May has been magic for Oulton Park

The men from Little Budworth won’t want the month to end after winning six matches in league and cup.

An eight-wicket breeze away Bramhall on Saturday leaves them 15 points adrift of the Cheshire County League’s Premier Division summit.

They followed that with a six-wicket success at Macclesfield in the Cheshire Cup the following afternoon.

League wins against Grappenhall, Toft and Marple – plus a demolition of Barrow in their Joseph Holt Brewery T20 opener at Barrow – complete a list for May.

Captain Patrick Roberts insisted in an interview with the Guardian last week that the effort had been collective, and he’s right.

However new recruit Muhammad Shahbaz has already proved to be an inspired addition; the batsman passed 300 runs for the campaign – in seven innings at an average of north of 75 – on Sunday.

Could derby win be a catalyst for Northwich?

Northwich have had an encouraging seven days; a Cheshire Shield success against in-form Lindow last Sunday was followed by a derby win at Weaverham.

They posted more than 200 at the crease on both occasions – something they hadn’t managed previously this season – and there is a sense they are quietly gathering momentum.

A rematch with the Russets, albeit in the Joseph Holt Brewery T20, follows on Thursday before Tattenhall visit Moss Farm next weekend.

Victories in both of those games would confirm as much.

Tharusha Fernando is starting to settle; the Sri Lankan passed 50 for a second time since his arrival on Saturday, and has taken wickets in all but one of the games he’s played in so far.

Fine margins for Davenham

Davenham have lost four of their six matches to date in the Cheshire County League’s second division.

However those numbers might have been very different.

They lost by three runs at home to Urmston on Saturday, which followed a narrow one-wicket reverse at Upton seven days earlier when the hosts reached their target in the penultimate over.

In short, they’ve been competitive.

Captain Dan Hancock will be looking for his batsmen to deliver a slight improvement; they batted first on four occasions, but laid a marker above 200 only once.

There is some encouragement – five of his guys have contributed a half-century so far, with Ben Gough topping 50 twice.

Kingsley collapse again at Port Sunlight

The Crofters were skittled at Port Sunlight on Saturday for 40 – an innings that lasted little more than 90 minutes after they lost the toss.

It is their lowest collective total in a Cheshire League fixture since they were knocked over for 37 by Lymm during a Division Two game back in September 2011.

Perhaps their struggles on the same pitch at Ellesmere Port last season, when they were dismissed for 56 in a T20 Cup quarter-final, should have been a warning.

Curiously, they were bundled out for 77 in a meeting between the teams there two years ago as well.

That shouldn’t distract too much from a positive start to life in the Cheshire League’s top-flight; Toby Mullins’ men are unbeaten at home, and sit seventh in the table.

Oakmere show no signs of slowing down

Six games, and as many wins.

Annoyingly, Stockport Trinity are five points better off and occupy top spot in the Cheshire League’s second division.

That will only be a minor irritation though, and a six-wicket win at Ashley for Craig Phelan’s in-form side was achieved through contributions from plenty.

The skipper told the Guardian in April that the men from Overdale Lane wanted to improve on a start to the 2017 campaign that had yielded three wins by this stage.

They have done that, and a gap to Chelford in third is already 32 points.

Next up? Stockport, of course.

When a captain’s call is heeded

Winnington Park have delivered back-to-back wins since Alec Butcher urged for his batsmen to be more aggressive at the crease.

He said: “As a group we’ve committed to playing with more character at the crease and applying the ability we have more assertively."

They made progress in the T20 Cup at Winsford’s expense on Thursday before beating Irby by five wickets in the Cheshire League at the weekend.

Aussie Tyron Young (34) and Martin Evans (44) shared in a 70-run partnership that tipped the contest their team’s way.

Struggling Wilmslow, beaten in their past five matches in all competitions, are due at the Rec next weekend.

A victory in that game will allow Park to close a gap to the teams ahead of them in the Division Two table.