Lansdown hold on to promotion spot
Title race heating up for leaders Lansdown
The chase for a prized spot in West of England Premier 1 took a shocking twist on Saturday as leaders Lansdown were rousingly trumped by closest rivals Ilminster. Their lead at the top of the Bristol & Somerset second-tier division was slashed to just four points – albeit with a game in hand – as Ilminster won in emphatic fashion. There would have been one point in it had Lansdown not controversially declared after 20 overs to keep Ilminster from picking up three more bowling points for claiming the final wicket, having been whittled down to 51-9 as rampant Sam Grinter (6-27) and Harry Montacute (3-24) did the business with the ball. Ilminster opening batsman Louis Kraucamp fell without a run on the board to Josh Smith, which set nerves jangling, but the home side strode to a seven-wicket win despite 2-12 for Dominic Hooper. Lansdown host Midsomer Norton this weekend while Ilminster are out of action to set up a potentially tasty final day in September. ■ PREMIER 1 Despite another victory, Bath’s title defence looks over barring a miracle with two games to go. Clevedon remain 37 points clear at the top with two rounds to go, having stormed past Goatacre at the weekend. Bath, meanwhile, were busy beating Bridgwater by five wickets. None of the Bridgy batsmen could get a hold of the Swords’ bowling attack as Harry Hankins took a leading role with figures of 4-35. Adam Kelly also picked up two wickets as the visitors were dismissed for 164. Bridgwater did chip away at the Bath order, but it made little difference in the end as Greg Hay (39) and Paul Muchall (42) put on solid innings, with Ben Wells finishing unbeaten on 46 to see his side over the line. ■ PREMIER 2 Centurion Charley Reed finished on the losing side as Corsham were beaten by Cheltenham. Reed started atop the order for the Wiltshiremen and remained there for the entire 50 overs to put on 110 of his side’s 245-6. Sam Collier (48) was his most stable partner, though Richard Foley was well set on 27 not out at the 50-over mark. While Cheltenham steadily built towards the total they lost wickets at regular intervals, with Tom Foley (4-38) an Richard Foley (3-38) combining effectively. From 187-6, they lurched on to 220-7 before two quick wickets left them nine short with one wicket remaining. But last man Sam Didcote held firm as Will Simmons (32no) knocked off the remaining runs. ■ WILTSHIRE division The Corsham 2nd XI finished all tied up with Swindon. Dual 49s from opener Peter Dennett and Will Wales were the bulk of Corsham’s 216 all out total, with Michael Myatt assisting with a useful 27. And though the bowlers did well to chip away at Swindon, they were never able to put them away. Ned Jones and Jack Humphreys came on as late change bowlers and stormed through the middle and lower order with three wickets each. But at the end of the day they were unable to take the final wicket, as Swindon finished on 216 themselves, albeit with one wicket in hand. ■ Marshfield remain on the fringes of the title race with two games to go after edging out leaders Chippenham by 27 runs. They put the loss of two early wickets to one side as Calum Burnstone (58) and Patrick Grieshaber (81). Chris Munden, however, was in fine fettle for Chippenham but left with figures of 6-34 as Marshfield tactically declared on 227-8. That they eventually won the contest having done so earned them two extra points that could be key come the final day. Marshfield quickly had Chippenham 8-3 before a slow recovery was staged, Steve Silk hitting 61. But steady partners were in short supply, and although No10 Charlie Slade cracked 33 from 26 balls, Chippenham finished up short. Lachlan Tyler, who took two in that early burst, finished with 3-26, while Tom Clist and William Pascall, late on, each bagged two victims. The result moved third-placed Marshfield within eight points of Chippenham, who remain one ahead of Warminster. ■ BRISTOL & SOMERSET Brislington overcame the Bath 2nd XI by six wickets. A difficult day with the bat spelled trouble for Bath. Jack Scrivens (45) and Ned Dunning (47) did well, but runs were otherwise hard to come by. In the chase, Joe Prescott snagged two wickets for Bath, with one each for David Ford and Ben Copp. A 101-run stand between the unbeaten Antony Cains (76no) and Josh Whitemore (40) gave Brislington the platform they needed to ease to victory. ■ bear flat The Bears crashed to a 77-run defeat at home to relegation rivals Nationwide House to leave their Division 1 status hanging in the balance. Having inserted the visitors in bowler friendly conditions, the Bears were disappointed to be