DENBIGH 160-7

GRESFORD 161-4

IT's fair to say that Denbigh sporting teams will be glad to see the end of Gresford.

Just a few hours after Denbigh Town FC suffered defeat in their home Huws Gray Alliance encounter with Gresford Athletic, it was the turn of Denbigh Cricket Club to be beaten by the team from the Wrexham area.

A lack of runs ultimately proved to be costly for Denbigh, who ended up being beaten by six wickets in the North Wales Cricket League Premier Division contest.

Gresford made the correct decision to field first after skipper Chris Ellwood called correctly during the pre-match toss, but the visitors were forced to display patience before they managed to pick up their first wicket.

That's because openers Gerallt Lyall and Harrison Jones got the Denbigh innings off to a solid enough start.

Lyall struck 31 and Jones made 40 to begin the afternoon in a positive manner for the home side.

The duo would eventually be dismissed by Jack Bunkell, who finished up with figures of 2-36 in his 12 overs.

While number three batsman Tom Schrimshaw added 16 to his team's tally, a middle order collapse then saw Gresford claiming the upper hand.

Doing the damage with the ball at this point of the proceedings were captain Chris Ellwood (2-46), Simon Perry (1-11) and Gareth Bell (1-28).

There was a bright end to the innings for Denbigh, thanks to the efforts of Andy Thomas (30 not out) and Andy Clarke (26 not out).

This meant that Denbigh's 50 overs at the crease finally yielded 160-7.

It was unlikely that Denbigh's bowlers would be able to keep their opponents to less than 160 when it was their turn to bat, so the home side knew that taking 10 wickets was their only hope of success.

However, as with the early portion of the afternoon, there was to be a sizeable opening partnership.

This was compiled by Gresford duo Matthew Thompson (35) and Sam Thompson, who was the top scorer on the day with 63.

Matthew Thompson was dismissed by Joe Lewis, aided by a catch from wicket keeper Joe Clayton.

Meanwhile, Sam Lewis' run out accounted for the wicket of Sam Thompson.

All of the Gresford batsmen would reach double figures over the course of the innings, with the visitors reaching a winning 161-4 with more than nine overs to spare.

At the crease at the end were Cameron Murdoch (14 not out) and Chris Ellwood (12 not out).

Joe Lewis was the pick of Denbigh's six-man attack thanks to his 3-42 return from 10 overs.