After a week of horrible weather, the ground on Werneth Low appeared, at first glance, to have come through the deluges relatively unscathed. That is, until you looked at the wicket. A cover blew off one end, leaving it open to the elements and it was little more than mud. Perhaps then it is no surprise that, upon winning the toss, Partridge decided that Hyde were going to have a bowl first.
Hannah had the unfortunate task of running in through the mud from the Compstall End, with Whittaker opening up from the Werneth Low Road End. Once again, the pair started with very miserly and low economy bowling. This led to the breakthrough in the 8th over when a McCoy leading edge off of Whittaker was well held by Turner at point. Hannah wouldn’t be out off the wickets for long, prompting a think snick from Moore straight though to Allcock. The score was 22/2, but the rain became immediately too heavy and the players left the field for 10 minutes. Only 6 more balls were managed upon the restart before a hailstorm peppered down, forcing the players from the field once more. The game was then reduced by 18 overs, all of which, if Widnes chose, would come off the Hyde innings. Kirby and Burns put on a great partnership of 77 for the 3rd wicket, starting off very patiently, seeing off some quality bowling from the Hyde attack. They eventually started to put their foot down, scoring regular boundaries and significantly upping the rate. It was Burns who departed first, for a well made 46 after being bowled by Turner. Kirby didn’t long outlast him, after putting Cranmer over the rope for a big 6, only to slice one to Turner the next ball, for a patient 37. Majeed, who had a top-quality innings against us last season, was only able to manage 2 this time around, caught by Hannah after hitting Turner skyward. Widnes were 123/5 and looking in a spot of trouble with regards to setting a target. Campbell and Bashir added a quick 20, but Campbell had a thin snick through to Allcock off the bowling of Hannah. 3 balls later Hannah had the wicket of Hewitt, after he missed a full toss and was trapped in front for a duck. Things went from bad to worse for Widnes when Bashir lofted Turner straight up into the air for a comfortable caught and bowled. 147/8 and it looked as if Hyde were going to get the best part of 50 overs to chase down the total. Soni didn’t stick around for long, when he sliced Turner toward Whittaker, who took a good catch while backbeddling. Hafiz was still trying to score quickly, but in the end he ran out of partners with Evans being trapped LBW by Hannah, leaving Widnes 167 all out, with Hannah and Turner taking 4 apiece.
Hyde were left with 41 overs to chase the total, which would be no mean feat. Partridge opened up with Luke Young and the pair flew out of the blocks, keeping ahead of the required rate from the get-go. Partridge took advantage of the short boundary, clipping a couple of 6s. The partnership was broken when the skipper snicked Majeed to Bashir in the cordon. A couple of overs later, his opening partner also fell victim to Majeed, running past one to be easily stumped by Kirby. Elliot Young and Balderson had the arduous task of trying to score runs with Majeed and Hafiz providing very little in the way of bad balls. This approach from the bowlers ended up bearing fruit, when Balderson got a thin nick on a ball from Hafiz, which was well held by Kirby, who was standing up to the seamer. Hyde were 54/3, and a long way from the target. Young and Fisher were now together at the crease, and the pair complimented each other beautifully, with Young taking the more aggressive approach, while Fisher took the defensive option. The pair managed to up the run rate, and were well on track to seeing Hyde over the line, adding 102 for the 4th wicket, with Young passing a solid 50 off 67 balls including 4 6s. Fisher also picked up his scoring rate after taking 22 balls to score, he eventually departed for 29 after being caught by Hewitt off the bowling of Moore. But by then, the damage was done and Allcock quickly added the runs that Hyde needed to see them to the win, finishing on 168/4, with Young 64 not out.
Another good win for Hyde, in tough circumstances with regards to the weather and lack of overs. The team are firing on all cylinders at the moment, Glenn and Cole are looking like great additions to the team and the batting has been solid. We already have the same amount of Premier League wins this season than in the 2017 season, and I can see us winning a few more yet. Next week we travel to Cheadle, who have also won all the games they have played, and someone’s streak has to end.