Stand droop on soft Flowery surface (From Prestwich and Whitefield Guide)

Stand droop on soft Flowery surface

2:30pm Thursday 23rd July 2009

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FLOWERY Field edged ahead of Stand in the Lancashire County League when they won their mid-table clash.

The Whitefield side went down by three wickets in a disappointing weekend for the club whose second team also lost to Flowery Field while the third team’s match at Dukinfield was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The first team made the trip to Hyde in the hope of getting back to winning ways after losing to league leaders West last time out.

On their arrival Stand were greeted by a soft, wet, green top of a wicket rather than the pitch normally associated with Flowery, and a 46-over match was scheduled for a 2pm start.

Damien Eyre won the toss for the hosts and put Stand in to bat.

It was hard going early on as Oddy and Middleton kept things tight for the hosts as Taylor and Penchion battled hard for Stand’s cause.

Stand managed to reach 46-2 in the 18th over, with Taylor (6) and Weththasinghe (5) both back in the changing room.

Matt Holt (9) and Penchion (12) fell soon after, and despite Catterall (13) and Beirne (12) reaching double figures, Stand crumbled to a disappointing 99 all out inside 40 overs.

Oddy (5/21) and Eyre (3/16) turned the screw for Flowery.

Stand’s pro, Weththasinghe, conceded 13 runs in his first over but, importantly, claimed the wicket of Dodd for 12 to give his side some hope.

The Whitefield men continued to bowl too loosely early on, offering width to the batsmen, which was punished on the small ground.

However, Weththasinghe, running in down the hill, began to take wickets as he bowled Stringer for 10 and had Dave Williams (6) expertly caught at slip by Penchion with Flowery 41-3.

Dave Dickin and Matt Hawley added a valuable stand of 27 to move the hosts on to 68, before Weththasinghe finally changed ends and again got himself in the wickets, removing Hawley for 16, Williams for 6 and Milner for a duck in the space of 16 deliveries, reducing Flowery to 79-6.

Weththasinghe was unplayable at times, with the Flowery batsmen opting to score the runs at the other end against Sutcliffe.

Unfortunately, by the time Stuart Catterall, who had bowled three overs for five runs, was reintroduced to halt the scoring, it was too late.

Weththasinghe removed Dickin for 25. He had battled hard, handling the conditions better than any other batsmen on the day against some hostile, short and quick bowling from the Stand pro.

Flowery eventually reached their target for the loss of seven wickets, which were all taken by Weththasinghe who finished with 7-52 — the change of ends producing figures of 4-14 from seven overs.

Stand’s under-strength second team were bowled out for just 62 at home. Without opening bowlers Jack Ritchie and Dave Foreman, league leaders Flowery knocked off the runs for the loss of just three wickets, to gain revenge for their semi-final cup exit two weeks before.

The first team are in action at home on both Saturday and Sunday against Woodbank followed by Roe Green.

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