It was not a productive weekend for the senior sides last week as both our first and second teams fell to defeat at the hands of Denton West.
Then rain on Sunday afternoon prevented the 3rds and 4th from building on their opening day successes.
The 1sts travelled to West and found a target of 191 too big to conquer. Tom Gibson (pictured above) was the star turn on the bowling front, taking 4-21 and there were two wickets each for debutant pro Nikhil Gangta, Nathan Bailey and Andy Bradley.
However, Prestwich’s reply never got going, as the loss of wickets at regular wicket saw the innings fade tamely. Gangta top scored on 22 and Bailey made 21 not out late in the innings.
In addition to Gangta, Stuart Els and Alex Bradley also made their first team debuts for Prestwich, becoming the 386th, 387th and 388th players to play for Prestwich 1st XI since World War Two.
Meanwhile, it had all looked rosy for the 2nd team despite only making a total of 81, out of which opener Thomas Orrell struck 30.
A Wilf Reeve blast (5 for 44) combined with an excellent return of 3 for 9 from Charlie Jackson brought West 2nd’s last pair to the wicket before they had even reached the halfway mark. But from 35 for 9, Ben Lowndes (35 not out) and Jackson Reed (12 not out) gradually chipped away at the target and they dramatically snatched a one-wicket win from under the frustrated noses of Prestwich.
Wilf Reeve and Charlie Jackson amongst the wickets for Prestwich 2XI at home to Denton West.
Greenfield 3rds were the visitors to The Heys on Sunday and were bowled out for 117. Stephen Ritchie led the way taking 4-25, supported by Anis Khaliq 3-21 and Liam Potts 2-25. Sam Regan was impressive behind the stumps, taking two catches and two stumpings.
The 3rds were 15-1 when rain forced the game to be abandoned.
It was a similar scenario for the 4th team against Mottram 3rds. The opponents were bowled out for 164 thanks mainly to Ben Pinkus (3-34), Sam Staley (3-38), and Shail Khan (2-7).
Ben Pinkus and Sam Staley did the damage for Prestwich 4XI before the weather intervened.
Prestwich’s reply had reached 7-0 when the rains came, but not before Leo Michaelovitz had cracked his first ever six!
