Hayfield remain winless in the second half of the season after yet another unfinished game against basement side Whaley Bridge.

Tom Jarvis won the toss and inserted the hosts on a damp pitch and David Platt wasted no time in claiming his side’s first wicket when he bowled D Ryan who played back to a full delivery and was bowled. The obdurate Stuart Milner and Lee Jones sought to rebuild the innings and the latter showed excellent judgement in knowing which deliveries to attack and which to defend in testing batting conditions.

At the other end, Dave Higginbottom bowled his first six overs for twelve runs before inducing a big drive from Millner, bowling the Whaley opener ‘through the gate’. Skipper Dale Jones followed next ball, also bowled and when Simmonds perished LBW to Hayfield’s ‘Earl of Twirl’, Whaley were in disarray.

However, Jones found support down the order with both Bailey and Kitchen determined to disprove the theory that Whaley’s batting capabilities were limited to their first four. Following Platt’s excellent opening spell, Jones sought to attack first change bowler Jared Massey and his partners, who contributed 26 and 23 respectively, had no fears in using their feet to Higginbottom.

Higginbottom eventually dismissed Bailey but Jones continued the momentum with a fine half century. Dave Aldridge was introduced into the attack towards the end of the innings and dismissed Kitchen and Slack in a four over spell. Platt returned to bowl Jones for a fine 73 and, following a last over run out, Whaley’s innings tapered to a close on 158-9.

Hayfield’s reply began promisingly with Shane Furness and Neil Woolley playing positively but, with the score approaching thirty, Woolley edged L Jones to wicketkeeper Millner for 13, much to the delight of his former team mates. However, Hayfield’s push for victory was becalmed by the encroaching bad weather and two rain breaks took the momentum from the chase, during which time Hayfield lost Furness for 35. A lengthier break ensured that neither side would emerge victorious and, despite going back onto the pitch with ninety runs required from eight overs, only two were possible when the umpires called time in very poor light.

Hayfield took 11 points from the game and desperately need a win soon if they are to avoid a very jittery end of season finale.

Hayfield’s troubled first team were comprehensively outplayed at Chapel on Saturday and face a relegation struggle as they approach their remaining six games in the DCCL first division.

After a rain-delayed start, a 39 over per side game ensued and stand-in captain Josh Unsworth won the toss and inserted the hosts on a slow, green-tinged wicket. Unsworth shared the new ball with Jared Massey and struck in his first over with a fine in-swinger to remove Kelly for a duck. Shortly afterwards, Chapel’s best batsman, Gary Pheasey, had to retire hurt with a muscle strain and things looked promising for Hayfield. Both opening bowlers found a consistent line and length and the pairing were unlucky to finish their respective spells with only Unsworth’s solitary wicket to show for their efforts. At the mid-innings drinks break, Chapel had made slow progress to 62-1 and Hayfield’s spirits were up knowing that Pheasey would not be returning to bat.

However, they didn’t account for makeshift opener M Newiss who took advantage of a colleague’s late arrival to swish and swipe his way to an unorthodox 81 during which time he played and missed at almost every other delivery and just evaded the fielders with those with which he managed to connect. At the other end, Hibbert played a more controlled knock as the pairing added a century partnership. Impetus was added with the introduction of Hayfield’s change bowlers who were unable to match the control offered by the openers as the score rocketed to 131-1 with eleven overs still remaining.

Unsworth then turned to David Aldridge who managed to trap Hibbert for 50 and then bowled Harding and Bradley in a spell of 3-23 from 9 overs. Unsworth returned to dismiss Newiss and the run out of Neil Pheasey ensured a third bowling point as Chapel’s innings ran out of steam towards the end.

If Chapel were disappointed with their final total then they needn’t have been as it was far more than their visitors could manage. Hayfield’s reply occasionally flickered into life but after young J Jackson’s fine opening spell of 1-11 from seven overs they were rarely in the hunt. The steady fall of wickets undermined the chase as bad shots and carelessness resulted in the demise of most of the Hayfield batsmen. Leo Bradley once again proved Hayfield’s nemesis with 6-34 from 14 overs and Neil Pheasey chipped in with 3-39 from 12 as Hayfield fell away to a paltry 111.

Hayfield desperately need a win against Newton next week to resurrect what has been a disappointing season to date.

After the previous week's debacle against Hadfield, Hayfield entertained league leaders Hawk Green on a cloudy afternoon which was more befitting of a mid-Autumn day rather than the last day in July. Things did not start well for the home side, even before a ball was bowled, as a it became apparent that they would be playing with only ten players due to a selection mix up.

