3-15 off 10 overs. Jackson was given the ball and had a great spell and finished with 1-22 off 7 and was unlucky not to get more. Knight finished his spell with another which was a leg side catch taken by Ste Treen behind the wickets, the crowd went wild, no one could believe it, what a catch, Treen looked astonished with himself! (Probably because he had missed 4 stumpings off Knight the previous over) Bob finished with 2-41 off 15. Bhanu and Slater wrapped up proceedings up finishing with 2-43 off 7 and 2-29 of 8.1 respectively. Neston 156 a/o

After a wonderful spot of lunch (including choc ices) Chester were confident that a score of 157 was easily attainable on what was a great batting track. Mini Forrest and Thistlewood opened the batting and Forrest was dismissed second ball for 0, soon followed by Scott and the rest of the top 5, Treen in at 6 in the 6th over with the score on 19 didn’t even have time for an ice cream! Fishy and Treen tried to make the score somewhat respectable and the pair were chipping away until Fishy lobbed up a full toss to Mid-off the score now 53-7. Things turned from bad to worse as Jackson was run-out without facing a ball….Cue Bob Knight! Knight and Treen were making it look so easy and didn’t know why everyone was faltering, Treen was playing some exquisite strokes to the boundaries and suddenly Chester passed the 100 mark, “could this be possible” the crowd were whispering to each other. Every over brought more runs and suddenly Chester were within touching distance of victory. The final partnership has surpassed 100 runs and Chester were on 154 wth just 3 runs needed for one of the most historic victories in 3XI, unfortunately it wasn’t to be as Treen pulled a short one to mid-wicket, Jubilation for the home team and a cruel sense of defeat for Chester. Treen finished on 81 with Knight 21 not out.

Man of the match goes to Ste Treen for a fantastic batting display, he did the 3XI proud in a match he will remember for a long time to come (hopefully for the right reasons)

Congratulations must go to Neston who played the game in great spirits and provided CBHCC with a jug of lager post match!

Next week Chester travel to Oxton looking to get back on track after two defeats.

3XI - Urmston (H)
Scorecard
No report this week, however the Fish or Treen will be back in action next week.

Find the 3XI mid-season averages by clicking here

3XI - Warrington (H)

For the first time ever, we have 2 match reports from 1 game! First up is Treeny's, followed by Fishy's.

On the back of three great wins Peta Balacs barmy army faced Warrington at Filkins Lane.

The toss was crucial with Chester wanting to bowl first, a tactic that has served them well over the past few weeks. Balac lost the toss and Warrington chose to bat first. In form Bhanu and the returning Mark Slater took the new ball and Bhanu made an early break through snicking off the Warrington opener. Wickets were hard to come by the run rate never got above 3 when Fisher took the second wicket LBW with the score at 60. After drinks Warrington upped the pace, assisted by some poor ground fielding and numerous dropped catches they posted 214, not before Bhanu could come on for a second spell and finish with 4 wickets. Another impressive display from the Hydrebad man.

Chester opened up with John Scott and genuine all-rounder Mark Slater. The two openers punished the Warrington attack and raced to 60 off 8 overs. Slater eventually fell for 38 and Scott was joined at the crease by Dave Henson. Scotty carried on attacking on looking in fine form, as he has done over recent games. Anything short was clinically put away and he looked set for a big score. Fishing outside his off stump Scott eventually fell for a very well played 78, Henson was soon to follow for 28. Mani and Bhanu set about knocking off the rest, Mani playing some powerful cuts and Bhanu timing the ball well. Manu fell with 40 left to win which saw wicket keeper batsman Treen come to the crease. Knowing there was plenty of time left Treen played himself in and watched Bhanu punish any bad ball. After a few overs the runs started coming for Treen who hit the winning runs, finishing on 20*. After a disappointed day in the field it was great to see the batsman reply with a brilliantly timed chase, knocking the runs off in 40 overs.

Next week see's Chester host Urmston and after picking up 100 points from the last possible hundred, Chester will be wanting nothing less than another 25.

Treeny

Looking for a 4th consecutive win the Thunderbirds entertained Warrington at Filkins Lane, a late call up for Townend reduced Balac’s side to 10 men.

Balac won the toss and decided to invite Warrington to have a bat on what looked like a wicket favouring the batsmen. The new ball was given to Bhanu who struck immediately in his first over getting the opener caught behind. Slater was keeping things tight at the other end but the track was a good one and Warrington were making good progress, Fisher (fresh from an early night) replaced Bhanu and got the second breakthrough in 23rd over dismissing the other opener leaving Warrington on 64-2. At the other end Veteran off spinner Bob knight was plugging away and was unlucky not to a wicket in his 15 over spell, Jon Scott dropping a catch which seemed a bit too easy! Rasal replaced fisher and got the crucial wicket dismissing Chaderton for 59. Bahuna came back and after an uncharacteristic drop from Fisher (sun was in his eyes and the wind was whirling around him, difficult chance really!) Bhanu picked up an extra 2 wickets to finish with 3-37 off his 11. Slater returned but was unlucky not to finish with a wicket after having one dropped last ball of the innings. Warrington set Chester a target of 215 to win.

