Cheshire into quarters with tight win over Shrops

KO Trophy Group 1,  Oxton CC

Cheshire 329-7 (50), Shropshire 319-7 (50), Cheshire won by 10 runs

(Photo courtesy of Derrick Hastings)

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Cheshire reached the quarter finals of the KO Trophy with a narrow win over Shropshire at Oxton.

With the Shrews winning off the last ball of the game (against Cambridgeshire) 24 hours earlier, this was another tight one.

Cheshire scored over 300 for the third game in a row with Dan Newton (57) Sam Perry (81), Alex Money (71) and felt confident of a competitive total although at one stage, 30-40 more looked likely.

Shropshire's fightback was built around Theo Wylie's excellent 106 and Connor Marshall's unbeaten 90. The win seemed to be drifting away at 256-7 but Marshall's firepower took his side to the brink. Cheshire had relied on spin as their main line of attack but had limited bowling options at the death with opener, Dan Newton off the field.

Cheshire made two changes from the side that beat Suffolk the day before, as Will Valentine replaced Andy Jackson and Harry Dearden returned for Gennaro Reddy.

Perry opted to bat first on a slowish Oxton track and he and Newton again built a great platform adding  110 for the first wicket.

Alex Money can't stop scoring runs - for club or county - and his 71, Henry Murray's 37 and the returning Dearden's 25 helped post 329-7. Joe Stanley took 3-66.

It was a confident start to the visitor's reply, with Wylie relishing the challenge. He and Harry Chandler added 89 - Chandler just 18 from the total, such was Wylie's dominance.

Wylie was eventually fifth out with the score on 195 as Cheshire looked to press home. Dearden (2-64) together with Isaac Brooks (2-48) and Dan Wilson (3-47) set things up nicely but didn't reckon on  Marshall's surge which included a six and 12 fours. 

The final few overs were tense but in the end Henry Dobson and Will Valentine held their nerve to claw back the advanage as Cheshie got home by ten runs to book a place in the quarter finals.

Cheshire now travel to Keswick to take on Cumbria on Sunday 17 May, with a win ensuring a home tie in the quarter finals. Shropshire travel to Suffolk next weekend.

Cheshire side : Sam Perry (Capt - Alderley Edge), Dan Newton (Lindow), Alex Money (Chester Boughton Hall), Freddie Vaughan-Hawkins (wk -Timperley), Henry Murray (Toft), Kevin Carroll (Brooklands), Henry Dobson (Oxton), Dan Wilson (Northern), Isaac Brooks (Lindow), Harry Dearden (Woodbank), Will Valentine (Alderley Edge) 12th man Zak Rogers (Neston). 

Many thanks to Dave Ewen and all at Oxton for tooking after us so well on and off the field. Oxton looked a picture.