The Hayfield pitch, usually full of runs at this time of year, had received a pounding from the heavy midweek rain and Hawk Green skipper Craig Young had no hesitation in inserting his hosts on a damp pitch. Any misgivings on losing the toss were dispelled as Shane Furness and Sam Hudson batted until the mid-innings' drinks break

without any major concerns. The bowling belied Green's lofty position in the league as Hayfield's openers put on 99 for the first wicket. Only a claim for catch off Hudson, which was rejected by the umpires after a consultation, threatened to break the partnership as the fielding side became increasingly frustrated .

However, the introduction of Jordan Henderson proved decisive as he took the first three wickets to fall. Firstly he trapped Furness, LBW for 44, before bowling both Hudson brothers, firstly Tom and then Sam for a superb 70. The off-break bowler bowled through to the end of the innings as Hayfield's progress slowed with only Steve Shaw contributing anything of added significance with a typically pugnacious 32. Henderson finished with the remarkable figures of 5-21 from 15 overs as Hayfield limped to an anticlimactic, but not altogether disastrous, 180-8.

Hawk Green's reply got off to a solid start with prolific opener Sam Messih looking in typically flamboyant form. However, David Platt, bowling from the park end, soon found a rhythm and, with the score on 31, found a 'jaffer' to take Messih's edge. Enter and then exit Jordan Henderson who was on the the receiving end of the two quickest deliveries of the day from Platt. Firstly a bouncer whistled past his grill and then a perfect yorker smashed into his off stump. Platt then capped a fine spell when opener M Blackhurst, who never looked comfortable against the new ball, sliced to deep third man where youngster Pete Taylor took a fine catch.

Meanwhile, at the other end, master off-spinner Dave Higginbottom was unlucky not to have found success with his beguiling assortment of loopers and tweakers. That was until he induced an edged drive off J Blackhurst and Steve Shaw plucked out a magnificent one-handed catch at slip to reduce Green to 62-4. This became 70-5 when Shenton danced down the track and Sam Hudson secured the stumping at the second attempt.

With the game tilted in Hayfield's favour, a rain shower brought a temporary halt to proceedings with Green on 82-5. On the resumption of play, Higginbottom wasted no time in securing his third wicket when Hallas was smartly caught at mid-wicket by Jez Unsworth who had answered Hayfield's SOS for an eleventh man. However, Green's success this season has been based on a strong and deep batting line up. Phillips, batting at number five, proved to be their best player on the day and combined excellent judgement and powerful hitting to make an impressive unbeaten half century. He found good support in his captain Craig Young as the pairing put on nearly fifty to take Green to within forty of Hayfield's score. However, with darkness descending, both players had been let off the hook with skied chances not being picked up early enough in the gloom. Phillips was also dropped in the deep off Higginbottom before rain and bad light took the players off for the second and final time.

Hayfield picked up 15 crucial points and, even though the visitors had put themselves in a strong position, were not overly disappointed to have secured 14 points in their push for the title. This was a much-improved performance from Hayfield. Although several key players were missing, their attitude and commitment could not be faulted as they pushed a strong side to their very limits.

Next week's game is at Chapel where Hayfield hope to get revenge for a disappointing early season loss.

Two defeats to a very ordinary Hadfield side in 2010 exemplifies the fragile state of the current Hayfield first eleven. Having found a degree of resilience to force a turnaround in the first half of the season, the side now appears to have rediscovered the complacency which will see them unnecessarily lose more games and face the possibility of a relegation dogfight.

Having won what appeared to be a crucial toss on a cloudy day, captain Tom Jarvis took the new ball with Josh Unsworth who took a wicket with his first ball. Unfortunately, Jarvis' recent ankle operation has not yet proved successful and he was forced to give way to David Platt after just one over. The enforced move worked well as Platt, bowling with the wind, found a rhythm to generate some genuine pace to trouble the home batsmen. Although he only took one wicket in his first spell, he delivered exactly what his side would like to see from him every week.

Platt was replaced by Jared Massey who found a perfect line and length to help restrict the scoring to below three an over. Few genuine shots were played against him and his figures of 4-59 from 15 overs would have been much better but for a succession of edged boundaries which evaded the exasperated fielders. Both Platt and Unsworth had second spells from the pavilion in which they doubled their respective wicket tallies to leave Hadfield on 111-9 with three overs left. That the home side managed to make it to 139 owed less to good batting and more to the dire fielding which would have provided enough material to fill a comeback series for the Keystone Cops with enough left over for a feature length Laurel and Hardy film. This was coupled with a baffling lack of determination to close out the Hadfield innings in which, significantly, extras provided the highest score with 31.

