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   Match Report - Edgworth 132 all out v Adlington 136-7.  Adlington (13 points) beat Edgworth (3 points) by 3 wickets.

						A
new-look Edgworth team was beset by some familiar old issues as the
season got off to an inauspicious start against last season's basement
club Adlington.

Whether you are talking about the manner of the
defeat (a lack of top order runs was what ultimately cost the team), or
the venue (despite Adlington being at or near the bottom of the league
for some time, Edgworth have won there only once in the past 5
seasons), there was more than a whiff of familiarity with what went on
on Saturday.

Batting first, things got off to the worst possible
start when Jon Mills was bowled by Ben King in the first over. After a
brief flurry of runs during which Liversedge and Haynes looked to atone
for the poor start, it soon became apparent that this was going to be a
difficult afternoon for batting; the pitch was slow and offered some
extravagant sideways movement, and the Adlington combination of Ben
King and deputy pro Usman Tariq - who eschewed his normal off-spin for
some brisk seamers - exploited this superbly. King in particular was
excellent, and gave the batsmen very little to feed off.

The
batsmen, however, did not always help themselves. Liversedge attempted
to pull a ball that was far too full and played on, Simon Lord, after a
very positive beginning, played away from his body and edged behing,
while Pete Walters - on debut and celebrating his 21st birthday, got a
very good ball from Ben King and was lbw. At halfway, Edgworth were 4
down rather than the 2 they had targeted. Throughout all this, the
captain Guy Haynes stood firm, but his early fluency disappeared and he
ended up taking over an hour and a half to score 30. In the dressing
room before the game, Guy had made much of the need to turn 30s into
50s, so there was a certain irony when he was bowled for 30 with around
15 overs left. However, he can probably be forgiven as it was a great
ball from Tariq rather than a dismissal that the batsman brought upon
himself. Also, especially against the new ball, it was a pitch where
the batsmen were never truly in.

As the ball got softer and King
was eventually replaced, things started to improve. Nick Kernick,
continuing his good start to the season, and 17 year old debutant Liam
Watkinson were impressive, managing to increase the run rate as well as
keeping their wickets intact, and it was largely down to the efforts of
these two that Edgworth managed to make their way to 132, a total that
was probably only 20 short of par. It could have been so much worse at
one point.

To a large degree, Edgworth's chances of bowling
Adlington out rested on whether they could remove deputy pro Usman
Tariq, who had scored over 200 runs in two pre-season games for home
club Radcliffe. Despite some impressive bowling from Andy McIlroy,
Nigel Barlow and then Tom Liversedge, Tariq stood firm, offering only a
difficult half chance to Chris Locke at gully in the process.
Liversedge picked up a couple of wickets in the first half to give
Edgworth hope, but a couple of rare loose overs before drinks handed
the initiative back to Adlington. In the field, Edgworth were
impressive though, and there was a real togetherness about the new
team, as well as a much-improved fielding performance, led by the
excellent Nick Kernick. Tariq and Halliwell took Adlington on towards
safe waters, but back came Edgworth, and Tom Liversedge, and 3 quick
wickets swung the game the other way. Chris Locke replaced Pete
Walters, who found the pitch too slow for his liking, and took a wicket
with his first ball (a long hop), and when Usman Tariq played a
tired-looking cut against the impeccable Tom Liversedge and was bowled,
Edgworth were clear favourites.

However, low scoring games such
as these are often decided by individuals, and so it was to prove again
as Ben King chanced his arm and hit some lusty blows in an undefeated
31, seeing Adlington home alongside the obdurate Mick Flatters. One
more wicket would probably have handed Edgworth the match, but it was
not to be, and Edgworth's chances were further hindered as King hit the
match ball into the factory, leaving Liversedge and co a second ball
that offered very little movement.

It is difficult to draw too
many conclusions from this match. Clearly the top order need to score
more runs, but on the other hand, the personnel look strong, and the
form of Nick Kernick and the promise of Liam Watkinson are two big
positives. Jon Partington returns next week to further bolster the
middle order - and it must be noted that Jonny Ivers impressed with the
gloves in Partington's absence. The running between the wickets was
good throughout which augurs well for the coming season, especially
with three left handers in the line up. Edgworth also looked a good
unit in the field, though they will be glad when Chris Mather and Liam
Watkinson can recover from their injuries and add some pace to the
bowling. Tom Liversedge was superb with the ball, finishing with 6-45.

However,
ultimately, thanks to the outstanding individual efforts of Ben King
and Usman Tariq, Adlington were worthy winners, and Edgworth will have
to regroup for the clash with Standish next weekend.