Prestwich Patriots fell at the last hurdle at the 2nd XI T20 Finals Day on Sunday.
After beating hosts Flixton Fire in the semi-final, the Patriots staged a valiant performance but were defeated by Heyside Hyenas 2 in the final with just six balls left.
Prestwich posted a total of 132 for 7, led by Jack Doyle (pictured above) with a run-a-ball 44, Adam Cheshire 25 and Uwais Khaliq 18 not out.
Aaryaman Roy picked up 2 wickets at a cost of 21, and Cheshire and Charlie Jackson grabbed a wicket each, but the Oldham opponents surpassed the target with six wickets in hand.
Earlier, Flixton Fire were restricted to 124 for 5, thanks to a return of 2 for 24 from Khaliq and Jackson’s economical 1 for 16 from his 4 overs, Doyle led the semi-final victory charge with an unbeaten 50 supported by 31 from Haris Aziz, 24 not out from Roy and 16 from Jack O’Brien, and the target was reached with 15 balls to spare.
On the league front, the 1st XI kept up their winning streak in a rain-affected clash with Denton West at The Heys on Saturday.
West had made an untroubled start, taking the score to 27, before a well-taken catch by Sam Holden, lunging forward at mid-on, to dismiss Andrew O’Brien sparked a steady flow of dismissals.
Nathan Bailey continued his excellent season with 3 for 44, and the crucial wicket of pro Rohail Zahir, who played onto his wicket without troubling the scorers.
Ryan Maddock bowled another spritely spell, taking 3 for 54, but the marquee moment of the innings came when Andy Bradley took his second wicket by bowling Max Cole. This heralded his 1,400th wicket in his first team career – an outstanding feat!
Andy Bradley receives the acclaim from his teammates after taking an unprecedented 1,400th 1XI wicket.
With the Duckworth Lewis Stern method in play, Prestwich required 130 off 40 overs, and comfortably reached the required total. Opener Danny Pawson remained unbeaten on 43 and Roy made a well-struck 39.
On Saturday Andy Bradley took his first team wicket tally to a phenomenal 1400!
The achievement shows not only what a skilled bowler Brads is but also the incredible desire he has to keep going and always wanting to get better
What a proud day for him, get in Bradders! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/RjXfMXcc71
— Prestwich CTBC (@PrestwichSport) August 3, 2022
The 2nd XI lost out in a fluctuating game at United Stars when posting a total of 184 all out. Thomas Orrell top scored with 43, supported by Doyle (37), Aziz (34), Lewis Smith (29) and Khaliq (26 not out).
Doyle then turned from runmaker to wicket-taker as he was the trigger for a mini-collapse when the home team plunged from 101 for 2 to 103 for 6. Doyle finished with an admirable 5 for 42 and Khaliq chipped in with 2 for 43, but it was not enough to stop Stars edging over the line with two wickets to spare.
On Sunday, the 3rd team kept their unbeaten record intact in scintillating fashion with a 171-run defeat of Westhoughton 3rds.
Ali Sherazi top scored with a fine 78 and opener Orrell excelled again with a knock of 62. Standing at 186-7 with barely 4 overs left, Stephen Ritchie (26 not out) and Anees Arif (30 not out) staged a fiery unbroken stand of 58 runs to boost the score to 244 for 7 at the end of the 40-over allocation.
The visitors were rocked from the start as Umar Arif took 3 for 13 and Ritchie 2 for 26, backed up by Joseph Flynn returning 2 for 16, and a wicket each for Orrell and Muhammad Arif, leaving Westhoughton to wilt on 73 all out.
The 4th XI suffered a six-wicket defeat away at Astley & Tyldesley after making 147 for 6. Young opener Ariz Sajid top scored on 35, with useful contributions from Andrew Beet (25), Richard Hatchett (23) and Gary Hershcovitch (21).
Anis Khaliq (1-15) grabbed an early wicket in a tight opening partnership with Sam Staley (1-16) but the home side batting ultimately proved too strong and reached 148 for 4 with relative comfort.
For more exclusive match images visit our Facebook and Instagram.
