HALE Barns' first XI slumped to defeat by 43 runs in a mid-table Cheshire County Cricket League Division Two clash with Romiley despite four wickets from Joe Fretwell-Walsh.

The hosts won the toss and elected to bat, but it was Barns who made the better start as Younas Saeed (3-34) removed the top three batsmen cheaply during an impressive spell of opening bowling.

Fretwell-Walsh was introduced into the attack and continued Saeed’s good work by taking three quick wickets of his own, while Joe Cooper claimed his first victim to leave Romiley struggling on 114-7.

Hamish Burrill held the innings together with a vital display of grit and patience and he received support from number nine batter Alex Hooton as the pair guided the home team towards a respectable total.

Hooton became Fretwell-Walsh’s (4-43) fourth victim, while Burrill (42) was caught and bowled by Cooper, but tail-ender Alex Barber frustrated the visitors with a destructive late cameo, hitting two sixes in a quickfire unbeaten 27 before Cooper (3-48) cleaned up the final wicket to bowl Romiley out for 171.

The lower-order runs swung the momentum in Romiley’s favour and they made an ideal start to the second innings by sending Cooper back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers.

Opener Tommy Smith (32) and Khurram Hussain (20) carefully negotiated the new-ball bowling and appeared to be building a solid foundation for Barns to reach the required target after taking the score past 50.

However, both soon departed in quick succession and then Campbell Vadlja fell to Burrill for 11 to put the away side in a spot of bother on 66-4.

Ben Staniforth (17) and Mike Hunter (12) attempted to rebuild the run chase, but neither were able to register a meaningful contribution as Burrill (4-33) took his tally to three before removing captain Christian Dodson for a duck.

And Barns’ hopes of a late revival subsided when Paul Garner (4-22) was rewarded for a terrific 15-over spell with four scalps, including the last three dismissals as Hale were all out for 128 with 14 overs to spare.

In contrast, the second XI continued their sensational run of form with a sixth successive victory, cruising to a 49-run win against Chelford, thanks to Peter Stubbs’ 62 not out.