Injured Ian Thistlewood was replaced in the top order by star all-rounder Mark Slater accompanied by Jon Scott. Slater and Scott punished the bad balls early on finding the boundaries with ease, when Slater was out in the 8th over for 38 Chester were 62-1 setting a good platform to build on. Henson joined Scott and both looked comfortable until Henson was dismissed caught and bowled for 27. Bhanu joined Scott and the pair were chipping away at the score until Scott fell for a fine 76 to leave Chester on 152-3. Mani was dismissed for 5 and this brought the new Wicket Keeper Batsman Steven Treen to the crease who hit the winning runs to bring Chester home in the 42nd over. Treen 20* and Bhanu 30*.

Another good win for Chester as they now continue to climb the table and looking to push on again against Urmston at Filkins lane next week.

Fishy

3XI - Oxton (A)

On the back of two wins the 3rd XI travelled to Oxton full of confidence and in high spirits.

Balac won an important toss and put the home side in to bat. Bhanu was handed the new ball who got Chester off to a flyer taking 3 wickets in his first spell. Alex Townend bowled a tight spell from the other end without reward while George Jackson produced a fine piece of fielding for a run out. Skipper Balac rang the changes and 3rd XI debutant Rasal got another break through with his second ball. Dave Henson and Martin Huber both chipped in with wickets. With Oxton making a slight comeback the openers retuned with Bhanu completing his 5fer and Townend getting a reward for his good spell.

Needing 157 to win openers Ian Thistlewood and John Scott set about chasing the score. With the boundaries flowing Thistlewood pulled up after taking a quick single, the injury however seemed to focus the batsman's concentration. With Scott back in the hutch Dave Henson joined Thistlewood at the crease. Henson watched as Thistlewood took the bowling apart. After the 20 over mark Chester had passed 100 for the loss of only one wicket. Henson departed and was soon followed back by Bhanu but there was no stopping Thistlewood who stormed to a 100. Ian eventually fell for a magnificent 113(98 in boundaries) and Balac saw Chester over the line.

Chester have now won 3 in a row and will only be looking to push on further up the table.

A quick thank you to Chris Fleet and Boughton Hall CC on behalf of the 3rd XI who made it possible for the fixture to be played providing travel.

3XI - Irby (H)

This week saw Chester entertain high flying Irby at Filkins lane on a glorious sunny day.

Fishy won the toss and with a very strong bowling attack decided to invite the visitors to have a bat on an excellent looking batting track. The partnership of Slater and Townend started proceedings and it was once again youngster Alex Townend who got the early breakthrough in the 4th over with a gem of a delivery dismissing the opener without troubling the score. Slater was keeping things tight at the other end and runs were a luxury and Slater got his 1st wicket of the day in the 9th over reducing Irby to 19-2. Townend finished his first spell and was replaced by Fishy who got his first wicket with only his 4th ball, runs were kept to a minimum and Slater finished his spell with 1-5 off 8. Youngster George “Jacko” Jackson replaced Slater and was unlucky not to end up with a wicket finishing with 0-35 off 6. Fisher continued to plug away and finished with figures of 3-21 off 10. The damage though was done by the veteran off spinner Bob Knight who bamboozled the batsmen with turn and bounce and returned excellent figures of 4-29 off 11. Alex Townend finished with 2-33 off 12 and Irby were 146 a/o off 49 overs.

After a delightful lunch Fishy and Peta Balac mixed things up and decided to open the batting with middle aged all-rounder Mark Slater (Trying to impress his parents who had made the journey down) and the impressive Ian Thistlewood. The gamble seemed to be paying off with Slater finding the boundary (one or two text book shots crept in) and Titsltwood following suit, Slater fell in the 9th over for an impressive 21 with the score on 42. Scotty joined Thistlewood at the crease and continued to chase down the target in a quick fashion until Thistlewood was dismissed for an impressive 33 with the score on 68. The in-form Peta Balac was dismissed without troubling the ball and young Myles Grant came to the crease and looked very mature in his batting and ended with a hard earned 15 with the score on 120-4. 6 wickets in hand with 27 to win shouldn’t have been much of problem but there was a batting collapse which took the score to 130-8! It was left to young Wiggy Towned and Fisher (who survived numerous LBW decisions) to bring Chester over the line in a very hard fought victory. The star of the moment, Alex Townend hit the winning runs with a glorious straight 4 to a rapturous applause from the local support and on looking 1st team players, finishing on 17 n.o.

Man of the Match was a split between youth and experience and goes to Bob Knight (experience) for an excellent bowling display and Alex Towned (youth) for a great all round performance.

Chester travel to Oxton next week looking to keep the momentum up with another victory.

