WHARMBY EGG-CELS

Friday April 25th 2014 | Cricket

Good Friday lived up to its name for Prestwich who marked the new season with a comfortable victory over Westhoughton in the National Knockout Cup.

Set a target of 183 in 45 overs, James Wharmby served up an Easter treat with a “crème de la crème” performance, cracking 87 to lead the Heys side to victory with 14 overs to spare over their Bolton League adversaries.

The visitors had threatened to set a much stiffer total, perched at 154 for 4 with 13 overs left – Atiq Uz Zaman top scoring with 34.

However, skipper Andy Bradley took 4 for 30 and Sam Holden 3 for 37 to oust the opposition for less than 30 additional runs.

Bradley was also the first Prestwich player to fall foul of bowling a no ball, under the new rule of giving the batsman a free hit. Yet it was nullified when he bowled veteran Glen Bullock and no extra runs were gained. However, Bradley got his revenge for real shortly afterwards when Bullock holed out to deep mid on where he was well caught by Lewis Jarvis.

Two stealthy top-order partnerships set the tone of the Prestwich reply as professional Carl Hey and Wharmby strode past the 50-run mark. Hey’s departure made way for Tom Gibson, who made 38, and clocked up his 1,000th run for the first team.

Meanwhile, Wharmby flourished at the other end, with a series of short arm pulls and onside strikes to the boundary. He eventually succumbed 13 short of the coveted three-figure number, with Prestwich on the verge of victory. Sam Holden finished unbeaten on 14, pushing him past the 3,000-run career mark for the first team.

* Prestwich kick off their Greene King Lancashire County League season on Saturday with a home fixture against Woodhouses.