Oulton Park 1st XI (193/7) Vs Oakmere 1st XI (99 all out)
Following on from the strong T20 win against Haslington the 1st team looked for back to back wins. Winning the toss Oakmere fielded first and had a good start with an early wicket from Tom Court (1/30). A second wicket in the powerplay came from Benedict Verma and the 6 overs ended with the home side at 32/2. Exiting the powerplay boundaries began to come. With the bowling changes coming quickly, Cupido came into the attack to claim the 3rd after a tricky few overs and the score moved to 86/3 off 10 overs. The runs continued to flow but so did wickets as Cupido (4/37) picked up 4 wickets in his 4 over spell. After taking two in the 16th over it finished at 144/6. With boundaries continuing to surge the score on the fielding side continued to fight and Verma (2/31) had one final success taking the 7th wicket before the innings ended at 193/7 off 20 overs.
A steep chase on the cards requiring a strong batting innings to mirror that of the week before. The innings had a good start with runs coming early but the first wicket stunted proceedings in the 3rd over. A wicket an over fell for the next 5 overs with Frank Herrington (11) and Cupido (14) being the final 3. At 47/5 after 7 overs the chase continued to move away from the side. Norton and Holland began to mount a come back with a partnership stabilising the innings and looking to press on. At halfway the score was 70/5 off 10 overs. The pair continued until Norton (17) fell in the 13th over and Holland (25) fell the over after. Again, wickets fell in consecutive overs as another fell in the 15th over and with the final 2 coming in 3 balls the innings was quickly brought to a close. Ending at 99 all out of 15.3 overs the 1st XI faced a difficult loss.
A disappointing game sees the team waiting on other results for a slim potential of advancing through to the knockout stage of the T20 competition.

North east cheshire 1st XI (128/8) Vs Oakmere 1st XI (127 all out)
On a boiling hot Saturday, the 1st XI visited North East Cheshire looking to lengthen their unbeaten run in the league. Winning the toss, they chose to bat first. The innings started steadily but an early wicket in the 4th over destabilised the top order. 2 more wickets followed in kind during the powerplay, and the 10 overs finished at 22/3. James Norton stayed at the crease, beginning to help rebuild, batting sensibly and not taking any unnecessary risk. The pair moved to the first drinks break at 40/3 off 17 overs however the first ball after drinks saw the partnership broken. Again, wickets came in groups and Norton (22) followed falling in the 20th after a hard-fought innings. At 44/5 off 20 overs the innings was precariously placed with Aaron Court coming to the crease. Beginning to accelerate the rate slightly as the bowling changes came court looked to take on the bowling. The acceleration in batting saw another wicket fall from the other end but Court continued. His well-made knock came to an end in the 27th over for 21. Jack Makin and Benedict Verma came together and began to build a very much needed partnership. The pair were steady and moved through the middle overs and beyond the second drinks break. At 100/7 off 34 overs the rebuild was on until an unfortunate run out brought the breakthrough after the drinks break. Verma (18) was gone for a steady inning while Makin continued, however, again wickets came in pairs and the 9th fell in the next over. On 107 with one wicket left the pair of Makins batted well fighting hard for any runs to boost the score and put on 20 more valuable runs before Jack Makin (19) was dismissed after seeing through a large portion of the innings. The innings ended at 127 all out off 43.5 overs.
Despite an underwhelming innings with the bat, a good fight back from the tail saw 51 added for the final 3 wickets to take the score to something to bowl at. Again, the depth of the side a great character on show. In the defence of the low total, the start was sub optimal with the home side coming out swinging and taking the score to 33/0 off the first 4 overs. An early bowling change saw immediate success for Holland as he took the first wicket in the 3rd over. He continued to bowl excellently taking one more inside the powerplay. Bowling tightly the powerplay ended with a first wicket for his partner from the other end, Cupido. At 46/3 off 10 overs the pressure was back on the batting side. A returning Verma picked up the 4th on his 4th ball of his 1st over to keep the excitement high. Following the usual trend, Verma also picked up a wicket in the first over after drinks. With the score 71/5 off 18 overs having taken the 5 wickets for 38 runs the momentum was swinging the way of the visitors. After 20 overs Holland returned and in his 3 over spell took 3 wickets for only 1 run, achieving his second 5 wicket hall of the season and putting Oakmere in the driving seat. The batting side had been reduced to 89/8 off 23 overs and needed a further 39 for the final two wickets. Taking 8 wickets for 56 runs in the previous 19 overs the fight shown by the side once again was impressive with captain Hollands bowling display leading the way. However, the nerves began to shake as the 9th wicket partnership began to mount a response. With some resilient batting the next wicket became trickier and trickier to find. The batting pair moved the score to 105/8 after 31 overs; the rate being controlled but the wicket not coming. The bowling changes came and each had a chance to break through, but it was not coming. As the pair settled in a few boundaries came their way and slowly but surely, they moved their team beyond the required total. Finishing at 128/8 off 36.2 overs it was a bitter defeat for Oakmere 1st XI.
An upsetting loss off the back of some brilliant wins, saw again a brilliant fight from the lower order to get from a losing position to defendable score and an unbelievable effort in the field to almost back up the poor batting. With this loss leaving the side 4th in the league the start to the season is still a strong one and the side look to get back on track when hosting Upton on Saturday.