Special thanks to club favourite and 3rd team scorer John Thistlweood (My scorebook has never looked so neat!)

3XI - Upton (A)

After the disappointment of last week’s defeat to bottom of the table, this week saw the 3rd XI travel to league leaders and defending champions Upton.

Stand-in skipper Fishy won the toss and chose to put the opposition in to bat on slow-soft wicket. The opening partnership of youth and experience (Townend and Slater) created fantastic early pressure with runs very hard to come by and the breakthrough came in the 4th over with Townend dismissing Sharrock for one, a very sharp catch by Matty Williams behind the stumps. Chester were buoyant in the field, Matty William’s verbose dialog behind the stumps coupled with tight bowling from both ends saw Upton stumble to 32-2. Slater finishing with 1-31 from 8. Two changes were made with Fishy coming on for Townend and Knight for Slater. Pressure continued and Knight got a breakthrough in his second over, meanwhile at the other end Fisher continued to plug away and was rewarded with the wicket of the other opener. Knight continued to pick up wickets at regular intervals and although hit for one big 6 the pressure was irrevocable and Knight finished with 4-25 off 10. Fisher finished his spell with 2-24 from 11, Townend returned and needed just one over to wrap things up, another great performance from young Alex finishing with 3-6 from 7 (this included 3 wides!) Upton 91 a/o.

Chester were always confident chasing down such a modest score, unfortunately things didn’t start as planned with Snowden dismissed without troubling the score. Jon Scott soon followed suit without scoring, Matty Williams and Ian Thistlewood set about chasing the score down and we’re looking relatively comfortable against both openers, Williams eventually dismissed for 17. The in-form Peta Balac came to crease and intentions were clear from the start, off the mark with 3 consecutive 4s. Thistlewood was dismissed LBW for 23 and Jimmy Bavin came to the crease with only 20 to win, Bavin who leaves for Singapore on Wednesday would have scored the winning runs if Jon Scott at square leg umpire could get out the way! Bavin was dismissed for 11 and Ste Treen came in to assist Peta in chasing the runs down. (Albeit with a slight “Treen” altercation). Balac finished on 27 n.o.

Great bowling and fielding performance from Chester.

Man of the Match to young Alex who continues to show great promise!

Home to Irby next Saturday.

3XI - Cheadle Hulme (H)

This week saw the 3XI entertain Cheadle Hulme at Fikins Lane, Fishy looking after affairs while skipper and vice skipper were off jet setting around the world!

The day started with Cheadle winning the toss and choosing to put Boughton Hall in to bat on what looked like a decent wicket with plenty of runs up for grabs. This although was not the case as the returning Matty Williams was bowled off the first ball of the innings (A corker of a delivery by all accounts according to veteran umpire Ed Mitchell!). This brought John Scott to the crease who began to steady the innings with Dave Henson, Henson eventually fell for 15 to leave Boughton Hall on 48-2. Sent in at number 4 was the returning Ian Thistlewood who was dismissed without troubling the score, like 6 of the Hall team! Scott continued to play his free flowing strokes hitting the balls to all boundaries and was eventually given out LBW for 83. (16 x 4s). George Jackson, Bob Knight and Ste Treen were the only other players to surpass the popular score of 0 and Boughton hall finished 125 a/o.

This was always going to be a hard score to bowl the opposition out for, Fishy elected to open with himself and promising youngster George Jackson. The bowling was accurate and runs were hard to come by, eventually Jackson got the breakthrough in the 10th over followed by a second in 12th over, a fantastic opening display from George showing all his potential 2 wickets for 23 runs. Treeny replaced Jackson and bowled an “interesting” first over which had everything, mainly 11 balls and 2 wickets! Treen finishing with 2-13 off 2. Fishy continued to plug away at the other end and got his first wicket of the campaign to take Cheadle to 52-5! Fishy finishing with 1-40 off 13. Unfortunately Chester couldn’t find the breakthrough and eventually Cheadle wrapped up the victory in the 35th over.

A special mention must go to very promising youngster Sam Munro who made his adult cricket debut bowling 2 overs and looking very accomplished in the field. (One to look out for)

Chester travel to Upton next week looking to get back to winning ways.

3XI - Neston (H)

No report submitted by captain.

3XI - Brooklands (A)

No report submitted by captain.

3XI - Oxton 4 (H)

Chester hosted Oxton 4XI at home on Saturday and ended up winning by 10 wickets helped by star of the show young 15 year old Alex Townsend.

Bowling first Chester restricted Oxton to 164 all out, helped by the fantastic performance of Alex, taking 7 wickets for 31 runs in 7 overs. This was Alex's first over 5 wicket haul in mens cricket, and shows his great talent. We hope Alex continues to progress and pushes for a 2XI spot before the end of the season

The 3XI made light work of the total, with Ian Metcalf making 91* and Mani making 67* to complete the total without losing a wicket.

3XI - Neston 4 (H)

No Report Submitted from captain.