Didsbury 2nd XI lost the toss and was inevitably put in to bat on a hard flat wicket. The openers A. Qasim and Stoneman started watchfully with the ball moving around in the early overs. Stoneman in particular looked in great touch as the openers put on a partnership worth 136. Qasim who played an important part in the opening partnership was first out for 38. Stoneman continued to work the spinners into gaps and put away the bad balls, reaching his century before being the second batsmen out with the score at 180-2. Warren, Ahmed, Hussain all feel cheaply trying to score quick runs, however S. Qasim scored a quick fire 33, Whiteside and Rishton also scoring some useful runs at the end. Didsbury eventually declared on 225-6 with 4 overs remaining.

Ahmed bowled with pace, accuracy and at times aggression early on picking up two early wickets. It quickly became apparent that Didsbury were going to have to work hard for any wickets with Toft happy to dig in and seek out a draw. Stoneman again was the star of the show returning figures of 4-14 off 14 over, an outstanding performance and more evidence that the stone ages are upon us again.

With Didsbury chasing wickets, Hussain, Warren, Bellamy and Whiteside were all rotated in an attempt to win the game, however Toft’s batsmen stayed resilient, finishing their 54 overs on 164-9. It was a frustrating day for Didsbury who will feel this is an opportunity missed, however taking 9 wickets on a pitch so unresponsive is something the team can take heart from.

Notable events in the day included Rishton performing a superb imitation of the Sydney Harbour Bridge at deep back square leg and Whiteside diving into the stumps to affect a run out.

Writen by Tom Warren