NORTHWICH spinner Andy Dufty says his record-breaking performance against Stockport on Saturday was “just one of those days,” writes Matt Turner.

After his teammates had posted 212-9 from their 50 overs with the bat, Dufty took over and produced sensational figures of 9-14 from 14.3 overs.

His performance helped dismiss the hosts for just 104 to secure a 108-run victory for Northwich.

Dufty’s figures are an all-time best for a Northwich first-team bowler and the fifth best in the history of the Cheshire County Cricket League.

The off-spinner thought he was in with a chance of wickets but admits he never saw such a performance coming.

“We’d batted first and the Stockport spinners picked up a couple of wickets so it looked like it might turn a bit,” he said.

“I really didn’t think it would turn as much as it did.

“It was just one of those days. Every time the ball went in the air it seemed to go straight to a fielder.

“Every time there was a sniff of me taking a wicket, it happened, so I’m just delighted with how it panned out.”

After teammate Sam Shepherd had taken the first Stockport wicket, Dufty took centre stage from then on and says this performance would understandably be difficult to top.

“I’d taken three five-wicket hauls before but never anything more than that,” he said.

“I’d been wanting to get six in a match but to go from five to nine is quite the jump.

“The most important thing was that we got the win. We’ve had some good performances this year but one thing we’ve struggled with is bowling teams out.

“If I can carry on helping out in that respect then that would be brilliant.”

Two of Dufty’s wickets came thanks to one-handed slip catches from Northwich skipper Mark Walker, who says it is the best bowling performance he has seen at this level.

“He bowled with superb accuracy and gave them nothing to hit whatsoever,” he said.

“I said to him coming off the field that, in all the years I’ve played the game, it’s the first I can recall of anyone taking nine wickets.

“It was nice to grab a couple at slip for him but a couple of the balls he bowled for his wickets were unbelievable.

“It wasn’t a desperately friendly pitch for him but I knew he’d probably be our key man as there wasn’t anything in it for the seamers.

“The batsmen weren’t throwing their wickets away, he just bowled unbelievably accurately and it’s testament to how much he’s improved over the course of this season.”

Walker says his young spinner has been threatening a performance like this for a while but was happy it came against a side Northwich have struggled against recently.

“He bowled superbly at Alvanley earlier this year again on a pitch that wasn’t offering a great deal of assistance,” he said.

“We just needed to get over the line against Stockport because they are a team I’ve always thought we could beat but haven’t quite made it happen against them recently for some reason.

“They are above us in the league, so to get the victory by such an impressive margin I think makes Andy’s performance all the more remarkable.”

Northwich will be hoping for a similar performance this weekend as they face a home double header.

They welcome Mobberley to Moss Farm in the league on Saturday before hosting Prestbury in the semi-finals of the Cheshire Shield on Sunday.