MID-table Stone CC firsts welcomed basement side Cheadle to the Lichfield Road ground this week and ended up second best.
Batting first, Stone lost Luke Cheadle with only one run on the board. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals with only James Dawson showing form.
He went on to reach 60 and so made sure the home side reached 144 all out.
And there was more disappointment for Stone as Cheadle, who remain bottom of the North Staffs and South Cheshire premier section, made light work of the chase and knocked off the runs in the 37th over.
Returning to the Lichfield Road ground was former Stone player Shaun Jenkinson who made 35, while ex-Cheadle member, Matt Coxon picked up 3-38 as the visitors won by four wickets.
This weekend, Stone travel to Wood Lane looking to consolidate their mid-table position.
At Endon, visiting Stone SP firsts also fell short in a division 3A fixture.
Endon batted first and reached a solid 232 all out, with spinner Matt Stupples taking 5-48.
Among the runs for Endon were the fourth wicket pairing of Alex Bailey (59) and Jordan Weaver (61) who put on 105 between them.
In reply, Stone SP never looked in the hunt.
Jason Revill (31) and Johnathan McCredie (56) gave some hope but in the end they fell 52 runs short.
Stone SP now need six points from their final two matches against Bagnall (away) and Hem Heath Forsbrook (home) to secure safety in what has been a most disappointing season.
In an exciting finish at Swynnerton, Stone SP seconds enjoyed a tie with Oulton.
Oulton chose to bat first and knocked up a below par 116 all out. Mark Townsend was the pick of the Stone bowlers with 3-7, as Alex Dawson top-scored for Oulton with 44.
In reply, wickets continued to fall with only the father and son partnership of Hylton (28) and Nathan Bennett (24) looking secure. Stone’s last wicket fell with the scores level and the teams shared the spoils.
Meanwhile, Oulton firsts went into their latest NSSCL fixture against fellow strugglers Woore on the back of two straight wins.
However, momentum counted for little as Oulton could only grab a handful of points, the visitors taking the winning draw bonus points.
Woore batted first and closed on 197-8 with Muhammed Arshad hitting 87. Rob Spruce and Dries Nell both picked up three wickets.
In reply, Oulton batted well but lost wickets at regular intervals. Opener and captain Tom Spruce top scored on 42, while Tom Phillips gave good support with 32.
Mark Bengry was at the forefront of the visitors bowling, finishing with 4-36 as Oulton eventually finished on 171-8 after their 55 overs.
