(Above): Shelton Second-Team Captain Ross Griffiths hits a cover drive on Saturday
1st XI (at Quatt):
Result: Quatt CC winning draw (8-0). Quatt CC – 153/8 (40 overs); Shelton CC – 93/9 (40 overs).
Highlights:
Quatt – Adrian Evans 40, Craig Harris 34, Craig Jones 4/17, Gareth Jones 3/25.
Shelton – Sam Griffiths 3/24, Andy Wigginton 2/43.
On another day, a losing draw at Quatt might have brought gloom upon Shelton Cricket Club’s first XI. However, after a productive recent period, Shelton had alleviated worries of relegation from the Marston’s Shropshire Premier Cricket League, and could take comfort in a positive performance against one of the league’s top teams. Plus, with the sun bright in the sky, it was impossible not to feel happy.
Rhett Williamson took the early scalp, after 23 runs, of former Shelton captain Eugene McCartney, who was opening the batting for Quatt and adding spice to the fixture. Quatt’s middle order also delivered good runs, Adrian Evans’ 40 encouraging similar big scores from Craig Jones (17), Craig Harris (34) and Chris Marshall (22). Into tea, Quatt had a princely total of 153 on the board for Shelton to chase. The visitors saw Andy Wigginton return to familiar plundering form with two middle-order wickets, although all five bowlers tasted success, Sam Griffiths celebrating three wickets of his own and again showcasing his tremendous natural ability.
Things started encouragingly for Shelton, Neil Salisbury continuing his fine recent run of form, scoring 19 before being caught by Jimmy Arbuckle off Barry Jones’s bowling. Unfortunately, this precipitated a mini-collapse, and after an initially promising 12 from Rhett Williamson, Shelton’s batsmen did not hit their stride. The only silver lining in the later-order was a superb 13 runs from spinner Mark Davies, who exhibited a new confidence with the bat. Craig Jones was Quatt’s top wicket-taker with four wickets, ably backed-up by Gareth Jones with three.
2nd XI (at Shelton):
Result: Quatt CC win by 20 runs. Quatt CC – 84 all out; Shelton CC – 64 all out.
Highlights:
Shelton – Ben Chambers 22 and 3/7, Tom Ellis 4/7.
Quatt – G. Bristow 30, G. McKenna 30 and 4/4, R. Jones 4/34.
As with the First XI over in the east of the county, the Shelton Second XI saw an excellent run of results come to an abrupt end at Shelton’s ground. A win looked achievable for Shelton, after Tom Ellis and Ben Chambers combined to devastating effect, taking seven wickets between them and restricting Quatt’s seconds to 84 all out, with a complete buckling in the middle order, Bristow’s 30 excepted. However, the going was tough throughout a rare sunny afternoon, and Shelton’s moist, spongy pitch, looking verdant after a week of consistent downpour, made the going difficult for both sets of batsmen. The home batsmen fell for a total of 64, Chambers’ smashed 22 acting as a boost on a challenging day. In spite of the result, Shelton’s second team can be proud of a great 2008; with one game to go, they are second in the Premier League Reserve Division, behind only the all-conquering Reman Services.
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