The less said about Hayfield's reply the better. With the possible exceptions of Shane Furness (run out having played himself in), Steve Shaw (caught off a waist high delivery which could have been ruled a no ball) and Tom Hudson (out fighting a losing cause), Hayfield's dismissals bore the mark of a side who were at odds with the conditions as well as each other. For Hadfield, Mike Hockey bowled impeccably for 7-21 from 14 overs, but he was assisted by some pathetic batting which was an insult to all those behind the scenes who work hard and give their free time to make Hayfield the proud club that it is.

The plain and simple truth (and a view shared by at least two neutrals after the game) is that the current side, whilst being weaker than in previous seasons and perhaps not strong enough to challenge for the title, has the ability to finish in the top four in the division. However, the apathetic nature of some of the performances is creating an ambivalence within, which will only serve to prevent the side from fulfilling its potential.

Despite concerted efforts to play the fixture, Hayfield's home game against Tintwistle fell foul of the weather. A 25 over per side game started at 3.45 but a heavy rain shower fell three overs into the game, at which point the lure of the Royal Hotel became greater than the need for bonus points.

A disappointing batting display from Hayfield saw their five match winning streak come to an abrupt end at the hands of Hazel Grove who now find themselves back in the title race following defeats to rivals Hawk Green and Tintwistle.

Tom Jarvis won the toss on a humid day and chose to bat on what appeared to be a glorious batting track. Shane Furness and Sam Hudson found early momentum against an opening attack shorn of the formidable Ian Hayward who was injured in the previous game. However, A Rogers soon settled into a rhythm from the pavilion end, finding movement from a pitch that was not quite as batting friendly as at first appeared. Indeed, it was Rogers who accounted for both Hayfield openers, Furness slicing to slip and Hudson falling the same way as he tried to work a delivery to the leg side.

With Ben Higginbottom sick, and with regulars Steve Shaw and Jared Massey on holiday, George Wood and Tom Hudson looked to bring their prolific second team form into the first eleven and both played impressively before Wood sliced a full toss to point and was stunned to see a spectacular one-handed catch taken to end his stay at the wicket. Thereafter, an array of poor shots saw Hayfield splutter to a below par 169 with no batsman reaching forty and only veteran Glenn Rennie showing the application required to prolong the innings until its death during the 44^th over. Rogers bowled unchanged to record excellent figures of 7-46, although he was assisted by some superb fielding as well as the aforementioned careless batting.

Grove's reply got off to a poor start when the prolific Geoff Noden fell for a duck, caught behind by Sam Hudson off the bowling of Josh Unsworth who showed plenty of aggression in a fine opening spell of bowling, during which time he beat the batsmen frequently. However, with David Platt struggling to find his rhythm, Nick Hayward and number three, Burke, had few alarms in putting together a century partnership. With Dave Higginbottom unavailable, Hayfield had few bowling options to support the openers, although Dave Aldridge managed wickets in successive deliveries to put a temporary brake on the Grove scoring. Platt returned to dismiss home skipper, Andy Oldfield, who was taken nonchalantly at deep third man by Max Richardson on his first team debut.

However, Hayward again showed why he is arguably the best batsman in the league with an effortless 87 not out to see his side home to a deserved victory. Josh Unsworth was the best bowler and deserved more than a single wicket and Owen Kirton fielded enthusiastically on his debut. However, improvement will be needed if Hayfield have any victory aspirations next week when they host Tintwistle.

Despite the best efforts of the Isherwood brothers, Hayfield ended the first half of the season in fine style with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over their near neighbours Birch Vale and, in doing so, recorded their fifth consecutive win to consolidate fourth position in the DCCL first division.

With Tom Jarvis ill, Josh Unsworth stepped up to captain Hayfield and, with confidence in his side's ability to chase down a total, inserted the visitors on a placid track on the first Saturday in July. Dave Higginbottom and Dave Platt took the new ball but for once had to wait patiently for a breakthrough as Danny Isherwood and youngster Sharpe played patiently in an opening stand of 40. Platt eventually produced a snorter to remove Sharpe but further success was not forthcoming as Tom joined brother Danny in a stand of 115 to set up their side for a potentially huge total.

However, with the score on 155, Danny sliced occasional spinner Dave Aldridge to backward point where first team debutant Tony Coverley dived forward to pouch a crucial catch. The wicket momentarily took the wind out of the visitors' sails as runs became harder to come by with Aldridge and Jared Massey bowling tightly in the middle overs.

