Torrisholme eight unbeaten as duo continue brilliant form

Winning the toss, visiting skipper Matt Jackson gambled on a hot day and decided to bowl.

John Gates (1-31) and the captain (0-27) opened the bowling and struggled to find consistency early on.

Phil Jackson (5) fell to a running catch at third man by Graham Lee off Gates but the dangerous Kyle Dixon (42) combined with his skipper Antony Moore (47) to score freely.

Gates was replaced by Lee (5-44) and a few overs later Jackson was replaced by debutant Jack Heap (1-36) and this signalled the end of any pace bowling.

Slow bowling was the order of the day as Heap and Lee bowled well in tandem and clawed Torrisholme back from 77-1 at 16 overs to 119-6 at the 30 over mark, the pair hauling the visitors back into the game.

Wayne Dixon (36 not out) was the only batsman to offer any resistance as the hosts were bowled out for 165 in the 44th over.

Lee’s fifth five wicket haul of the season means he now has 42 league wickets for the season.

A slightly changed batting order saw James Ferguson (26) open with Andy Butler (42 not out) and after a watchful start it quickly became one way traffic.

Wayne Dixon (0-29) and Phil Jackson (0-38) quickly realised it wasn’t a day for seam up and were replaced by Harry Bates (1-35) and Kyle Dixon (0-19) which slowed the scoring and accounted for Ferguson who was caught and bowled Bates.

Unfortunately for Coppice this brought the in-form Chris Parry to the crease, from here it was plain sailing as Parry amassed a 73-ball 93 not out to steer Jackson’s side to victory as they finished on 166-1.

The left-hander hit six sixes and eight fours as he crashed the ball to all parts of the picturesque ground.

The latest chanceless knock means he now has 366 runs this season at an average of more than 77.

Torrisholme will look to continue their promotion push when Eccleston visit Boundary Meadow on Saturday.