6th June 2009
1st Team Win to go Second
Chapel travelled to Broadbottom knowing a victory would lift them up the table with the poor weather likely to cancel the majority of the games in Division 2. After winning the toss and electing to bowl, the visitors restricted Broadbottom to 168 all out with Gareth Roters top scoring with 41 and John Theyer taking 5-58. In reply Chapel made no mistake in knocking of the runs finishing 169-5 with 5 overs to spare. This victory lifts the 1st team into 2nd place and with a game in hand on leaders
Whaley
Bridge they are right back in the race for the title.
The Second XI’s game at home to Hollingworth was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
13th June 2009
Chapel could celebrate a victory for both senior teams on the same day for the first time since 2007 with the 1st and 2nd teams gaining 18 and 20 points repectively.
Hawtin Bowling Performance Inspires Chapel Victory
Visitors New Mills elected to bowl first on a hot summer’s afternoon at
Willow Drive. Opening bowlers Stevens (2-35) and Frith (3-43) caused problems early on as they found movement off the pitch. Andrew Hibbert (28) and Ben Harding (21) were the only players to pass 20 as the hosts could only set 145 all out with M.Birchenall taking 3-36. In reply James Hawtin made early inroads with the ball and he was backed up by the economical Joe Jackson. Hawtin had top scorer Phil Jackson caught for 29 on his way to superb figures of 6-69 off 18 overs. Lee Bradley chipped in with 2-19 and with S.Glennan providing the only lower order resistance with 28, New Mills were eventually all out for 119 as Neil Pheasey picked up 2-4. The victory means Chapel maintain their place behind league leaders
Whaley
Bridge in Division 2.
Comfortable Victory for Second Team
Chapel travelled to Hazel Grove and elected to bat first on a dry, hard wicket. Chapel’s innings didn’t get off to the best of starts with Tom Kelly and Norman Fletcher both falling cheaply to J.Leach (4-42) and a calamitous mix up resulted in Max Newiss being run out. However, Nick Pearson and Jake Pickering both continued their good batting form with a 50 partnership before Pearson fell for an excellent 66.
Pickering went for 34 but Tod Candlin and Matt Fountain provided the impetus to the innings with Candlin making a well played 36 and Fountain hitting 2 sixes in his 33 not out as Chapel finished 182-6 to claim full batting points. In reply Will Gratton was desperately unlucky not to pick up a wicket in his opening spell as he beat the batsmen for pace on numerous occasions. The 50 came up quickly but it was the introduction of Sean Critchlow (3-26) that brought the breakthrough with the dangerous Gibson being caught by Newiss at mid off for 40. Candlin came into the attack at the other end and his spin was too much for the Grove batsmen as wickets continued to tumble. The home side did keep up with the scoring rate but once G.Lee was caught in the deep by Gratton for 22 their chances were all but gone. Candlin capped a fine all-round performance with 5-23 and Gratton returned to take the final wicket as Grove were all out for 118.
20th June 2009
3rd Win in a Row for 1st Team
Chapel hosted
High Lane on carnival day but the damp wicket meant it wasn’t going to be a party atmosphere for the batsmen. Mike Edwards won the toss and inserted the visitors who made a solid start to their innings before Lee Bradley picked up 3 wickets with his off-spin. He was backed up by John Theyer and Neil Pheasey who took 2 apiece as
High Lane could only muster 118-9 from their overs. In reply Chapel slipped to 70-5 before Edwards played a captain’s innings of 46 not out to lead his side to a 4 wicket victory.
Second Team’s Unbeaten Run Ended by
High Lane
Chapel’s good run of form ended as they lost for the first time in 3 games at
High Lane. Nick Pearson won the toss for the 8th time in a row and elected bowl first on a pudding of a pitch. Will Gratton opened the bowling and proved to be too much for the
High Lane batsmen. He removed Mcarthy with the first ball of the match and produced a snorter to bowl Whitney for 5. Jake Pickering (5-58) provided good support picking up 3 wickets in his first spell as the home slumped to 35-5. However,
High Lane mounted a recovery with Barlow (26), Eislet (64), Roscoe (41) and Miller (25) all making good contributions. Martin Cooper provided some control taking 3-32 but runs continued to be leaked. High Lane closed on 203 all out with Gratton finishing with 2-12 from 10 overs.
