The Bissenden Cup saw Whaley paired with Buxworth for the second year in a row, and hoping for the same outcome as the previous year. This was a game that had several new outcomes. The first being that Whaley did not bat first, and when Buxworth were struggling on 22 for 4 after 10 overs things looked up. The second thing that happened was that The King of Spain stayed at home. Instead he sent the other Eddie Ford to the ground with someone else’s arm. The outcome of this was 6 overs 0 for 57 as the Buxworth batsmen cashed in with Duckworth and Inglefield scoring 48 and 84 respectively and the pavilion roof requiring several new slates. Dale finished with 2 for 50 off his allotted 8 overs and his seasoned (drinking companion) bowler Darren Crompton (Yes Darren Crompton) bowled those famous little in duckers that are so hard to get away. All those overs he bowled in the winter nets must have paid dividend as his 2 overs went for 19. (If only we had another bowler of about 6foot) The Buxworth innings closed on 211 for 7 (22 of which were extras)
Whaley didn’t get off to a bad start and were 48 for 1 after 10 overs. Steve Woolley 21, Lee Jones 46 and Millie 28 all chipped in with useful runs. From 103 -3 the wheels then somewhat fell off as Whaley were ripped out for 128.

The King is Dead long live the King.

On yet another damp cold blustery cricket day, Whaley Bridge 1st X1 entertained Broadbottom and it was discussed how important it would be to WIN THE TOSS and bowl first. Anyway as per the previous week Charlie and Cromp opened the batting and got off to another good start making a 75 run opening partnership until Charlie (he’s only got one shot, jammie @!$?, etc, etc) was out in the 16th over for 50. I must say what a pleasure it is to have such a nice bunch of lads from broadbottom encourage and talk to you throughout your innings, it make’s such a change to listen to the well intentioned praise. Lee Jones soon followed as a mix up with Cromp saw him stranded half way down the wicket for a duck. Millie then put on a decent third wicket stand with Cromp and took the score to 147, scoring 22 on the way. Cromp perished on 68 and with a few runs being chipped in from the lower order, after a rain interval brought about an early tea, the innings closed on 174 all out.
In reply Broadbottom got off to a reasonable start and the score had reached 62 from 20 overs before the first wicket fell to the mercurial King of Spain. It took another 10 overs before The King of Spain removed the second opener, who lost his batting mark at the end of EVERY over. The Broadbottom innings petered out at 140 as the tail end batters were undone by the King of Spain who ended with 7 for 40 off 13. Dale meanwhile chipped in with 3 for 49 from the other end.
Another 20 points.

Whaley travelled to Mottram on another dry Saturday, following a week of wet weather, and skipper Dale lost the toss and Whaley were invited to bat on the damp track. Another rarity followed when Charlie opened the batting with Crompy, for only the second time in his first team career. The friendly opening bowling attack was despatched for 18 and with 2 wides Whaley had moved to 20 in the first over. The bowling attack remained gentle and never caused Crompy and Charlie and problems. The score moved on relatively quickly and the 50 partnership was brought up in the 12th over. The batting partnership was finally broken on 143 when Crompy was caught for 58. Charlie was caught the ball after reaching 104, his 4th ton for the first team. Whaley scored at 3.5 an over for the next 10 overs and finished on 212 for 5.
In reply Mottram got off to a poor slow start thanks to some tight bowling from the opening pair of Charlie and Nick Heys, and were 13 for 2 after 10 overs. The 15th over brought the comedy moment of the game when the batsman (who asked for runner) confused his runner by setting off and getting half way down the track before sprinting back to safety. His runner continued with the run and ended up at the same end as the none striker. Matt Slack alive to confusion completed the easy run out with a simple throw to Millie. Charlie then yorked the incoming batsman first ball. He took a further 2 wickets in his 10 over spell finishing with 10 overs 5maidens 5 wickets for 8 runs.
Eddie the King of Spain took the other 4 wickets, including a caught and bowled and a smart stumping from Millie, leaving him with figures 4 for 27 of 7.4 overs. The Mottram reply faltered to 56 all out, another 20 points for Whaley.

Well done to the team and a good winning start for new skip.

QOTD: Heys Dog to Slacky. 6 Overs to go Whaley Batting. :- “Matt don’t do anything silly and we’ll have a look in another 5 overs”