1stXI vs Langley (T20 Cup)
Disley finally bowed out of the Twenty20 Cup at the Quarter-Final stage to neighbours Langley in a prestige tie that was sadly contested between two makeshift teams. It made the whole event a bit of a damp squib as Langley arrived missing the majority of their bowling attack and Disley almost their entire T20 top order; had the DASC been playable the previous Sunday then both sides could have fielded elevens to do this stage of the competition justice.
With such a paucity of boundary hitters at their disposal the 1stXI needed better from captain Andrew Clarke than a wild mow in the first over (4-1) but from there they could only muster a single six and four in the entire innings. Langley’s replacement bowlers were disciplined and, with a wicket and outfield sapping any and all pace from the ball, it was hard work as Disley consistently lost wickets trying to force the pace and set a total.
The 2ndXI regulars in the visitor’s line-up had performed so admirably that they could be forgiven for asking questions of their 1stXI counterparts when they took over the reins. Brenton Cook and Dave Letven were charged with bowling at the death of the innings and, whilst they did share five wickets, they produced a bizarre stream of wides that took extras to comfortably top score in the Disley innings which finished at 86-9 as the last pair scrambled some late runs.
Langley found scoring equally as tough in the reply, but with so little scoreboard pressure they were happy to work the ball around and prevent Disley taking the wickets they would need to force a result.
Andy Pannett, finally making his bow for the 1stXI after starring for the U18s last year, provided some hope with a rasping delivery to castle Brenton Cook (30-1), but the lack of runs from the first innings was telling.
To their credit the bowling attack did take things all the way to the final over, Martin Blackbourn again rolling back the years and tempting another batsman from his crease in a fine spell of 1-14, but there was little doubt who the winners were and fittingly the game finished with the most common sight of the evening: a leg-side wide.
Best of luck to Langley for the rest of the competition, especially with the logistical nightmare of a Semi-Final trek to Runcorn on a Thursday night. They were deserving winners and benefitted from being able to call upon an experienced squad of cricketers to make up for their absentees whilst the 1stXI fielded six teenagers.
The truncated Division 3 campaign now takes focus in the remaining weeks of the season. Glazebury travel to the DASC on Saturday where the 1stXI are udefeated in League action in 2012 but have also been unable to force a win with two draws and a tie to their name.
