Wiltshire CCC Men end agonisingly one wicket short of victory in their second NCCA Championship match of the season
NCCA Cluberly Championship – Western Division 2
Cheshire CCC v Wiltshire CCC
Sunday 27th July – Tuesday 29th July 2025
Venue Alderley Edge CC
Day 1
With the heatwave well and truly over this match had a delayed start due to some overnight rain and a couple of short sharp showers. Wiltshire won the toss and elected to bat first. They began well with Jon Sadler and Jack Mynott putting on 63 for the first wicket. Jack Mynott made 55 runs from just 59 balls and captain Ed Young 48, but wickets began to tumble with Luke Young taking 6 for 75 and hitting the stumps three times. Fortunately the tail began to wag led by Ben Higton 40 and William Brown 20. Joe King added 13 as Wiltshire struggled to 195 for 9. At this point Ben Higton had a valuable partner in Archie Pascoe , 10 not out, as the number 11 stayed with Ben and faced 40 balls as they added 44 runs for the 10th wicket. Wiltshire closed on 239.
Cheshire began cautiously in the face of some tight bowling. Chris Aubrey took 2 for 13 in an opening spell of 11.1 overs. Unfortunately a tight hamstring left him unable to complete his twelfth over as he left the pitch unable to continue. Tom Cheater and Joe King took further wickets as Cheshire closed the day on 80 for 4 from 40 overs.
Day 2
The game was quite finely poised as the pitch seemed to offer less to the bowlers. Further wickets fell to Ben Higton, William Brown, Ed Young and Joe King, but Cheshire’s captain David Wainwright 82 and Luke Young 73 not out put on 106 for the sixth wicket as Cheshire recovered from their slow start. No further wickets fell and Cheshire finished on 263 for 8 from their allotted 90 overs – a lead of just 24.
Wiltshire needed to overhaul Cheshire’s small lead and then push on to set a challenging target with a declaration on the third day. Once again Sadler and Mynott started well with 64 runs for the first wicket . Next to go was the unfortunate Josh Kelly who was dismissed in bizarre and controversial circumstances. The scorecard records that he was dismissed for obstruction – an extremely rare form of dismissal. Needless to say feelings were running high and this may have backfired on Cheshire as Wadworth Man of the Match Jack Mynott 105 (152 balls 12x4, 1x6) and skipper Ed Young 56 (40 balls 6x4, 4x6) unleashed a flurry of boundaries in adding 90 for the third wicket. When Ed Young was dismissed Jake Goodwin entered the fray and continued in the same vein after starting cautiously, but he started finding the boundary regularly when it was suggested he was backing up too far and could be run out by the bowler before he delivered the ball (colloquially known as a ‘Mankad’). This added to a sense of injustice felt in the Wiltshire camp. The wicket seemed to offer less and less to the bowlers and Jake Goodwin and Tom Cheater took the score on to 255 for 4 at the end of Day 2 , a lead of 231 and a useful springboard from which to set a target on Day 3.
Day 3
Jake Goodwin 109 (147 balls, 16x4) became Wiltshire’s second century maker of the innings as Wiltshire eventually declared on 348 for 9 setting Cheshire the very reasonable target of 325 to win the game. This time it was Seb Botes who did most of the damage taking 4 for 82 with Andrew Duffy 2 for 43.Cheshire again began cautiously without ever letting the required run rate become out of reach. Ryan O Brien 46 and Thomas Hall 62 made a solid start although another incident left Wiltshire feeling hard done by when one of the batters appeared to step back on to the stumps – various explanations were offered and the verdict remained ‘not out’. The pitch offered little encouragement for the pace bowlers who toiled tirelessly and kept the batters in check. William Brown and Archie Pascoe each picked up a wicket, but the main threat came from the spinners. Archie’s wicket was the possibly dangerous Ed Wade, a former South Wilts boy. William Brown bowled LM McCoy who with 72 from just 62 balls was beginning to look like a potential matchwinner. Senior ‘workhorse’ Joe King took 3 for 76 from 24overs a staggering 54 overs in the match! But with the game heading for either a draw or maybe a Cheshire victory Wadworth Man of the Match Jack Mynott was given the ball and turned the match on its head. The run rate suddenly dropped dramatically after Jack dismissed Cheshire captain David Wainright causing him to loft the ball high in the air with Jack comfortably underneath it when it came down. Max Law was next to fall watching the ball fall into the safe hands of Tom Cheater on the boundary. Jack completed the penultimate over by bowling Seb Botes and finish with the amazing figures of 6 overs, 2 maidens, 13 runs and 3 wickets. So it all came down to the last over with Wiltshire requiring an improbable 38 runs and Wiltshire a tantalising two wickets. Captain Ed Young took the ball and claimed one of the wickets, but despite the last man coming in with just one ball to face surrounded by nine eager Wiltshire fielders, Andrew Duffy stood firm and the match was drawn. Great work throughout the match from the entire team include Jon Sadler’s young brother Ollie who was kept busy with 12th man duties. Well played gentlemen. Corsham next for a battle with our neighbours Dorset on 10th-12th August.
A thoroughly entertaining game of cricket held at a magnificent venue with excellent hospitality from the Cheshire committee and supporters. Thank you! A game that will linger long in the memory.
Roy Honeybone, July 2025