In reply Chapel made a poor start with Pearson and Wagstaffe going for ducks and Fletcher also falling cheaply. Tom Kelly got to 23 before being bowled as Chapel struggled to keep the runs ticking over. Tod Candlin made a well played 30 and Sean Critchlow made 15 as they put on 44 for the 6th wicket but some tight bowling from Roscoe (14-3-25-4) and captain Varley (11-3-18-1) meant Chapel had little chance of victory. However, Jordan Pickering provided great entertainment down the order as he made 40. The young right hander attacked the bowling with confidence and his contribution ensured Chapel collected 3 batting points finishing on 139-7. Despite defeat Chapel rose two places in the table after taking 8 points from the game.
27th June 2009
Magnificent Pheasey Carries Chapel to Crucial Win
Chapel travelled to Buxton in a second versus third clash in Division 2. After winning the toss and electing to bowl the away side were unlucky not to strike early on with both Luke Smith and Knighton edging through the slips on more than one occasion. However, the pair both got their eye in and punished the bad balls taking the score to 75 in quick time. The dismissals of Knighton (31), who was trapped LBW by Neil Pheasey, and Smith (42), who was bowled by Dan Christie, sparked a mini collapse as the Bucks slipped to 98-5. Tim Frowhein held the innings together with a well paced 46 not out as Buxton closed on 176-7 with Pheasey finishing with figures of 17-6-3-43.
In reply Chapel made a terrible start with Kelly and Theyer falling in successive balls and Christie and Edwards following soon afterwards thanks to some fine new ball bowling from Mark Hill (3-43) and Matt Poole (4-50). At 28-4 Chapel appeared dead and buried but a superb partnership between the Pheasey brothers rescued the visitors. They showed the patience required in such a run chase as they accumulated the runs during the middle overs. The Bucks kept their hopes alive by dismissing Garry Pheasey for 38 with the score on 113 with 11 overs left, but Neil Pheasey made the home side pay for a dropped catch as he passed 50. Newiss and Pickering both hit important boundaries as the run rate stayed at around 7 an over going into the final 4 overs. Joe Jackson also played a cameo as he made 14 off 11 balls but it was left to Pheasey to hit the winning runs in the final over as Chapel won by 3 wickets with Pheasey unbeaten on a magnificent 84 not out.
Defeat for 2’s at Home to Buxton
Buxton got off to a slow start, with openers Holder and Wilson adding
92 in about 30 overs before
Wilson fell LBW to Will Gratton for 57. Tight bowling from Will Gratton, Sean Critchlow and bowling debutant Jordon Pickering kept Buxton in check but with wickets in hand they went on the attack in the last 15 overs with Bentley and Skitt taking the total up to 185. As usual, Chapel dropped a number of catches. Sean Critchlow, bowling in tandem with promising newcomer Dave Critchlow bowled especially well in the last 10 overs.
The new opening combo of Fletcher and Wood got Chapel off to a brisk start, and the run rate increased during an excellent partnership between Jamie Wood and Sean Critchlow, notable for good shots and excellent running by both. At the fall of Wood for 28, Nick Pearson came in and in a turgid innings consisting mainly of singles (Buxton dropped the field out from the off following their experience in the cup game earlier in the season) the scoring slowed. Sean Critchlow was out for a well made 23 and
Pickering the younger was run out by his skipper for 8 when he looked like making another significant contribution. Debutant Hayes followed soon after, as did Graton and Stanway but on 96 for 7 Pearson was joined by Reece Maybury and the scoring rate increased as the pair put on
52 in short order, including a huge 6 from Maybury which cleared the bungalow at the entrance to the ground. Maybury fell for 23 with Chapel on 148 for 8, needing 6 an over to win. With a victory in sight, Pearson was soon out for 40 lamely hitting a wide full toss gently to cover. Vice captain Scoop Jones and Critchlow took the score up to 163 before Critchlow was bowled for 2.
With 6 U15’s in the side, this was an excellent batting and bowling effort from Chapel against a strong Buxton side who boast perhaps the best bowling side in the league.