Oakmere 2nd XI (199/8) Vs Ashton-on-Mersey (203/5)
After 3 wins on the bounce, the 2s faced top of the table Ashton on Mersey at home on a glorious day at Oakmere. OCC won the toss and chose to bat. Purcell and Jones continued their fine form opening, adding 76 for the first wicket, their 4th 50+ partnership in 5 games. The Ashton bowling was steady throughout and after the loss of Jones for 19 wickets started to fall steadily, falling to 122-5 including Purcell for 56 and Newall for 27. Guilford (31) and Dodd (23) then put on 48 to add some momentum and Oakmere eventually finished on 199-8 which felt slightly under par but defendable.
Ashton though got off to a strong start against an Oakmere bowling and fielding performance that was below the high standards set in recent weeks. Court (2-30) and Jones (2-35) threatened to pull Oakmere back into the game, but in truth it was too little too late and Ashton comfortably won by 5 wickets.
The 2s face Runcorn at home on Tuesday in the T20 cup and then travel to Warrington next Saturday.

Lymm Oughtrington Park 3rd XI (47 all out) Vs Oakmere 3rd XI (48/2)
Oakmere 3rd XI visited Lymm 3rd XI and were asked to field first. The bowlers were early into the action with the skipper Ian Bett taking three wickets in his first over taking a total of 4 wickets for 5 runs from his 6 overs. His best bowling return for Oakmere. Harry Peters also bowled well taking an early wicket in his spell Wickets continued to tumble with George Warburton (1 for 3), Percy Bratherton (1 for 4) and Sean McDonnell (2 for 7) taking wickets. A debut bowl was also given to Ben Hardie who is the latest youth player to taste senior cricket, which was great to see. Lymm were bowled out for 47 within 26 overs.
The run chase never looked in doubt with Sam Domville anchoring the innings and finished not out on 24. He was supported well by Sean McDonnell (5), Ben Hardie (5) and John Edwards (2*) to ensure the win was achieved within 8 overs.
Another win for the 3s who remain undefeated this season and look to continue the streak facing Warrington 4th XI on Saturday.

Oakmere Women’s 1st XI (195/9) Vs Leyland Women’s 1st XI (225/4)
Following on from a brilliant all round performance last week, the Women’s 1st XI win the toss and chose to field in the glorious sun. The opposition got off to a good start moving the score on well through the first powerplay reaching 41/0 after 8 overs. The opening pair passed their 50 partnership and looked to do major damage but were stopped in their tracks by Sophie Connor, who claimed the first wicket at 63/1. Carys Salomon (1/24) followed and claimed the second 2 overs later ending the 15th over at 73/2. A partnership again began to grow and took the visiting side past the halfway point. They continued to build and moved the partnership past 50 and then past 100. They pressed their advantage until again Connor (2/38) put an end to the partnership in the 36th over. The 130-run partnership had carried the score to 199/3. The final few overs saw the runs continue and Thisumi Jayawarna (1/34) picked up one more wicket before the innings ended at 225/4 off 40 overs.
A big chase for the home side on a painfully hot day was in hand. The opening partnership stood firm as it has done all year, taking 53 from the first 10 overs without loss. The pair continued on their way scooring freely until Pheobe Cottam (39) fell in the 17th over. At 90/1 the platform was set but with 135 needed there was a long way to go. Jayawarna (41) continued on her way with the rate slowing after the wicket and eventually she too fell after the halfway point. The batting side was 109/2 off 21 overs looking to kick on in the second half. The required rate continued to climb and began to put pressure on the batters. Sarah Worsdale (16) was the next to fall after 28 overs with the score now 136/6 leaving 90 needed from the final 12 overs. The side were helped on their way by the 41 extras donated by the bowling team however the required rate still grew. Rachel Warrenger continued to fight from one end, but the wickets began to tumble as the pressure was applied. The 32nd over saw three wickets ending with the run out of Warrenger (26). This destructive over reduced Oakmere to 167/6. The final wickets fell in the next 5 overs with the innings drawing to a close at 195/9 off 36.5 overs.
Positives again for the side including a 90-run opening partnership and good fight in the field maintaining a score within their reach gives lots to build on as they next host Stockport Georgians Women’s 1st XI on the 7th of June.

Runcorn Women’s 1st XI (241/7) Vs Oakmere Women’s 2nd XI (55 all out)
The Women’s 2nd XI started their season visiting Runcorn and won the toss choosing to field. A hard-fought start to the match saw a quick start for the opposition who mounted a 50-run opening partnership before the wickets started. Tarpey took 2 and Davidson (1/31) took 1 in the coming 3 overs to pin back the opposition. Wickets continued to come but so did the runs. Tarpey picked up 3rd with Davies (1/25) and Smith (1/51) claiming one each through the powerplay. Some destructive hitting at the back end saw the opposition score propelled forward until Tarpey (4/39) picked up a 4th in her return spell. The innings ended at 241/7 off 30 overs.
The innings started unfortunately with a run out from the first ball. A rebuild began with a 24-run partnership surviving to the 9th over. Wickets again began to fall and came at regular intervals. Davies (15) fell for the 4th wicket and two more followed in the over after. With the constant pressure on the batters the remaining wickets fell at a regular rate and saw the side all out for 55 off 22.3 overs.
The Women’s 2nd XI will be looking for their first win of the season when hosting Chester Boughton Hall Women’s 2nd XI on Sunday.