Unsworth then returned for a second spell at the park end and took three quick wickets to reduce Birch to 200-5. However, with their skipper still at the wicket, Birch remained dangerous and Tom cut loose at the end to reach a brilliant century. 47 runs came off the last three overs and Isherwood was last man out for 122, which included four consecutive sixes off a single Unsworth over. The Hayfield captain finished with 3-76 but the pick of the bowlers was perhaps Massey with two more wickets in an accurate spell of bowling.

Any qualms about chasing down another sizeable total were soon dispelled as Sam Hudson and Shane Furness launched into the Birch opening bowlers. Runs came at a rate of seven per over as they saw off Tom Isherwood and Elliott Noblett and then dominated the leg-spin duo of Bradshaw jnr and Ashley Sharpe.

Danny Isherwood and John Bradshaw were brought into the attack and their introduction, although not threatening, stemmed the run flow. Bradshaw finally induced a false shot from Hudson who was caught on the square leg boundary for a classy 76. However, Ben Higginbottom showed no early innings nerves as he drove confidently through mid-wicket and the off-side in perhaps his best innings for the first team. Birch's bowlers bowled tirelessly to the end and even induced a few late nerves as 28 runs were required off the last four overs. However, Furness scored heavily in a single Bradshaw over and the game was won with an over to spare. Both batsmen reached respective landmarks in the last two overs – Furness ended on a composed 102 not out and Higginbottom on an effortless 58 not out which has hopefully cemented his place at the top of the order.

Next week, Hayfield visit high-flying Hazel Grove looking to exact revenge following a last-ball defeat in the first game of the season when a more fragile batting line up just failed to chase down a modest total of 183.

Another fine day for cricket, another placid pitch and another challenging run chase for the Hayfield First XI who once again showed character aplenty to initially restrict their hosts when a score of 300 seemed likely, and then to hunt down a total that would undoubtedly have been beyond them earlier in the season.

OG's skipper Matt Woodcock elected to bat first on a hot and sunny day – an understandable decision despite the early loss of their openers to the new ball pairing of Josh Unsworth and Jared Massey who bowled a particularly tidy five over opening spell. However, this simply brought the hard-hitting Woodcock to the crease who wasted no time in peppering the short straight boundaries in an entertaining innings of 97. He found support from two colleagues; firstly in Andy King who looked in good form until an unlucky decision went Hayfield's way and latterly in his number seven who timed the ball well for 49.

With the sixth wicket pairing scoring freely, and with twelve overs left and the score on 180, a massive total looked possible. However, a tidy seven over spell from Dave Aldridge and the return of Massey helped slow the scoring. Unsworth was reintroduced at the death and, crucially, removed Woodcock before he was able to cut loose for the last few overs. Unsworth and Massey mopped up the tail and, significantly, Old Glossop had failed to use up their allotted 45 overs leaving Hayfield 47 overs to reach their target. Unsworth and Massey were the pick of the bowlers with 5-85 and 3-36 respectively. David Platt bowled some fine deliveries but he still needs to find consistency, particularly in his run-up, before he can truly rediscover his form of 2009.

Hayfield's reply started steadily with Shane Furness and Sam Hudson cautious against a reasonable opening attack of Adderley and Alsop. Hudson again looked in good touch as he sought to increase the tempo but an opening stand of 48 was broken when Furness was bowled by Adderley for ten in an attempt to smash his way out of a sticky patch of form. Ben Higginbottom looked comfortable at number three until he lost Hudson for 36 when looking well placed for a bigger score. Then, with the total on 74, Higginbottom was bowled and Hayfield were in deep trouble.

Steve Shaw and Dave Aldridge needed to consolidate, but were also mindful of the fact that the scoring rate was creeping upwards to over seven per over as 150 runs were needed off the final twenty overs. This was reduced to 120 off the final fifteen, but crucially the pair were still together and had resisted the introduction of the dangerous Woodcock. Hall had bowled his slow deliveries well until Aldridge hit him out of the attack with successive sixes to reach his fifty. Shaw reached his half-century soon afterwards but then perished to deep mid-wicket for 53 after the partnership had realised 110.

Aldridge was joined by Massey who hit the ball cleanly from the outset and helped keep the asking rate from increasing. Aldridge then took three fours off a single Woodcock over as the requirement fell to 28 from four overs. Massey was bowled by Adderley but incoming batsman Unsworth hit his first ball for four to continue Hayfield's momentum. 24 runs were required off three overs which became thirteen off two after Unsworth got the better of Woodcock in what proved to be his last over. Adderley then bowled to Aldridge who hit four, two, six and four to end proceedings and finish on 97 not out.

Hayfield collected another vital twenty points and move up a position to fourth in the table following their fourth consecutive victory. They entertain Birch Vale in the most local of local derbies next week when the season reaches its half-way point.