CHESHIRE WOMEN’S CRICKET

Here are the latest Cheshire Women's Cricket League results...

Division One – April 30:

Chester Boughton Hall v Didsbury – Cancelled due to rain

Nantwich v Oakmere – Cancelled due to rain

Stockport Georgians v Leigh: The only match in the first division to get started lasts just 16 balls.

May 7:

Appleton v Nantwich: The weather finally allowed a full Sunday of cricket, and Nantwich wasted no time in laying down a marker for the season. Eleanor Sinker had a fine debut, with Beth Hughes completing the blitz of Appleton’s batting order.

Appleton’s Amy Seddon became the latest full international from the league this week, playing for France in all five matches in their 5-0 T20 series win in Austria. Her best performance here was 33 not out in game one, plus a bowling spell of 1-8 in four overs in game three.

With apologies for any omissions (corrections welcome), the full internationals to have played in the league are:

• England – Sarah Collyer, Helen Wardlaw, Lauren Griffiths, Laura MacLeod, Sophie Ecclestone, Enid Bakewell
• Scotland – Ruth Willis, Liv Bell, Nadia Wheeler
• Bangladesh – Mina Khatun
• Namibia – Sylvia Shihepo
• France – Amy Seddon

Leigh v Chester Boughton Hall: With their match the previous Sunday called off after three overs, this was essentially the start of Leigh’s title defence. Leigh certainly got off to the perfect start as well, scoring almost 200 and winning by more than 100 runs. With last season’s leading run scorer Rachael Walsh reaching three figures as well – and putting on over 100 with Kate Gaging - it really added to the feeling of the team carrying on exactly where they left off last year.

Oakmere v Stockport Georgians: After scoring two centuries for Lindow in the second division last year, Heidi Cheadle takes up the first division challenge as a Georgians player this year. Her first league innings for her new club was certainly a memorable one was well, with a personal contribution of 129 – with 18 fours and four sixes – while sharing in an opening stand of 131 with Skye Thomas. A fine bowling spell from Liv Bell completed a very comprehensive win for the Stockport club.

Upton v Didsbury: Didsbury made it two league wins from two. Roshini Prince-Navaratnam made the top score as they almost reached 200 batting first.

Division Two – April 30:

Hawarden Park v Hayfield – Cancelled due to rain

Leyland w/o Oxton

May 7:

Lindow v Greenfield: The early weeks of the season have seen Lindow making waves in various cup competitions. Here they got their campaign to win division two off to the perfect start, having missed out by a single point last year. Sarah Parker and Grace Hemsted continued their excellent form as an opening pair, with Parker going on to record the first second division century of the year. Emilia Rossi at the start and Jo Seddon at the end then completed the job with the ball.

Stockport Trinity have withdrawn from this year’s Division 2. They will, however, continue in the T20 Divisional Competition and the Senior Knockout. Any club wishing to field Trinity players in the main league competition can do so provided they formally register a dual registration with me.

As a result of Trinity’s withdrawal, the Division 2 clubs have agreed:

• That they can mutually agree to re-arrange fixtures up until May 23, with the primary aim of re-balancing their fixture list to try to avoid long gaps between matches
• That they can re-arrange any match cancelled due to weather, where no play at all is possible. This can be applied retrospectively to include the Hawarden Park v Hayfield match, which was cancelled two days prior to the clubs’ meeting

Regulations update

Please be aware that - for division 1 and 2 CWCL matches and T20 competitions administered by the league - any proposals to call wides for leg side deliveries were voted out at the Rules Meeting in January. Wides should therefore continue to be judged by umpires according to the Laws of Cricket.

Clubs who have entered the National competitions, however, should expect a tighter interpretation of wides to be applied by the umpires than in the CWCL, in line with the separate regulations of these competitions.

There has also been early season feedback from some umpires, so I would like to clarify the position regarding the activities of coaches and managers during matches. There should be no coaching by non-players while play is in progress in any Division 1 or 2 match. For the purposes of this regulation, ‘coaching’ includes passing on detailed tactical instructions, or attempting to get involved with the setting of the field. There are no such restrictions in divisions 3 and 4. It is also acceptable for a division 1 or 2 coach/manager to enter the field of play during a drinks interval and speak to their players at this time.

Division Three Cross-Divisional Matches –

Fixtures awaiting possible re-arrangement:

• Appleton 2^nd XI v Ashton-on-Mersey & Woodley – cancelled due to rain on original date

Division Four East – April 30:

Buxton 2^nd XI v Langley: Langley’s good start continues as they reach their target with four overs to spare.

May 7:

Buxton 2^nd XI v North East Cheshire: Buxton got home with three overs to spare, despite a mid-innings wobble.

Langley w/o New Mills & High Peak North

Fixtures awaiting possible re-arrangement:

• Hawk Green v Heaton Mersey & Cheadle – Hawk Green unable to fulfil fixture on original date
• New Mills & High Peak North v Hawk Green - no play due to rain on original date
• Macclesfield v Heaton Mersey & Cheadle – cancelled due to rain on original date

Freya Johnson, Stockport Georgians to North East Cheshire

Dual player registrations:

Gillian Spragg to play for Oakmere in the league and Stockport Trinity Fire in the T20 competitions.

Player loans:

• Molly Price, Oxton to Upton for May 7 only
• Rachel Warrenger, Hawarden Park to Oakmere for maximum three league matches commencing May 7

A plea for division 3 and 4 teams to ensure that they inform me when a scheduled fixture is not played, along with giving me the reason for it not being played, e.g. a cancellation due to weather or one of the teams requesting a re-arrangement.

The next meeting of the League Committee will take place on Wednesday May 24 at 1930, venue to be confirmed.

Writing it on the Big Help Out Bank Holiday, here are my personal reflections on the experience of volunteering as a League Committee member. All views expressed are mine alone.

The Government has introduced new guidance on the issue of concussion, and this applies to all grassroots sport in England and Wales. The main message of the guidance is ‘If in doubt, sit them out’, which means that where there is any suspicion that a player has suffered an injury which has caused a concussion, the player must be stood down from the match immediately and not play any sport for 24 hours.

In the absence of an on-site healthcare professional, advice should also be sought from NHS 111 within 24 hours of the incident.

If a concussion is subsequently confirmed, they should not return to action until the later of 21 days from the incident, or 14 days from the point they last experienced symptoms of concussion.

KNOCKOUT CUPS

Senior Knockout Round One – April 30:

Upton v Lindow: Another fine performance from the Lindow opening pair, after their National Cup successes the week previously

Development Knockout Preliminary Round – May 2:

Chester Boughton Hall 2^nd XI v Wistaston Swans: a comfortable passage for Chester as they pass three figures.

May 3:

Macclesfield v Didsbury 2^nd XI: a trio of retired batters set Didsbury on the way to a winning total.

May 4:

Stockport Georgians 2^nd XI v New Mills & High Peak North: Georgians eventually win with a degree of comfort, but it looked in the balance during Hannah Rowe’s knock for New Mills.

Fixtures awaiting re-arrangement:

Ashton-on-Mersey & Woodley v Hawk Green – ground unavailability

NATIONAL KNOCKOUT COMPETITIONS

Cup Round One – May 1:

Leyland v Sefton Park: A comprehensive win for Leyland to set up an all-CWCL clash

Stockport Georgians v Lindow: Liv Bell and Freya Jones’ bowling kept Lindow down to 62, but it still proved to be a winning total as Sarah Parker ran through the Georgians’ top order. Leyland now play Lindow in the Cup, while Georgians’ National Cup interest continues in the Plate.

Plate Preliminary Round – May 7:

Porthill Park w/o Lichfield