PRESTWICH may have fallen to their first defeat of the season in the top-of-the-table clash at Denton West last weekend but despite the setback captain Andy Bradley is confident his side are up for the title challenge.
The league leaders, who remain nine points clear at the top of the Lancashire County League table, narrowly lost by two runs at Windsor Park on Saturday before bouncing back to clinch a place in the semi-finals of the Walkden Cup with victory against Woodhouses on Sunday.
The Heys men now face a crucial run of fixtures which could go some way to shaping their season.
First up is fourth-placed Dukinfield on Saturday before games against second-placed Glossop and fifth-placed Denton St Lawrence, in a reverse of the opening day fixture.
But Bradley is not fazed by the idea of playing their main title rivals in a short space of time.
“You’ve got to play all the teams anyway so it doesn’t really matter if you have to play them one after the other,” he said.
“It will be a good challenge for us to see where we are.
“There is no reason for us not to be positive.
“We’ve lost one game all season and I firmly believe we have the team to win the league.”
Batting first, Denton West notched up 144-6 from their reduced 38 overs. Andy O’Brien top-scored with 39 as bowlers Sam Holden (3-75) and Ryan Stanbury (3-62) took the wickets.
Professional Steve Oddy starred with the ball dismissing the first five Prestwich batsmen for just 67 runs.
Only professional Martin Walters and seventh-order batsman Mike Hudson hit double figures as the leaders struggled on a difficult wicket.
Opener James Wharmby went for a duck and partner Stanbury was also dismissed cheaply.
Walters steadied the innings with 46 but Holden and Ali Raza were easily dispatched.
Hudson top-scored with 56 as Prestwich totalled 142-8, falling just two runs short of the target.
“It was a really close game but it just didn’t go to plan for us,” said Bradley.
“The weather played a big part. We were on and off for rain. It disrupted the rhythm of both sides and made for a very disjointed game.
“We struggled with the bat and the weather played its part with the ball diving around all over the place.
“Mike is in superb form. He batted really well and aggressively and got his 50, which was no mean fate on that pitch.
“The loss is not a disaster as we are still nine clear at the top.”
Wharmby smashed his way to a half century as the league leaders got back to winning ways with a 64-run victory at Woodhouses in the quarter-final of the Walkden Cup on Sunday.
Despite professional Walters only managing seven before being caught and bowled, Wharmby hit 57 from 62 balls and Stanbury also notched up 33 from 25.
Holden (34), Raza (44), Tom Gibson (50) and Haris Aziz (34 not out) all contributed at Belfields as Prestwich totalled 286-7.
Tom Scott was the pick of the bowlers taking 3-33 including one maiden while Bradley also took 3-41 to help dismiss Woodhouses for 222, in what he believes was a key win following Saturday’s defeat.
“The rest of the league would have been looking at how we bounced back after our first league defeat,” said Bradley.
“I made sure that everyone knew how important it is was for us to do it in style and show the loss was a one-off.
“It just shows how many other good players we have in the side when we can post nearly 300 after losing our pro early.”
