Cheshire & Shropshire one apiece in opening T20s

Cheshire and Shropshire shared the spoils in their first Group 1 T20 double header at sun-kissed Didsbury.

Harry Dearden's squad  saw the return of Andy Dufty, replacing Andy Jackson in the second game. A return too for local lad, Alex Young.

Both sides won batting second, by. eight wickets.

First up Shropshire mustered 160-6, recovering after a slow start. Tom Fell hit 52 and Seb Scott, 31 against some accurate Cheshire bowling (Alex Young 2-26, Isaac Brooks 2-28). The feeling was that the total was maybe 20 or so too many after some sharp chances went down.

As it was, Gennaro Reddy (76) and Dan Newton (35) then took the game by the scruff of the neck, blasting 91 for the first wicket before Kevin Carroll - back to his old self - hit a swift 45 to see Cheshire over the line.  

A more mundane performance followed in the second game as a flat Cheshire slipped to 70-7 and struggled to muster 120 with Dan Newton (37), Xander Selby (25) and Dufty (18) adding valuable late runs. A far more disciplined bowling performace from the visitors saw Ollie Smith take 3-15.

Then it was Shropshire's turn to flex their mucles as they passed Cheshire's total in the sixteenth over, with Joseph Johnson (52*) and Andre Bradford (36) leading the way.

Next up for Cheshire it's a 50 over KO Trophy tie in Norwich on 7 June before returning to T20 action against Staffordshire at Burslem on 14 June.

In the other Group 1 game, Staffordshire beat Northumberland with a game tied.

A special thanks to Duncan Anderson and the Didsbury team for hosting us so magnificently.