Tonge 1sts Away

After losing the toss and being put in to bat, Westhoughton made a bad start losing Captain Rob Houghton and Pro Stephen Murdoch with only 17 on the board. Things soon got much better though as Ian Pilkington made a seasons best 63, whilst sharing important parternships of 41 and 53 with Dan Naylor and Rob Brown respectively. After a small wobble saw Westhoughton fall from 111-3 to 119-6, Paul Hart (28) and Mike Entwistle (38*) picked up the pace and scored important runs as they added a vital 58 runs for the 7th wicket. Westhoughton would finish on a solid total of 190-8 from their 50 overs.
In response, Westhoughton got the early breakthrough they needed as Paul Hart dismissed one of Tonge's opening batsmen. Unfortunately this led to a 10 over onslaught from the other opener who scored 54 at over a run a ball, alongside Tonge's pro who hit six four's in an innings of 25, as Tonge reached 75-2 within 12 overs. A couple of quick wickets fell though as Kieran Edwards struck twice to leave Tonge 100-4 after 24 overs. Runs became hard to get as Hart and Edwards worked well in tandem, and it took Tonge until the 41st over to past 150. By this time they were 7 wickets down with one recognised batter left in, and Westhoughton had a massive caught behind appeal turned down, off that batter, which effectively sealed the game for Tonge as he went on to reach 52 not out. A much better performance from the firsts with the bat and but for a couple of close calls could have easily won the game.