Oakmere 1st XI (236/9) Vs Oulton Park 1st XI (235/6)
The 1st XI hosted the league leaders on Saturday and on his captaincy debut, Matt Worsdale lost the toss. The visitors decided to bat first, and the first signs were of this being a good decision. The batting side got off to a good start, despite some strong opening bowling from Tom Court. The first powerplay ended at 39/0 off 10 overs. The hunt for the breakthrough continued through to the 20th over however, good energy in the field from the young side and some consistent bowling kept the scoring rate at bay. Only 16 runs came from the next 9 overs before an attempt to up the scoring brought the first wicket. The 21st over finished with the score at 69/1 with Ethan Mackin making the impact with the ball. This remained the only wicket before drinks and at the halfway point the score was 80/1. The rate slowly crept up with the wickets in hand allowing more shots to be played. The 2nd wicket didn’t come until the 34th over. Worsdale claimed the 2nd and 3rd wickets within 3 overs and the score moved to 140/3 off 36. The rate continued at an accelerated rate however regular wickets continued to stunt the progression and keep the scoring form getting out of hand. Mat Giles (1/36) picked up the 4th wicket and the score moved to the 200 marks in the 45th over. Worsdale (3/58) claimed the next wicket and Mackin (2/35) finished off the innings with 1 more. The innings finished 235/6 off 50 overs.
A strong score on a good pitch looked within reach of the chasing side but was requiring a big effort form the team. The innings started well with 10 runs coming from the 1st over. The opening pair of James Norton and Worsdale worked hard picking off regular boundaries through the first 10 overs and made it out of the powerplay at 45/0. Norton brought up the 50-run partnership, launching a massive 6 in the 11th over. The score continued to tick along nicely, mirroring the 1st innings. Finishing 20 overs 85/0 the platform was well and truly set. Worsdale (42) was the first to fall, dismissed in the 21st over. Zach Howdle coming to the crease survived beside Norton until the halfway point reaching 117/1 after 25 overs. Scoring with the asking rate for the first half saw a only a need for more of the same and as 16 runs came form the 2 overs after drinks this looked to be the case. Unfortunately, Howdle fell in the 28th over with the score at 134/2. Needing 101 off the final 23 overs with 8 wickets in hand the team looked well set to march on. The third wicket came soon however in the 31st over. As Sevi Cupido (12) fell, the score was at 149/3. 4 balls later Norton brought up a brilliant half century off 90 balls. Moving along nicely Norton hit his final 26 runs off 17 balls with a few more lusty blows before his innings came to a close in the 36th over, falling for 74. At 193/4 off 36 over the side needed 43 more runs to claim the 20 points. Two wickets in consecutive balls started the 38th over. Now 6 down the nerves began to creep in. with Frank Herrington at the crease he began to restabilise the innings batting watchfully for a period with Craig Phelan. The pairs 37 run partnership took the score to 229 when Phelan was dismissed. The 45th over ended with the score at 230/7, needing 6 runs from the final 5 overs. A wicket maiden followed as the tension mounted. Two wides helped edge the score closer before the 9th wicket fell still needing 4 runs to win. Herrington had remained at the non-striker’s end, but a couple consecutive singles brought the score within 1 and a wide ball brought the scores level. Herrington (25*) faced up and patiently waited for his opportunity. On the third ball of the 48th over he crashed the ball away to the point boundary and tipped the side over the line. Finishing the innings at 236/9 off 47.3, Oakmere took the victory and 20 points.
A thrilling end to a good around game saw another team performance with contributions from everyone. Back-to-back victories put the side 3rd in the league nearing the halfway point of the season. The 1st XI will look to extend the inning streak next week as they host Grappenhall 1st XI.

Winnignton Park 2nd XI (182 all out) Vs Oakmere 2nd XI (192/8)
The 2s travelled to Winnington Park, looking for back-to-back wins. Having been invited to bat, Oakmere made a calamitous start, losing Faulkner to a very good slip catch in the first over and quickly finding themselves at 22-3. Eaton and then Guilford tried to rebuild but good bowling from the Winnington openers turned that into 42-5 and 63-6 with Oakmere staring down the barrel of a thumping. Dodd and Howard (25 including a delightful reverse sweep for 4) put on a fantastic stand of 59 to keep Oakmere in the game. Dodd continued on to make a superb 58 including a 6 which knocked some tiles off the pavilion. McDonnell then played one of his best innings for Oakmere, with 33 off 31 to take the innings up to 192-8 which felt light but competitive.
With something to bowl at and a strong attack, Oakmere had a chance. Winningtons top order batted well though - adding 59 for the first wicket and were then 125-1 and cruising. Never giving up, Oakmere kept their chins up - the return of Shovelton to the attack got the breakthrough, and then a second, but Winnington consolidated moving to 152-4 with plenty of time left. Oakmere had teased Winnington into a false sense of security - Howard (3-35), Purcell (3-40), Lewis (2-44) and Shovelton (2-29) then blitzed the opposition to 169-9 and although it went to the last over, Oakmere pulled off a fantastic win from the jaws of defeat- winning by 10 runs.
The 2nd XI look to continue the strong form they are building when traveling to Haslington next week.

Oakmere 3rd XI Vs Weaverham 2nd XI Conceded
Unfortunately, Weaverham 2nd XI conceded the game on Saturday giving the 3rd XI 19 more points. Though not playing the points help the team, keeping them 2nd in the league as they look towards their next game against the league leaders Brooklands 5th XI next week.

Lindow Women’s 1st XI (284/3) Vs Oakmere Women’s 1st XI (126/ all out)
The Women’s 1st XI visited a strong Lindow side on Sunday and winning the toss chose to field first. The batting side started well until 2 wickets in consecutive balls from Thisumi Jayawarna (2/31) ended the 8th over, leaving the opposition at 34/2. The search for the 3rd wicket was long with some excellent batting from form players saw a steady increase in the scoring rate to the halfway point. Boundaries flowed and the score grew to the 31st over when Maddi Lawson (1/17) managed to crack the 170-run partnership. With the score at 214/3 the set batsman continued and a mammoth 190* from the opening batter saw the score launched to 284/3 off the 40 overs.
Chasing a large score, the side came out playing shots trying to move the scoring, but regular wickets stopped any big partnerships from forming. Kerry Hartnett (26), Rachel Warrenger (19) and Amy Jones (11) all contributed early pushing the score up to 81/5 after 18 overs The wickets continued to fall, Imogen Wood (13) being the final victim with the score ending at 126 all out from 31.5 overs.
Putting a difficult match against a very strong opposition behind them the side look forward to their next league match, hosting Leigh on the 28th of June.