Church Eaton arrived full of confidence after back-to-back wins against Burslem and Silverdale, but this week posed a much sterner test against high-flying Audlem—unbeaten and leading the table after gaining promotion last season.
The hosts welcomed back Jay Arnold, Dan Smith, and Archie Wilkes in place of Mike Holdcroft, Freddie Melbourn, and Abdullah.
Skipper Matt White lost the toss and Church Eaton were asked to bat first on a worn, used pitch. With temperatures soaring, the camp wasn’t too disappointed to be batting first.

Batting Struggles on a Tricky Surface
Openers Jay Arnold and Matt Burslem got Church Eaton off to a positive start, with Arnold dispatching the bad balls well before falling to an ambitious drive, caught at mid-off for a brisk 14. (16-1)
Dan Smith returned at No.3 but continued his lean patch with the bat. Despite missing a succession of full deliveries on the pads, he did finally connect with one, which briefly lifted his mood. However, his innings came to an end when he miscued a pull shot off J. Topping and was caught at midwicket. (46-2)

M. Burslem remained watchful, accumulating steadily in trademark fashion, working the leg side and soaking up pressure. So much so that Audlem posted a leg slip.
Jordan Talbot, demoted to No.4 after a slow knock the previous week, didn’t last long—cleaned up by Topping for 7. What followed was a collapse of epic proportions. From a promising 70-2, Church Eaton slumped to 85-8.

George Burslem and Harvey Sidwell both fell without troubling the scorers, while Will Ross and Matt White came and went in quick succession. Poor Rob Austin, fresh from four hours of net practice that morning, was bowled by a grubber that barely got above the cut strip.

Through the carnage, M. Burslem continued to anchor the innings, playing sensibly and aiming to bat deep. He was joined by Ollie Rowlands at No.10, who, fresh from last week’s heroics, again delivered with some lusty blows to push CE over the 100 mark.

Burslem eventually fell for a gritty 31 (86 balls), top-edging a full toss to fine leg where it was well held. (111-9)

Wilkes joined Rowlands for a vital final stand worth 9 runs, nudging Church Eaton to a modest but potentially defendable 120 all out in 33.4 overs. Rowlands finishing on a handy 19*.

Bowling: Ross & Arnold Set the Tone
With a low score to defend, Church Eaton knew early wickets were essential—and they delivered. Will Ross and Jay Arnold opened up with tremendous control. Ross struck first, trapping Rahul LBW before removing Audlem skipper Shenton with a smart catch at square leg from Sidwell. (10-2)

Audlem looked to rebuild through Measures and Blatherwick, who dug in and added 58 runs. But with the scoreboard ticking slowly and overs slipping by, CE kept the pressure on with tight bowling and sharp fielding.

With Audlem needing 65 from the final 14 overs and 8 wickets in hand, Dan Smith and M. Burslem were brought into the attack. The decision proved crucial. First, Burslem had Blatherwick caught at mid-off by George Burslem, triggering a collapse.

From 68-3, Audlem unraveled to 92-9, as Dan Dan Dan Smith & M.Burslem tore through the middle and lower order with a brilliant spell of 4-17 & 3-26.

Ross returned for the penultimate over and, under pressure, served up a few freebies including a wide and a six over long-off—enough to make CE nerves jangle. But he held his nerve, and the final ball of the over was skied to long-on where Jay Arnold held his nerve and the catch.
Audlem all out for 111 – Church Eaton win by 8runs.

Ross finished with 3-21 from his 8 overs, sealing a fantastic win in a low-scoring thriller. It was a performance full of grit and heart, as CE recovered from a batting collapse to beat the league leaders and make it 3 wins on the bounce.

Next up: Hem Heath (Away) – Can the 1st XI keep the momentum going?