Despite great runs in the cup competitions, Cheadle have been short of wins in the second half of the league season, but they threw off the shackles and produced a dominant performance to grab a maximum 23 points at Highfields.
Batting first Cheadle got themselves into a great position after the early loss off Andy Coxon as Matthew Sellers (30) and Austen Crump (50) took the score to 97 for 1 before both fell within an over of each other. The rest of the innings proved to be somewhat of a struggle as Alex Thompson picked up 4 for 12 for the home side, but Cheadle did use up all their 50 overs and closed on 155 for 9 on a wicket where patience was the key.
Will Dobbie took the new ball with Matt Goodwin and he immediately put Leek under pressure nipping out Alex Mellor and Sam Slater but it was the introduction of Jack Winfield that was the decisive factor in the afternoon. He ripped through the Leek order in 9.3 overs to produce career best figures of 6 for 21 as the home side were bowled out for 61 in just 30.3 overs. The fielding and catching were right on the money throughout the innings and the 94-run win lifted the Tean Road side to seventh in the table and sent the visiting supporters home happy.
On the following day, Cheadle went down to Longton in the T20 final as the Potteries side exacted revenge after the Bassetts had knocked them out of the Talbot Cup in the semi-final the previous week. After beating Eccleshall earlier in the day to progress to the showpiece, Cheadle lost Ali Khan to a run out in the first over and never fully recovered from the setback. In the end they posted 117 from their 20 overs mostly thanks to Andy Coxon (30) and Matt Goodwin (35).
It proved to be insufficient as Longton won the game with 4 overs plus to spare, Riki Wessels with his wealth of first-class experience guided them home with 46 not out. Ryan Harvey was the best of the Cheadle bowlers with 2 for 9 from his 4 overs.
The 2nd XI went down to promotion chasing Stone at Tean Road on Saturday. The home side were only able to muster 129 in their innings which after being 89 for 2 was a disappointing effort. Scott Harvey and Paul Shaw were the only players to make it into the twenties. Jack Bachelor took 5 for 31. Stone completed a 6-wicket victory in just under 30 overs Liam Hickey top scoring with 46.
The third team got a vital win in their division 8 promotion push at Woore on Saturday as they had an 8-wicket victory after being set a challenging victory target. The home side made 175 from their 40 overs, Michael Griffiths top scoring with 36. Sam Akram took 3 for 33 and there were 2 wickets apiece for Ben weaver and Charlie Stokes.
In reply, it was a 147-run partnership for the 2nd wicket by the 2 Sam’s, Cliffe and Akram that was the game winner. Cliffe made 74 not out from 120 balls and Akram 77 from 91 to ensure that 18 points went back to Cheadle.