chasing as many as 190. Roger Pettifer’s innings of 79 was the bedrock of the Nationwide total as the home efforts were rewarded with just the three bowling points as a result of only taking seven wicket;: vice captain Jay Morris and spinner Shreyas Malhotra the pick of the attack with figures of 3-29 and 2-22 respectively. Skipper Mark Gunning once again saw wickets fall around him at an alarming rate as the Bears made another disastrous start, slumping to 20-4. Gunning and Rob Wilson looked to rebuild, adding 31 for the fifth wicket, but just as the shackles were being lifted Wilson was unfortunate to pick out the fielder at long-on to depart for a combative 18. Four overs later and the captain himself was returning to the pavilion having made 31; agonisingly run out just inches from his ground as a second run was attempted. With the game looking up for the Bears, Sam Vesey, fresh from another excellent wicketkeeping display, decided to take the attack to the visitors; a series of lusty blows taking the score into three figures. But with wickets continuing to fall around him, he was left stranded on 46 as the Bears crumbled to 112 all out. Morris and Suri, with seven wickets between them, were the chief tormentors for Nationwide. The result leaves Gunning’s men in the relegation zone, but with Nationwide only six points ahead in the standings and with the tougher run-in of the two teams, the Bears still have time to effect their great escape. ■ HAMPSET The 3rds travelled to table-topping St Mary Redcliffe 3rds looking for a win to boost their promotion hopes. The Scorpions opted to field and captured wickets regularly, but fine striking of the ball by middle order batsman Geoff Densley (81no) boosted the opposition’s total to 230-6. Shaun Wyatt topped the bowling figures with 3-52 while Mark Matthews showed impressive control with only 14 runs conceded from his eight overs. Hampset started their innings steadily with openers Mark Griffiths (25) and Andrew Silcox (37). However, St Mary’s accurate bowling and errant shots by the Scorpions saw four wickets fall in quick succession. A good stand between Stanley Szczotko (40) and Daniel Watling (48no) steadied the ship but ultimately Hampset’s chase fell well short on 178 -5. ■ Timsbury Timsbury were comprehensively outplayed by relegation threatened Coalpit Heath and slipped to fifth place in the Bristol & District Senior Division. The Bristol side showed a greater intensity throughout and the result gives them a chance of staying up after last year’s promotion. Put into bat, Timsbury got off to the worst possible start when leading scorer Mark Sage was needlessly run out with just 20 on the board. Fellow opener Andy Carter struck nine attractive boundaries before being caught at point for 39 and Nathan Hawkins battled for nearly two hours for 32. But apart from Dan Hill, who provided a brief cameo for 19, and Arran Stewart’s resistance for an undefeated 15, there was little substance to the home innings. Timsbury’s 153 was soon put into perspective by openers Dave Hilton and Pete Lamb, who put on 49 for the first wicket before Lamb was bowled by Jon Strand for 20. Hilton was then joined by Dafydd Nicholas and a stand of 75 saw
them well on their way before Hilton was dismissed by Stewart for 58. Nicholas was to finish the job with an undefeated 60 as Heath reached their target with just over two overs to spare. There was better news for the 2nds and 3rds, who both won their matches. Five wickets for James Rawlings and a half century from Rob Clothier were the highlights of the 2nds’ three-wicket win away to Almondsbury 2nds which keeps them in the promotion hunt in Division 8. The 3rds chased 228 at home to Bristol West Indian Phoenix 3rds thanks to Matt Ball (86no), Lee Hulbert (43), Kelvin Hancock (30) and Alex Lane (23no) in a seven wicket victory. In the penultimate week of the league season, Timsbury travel to bottom club Portishead, the 2nds have a crucial match at home to Saltford and the 3rds visit Old Bristolians Westbury 4ths. ■ Wiltshire The county won their second consecutive match in the Unicorns County Championship when they beat Herefordshire by four wickets. Wiltshire won the toss, asked Herefordshire to bat and bowled them out for 259 in 72 overs. Matthew Pardoe carried his bat to score 109 not out and Peter Burgoyne scored 54 while, for Wiltshire, Tahir Afridi took 3-64 and Luke Evans 2-61. In reply, Wiltshire had reached 166-2 wickets by the close of the first day. The second day saw them take their score to 371 all out in the 90th over as Jack Haines scored 94, Ed Young 90 and Tom Morton 74. Dave Ball claimed 6-82. Hereford batted again and had reached 128-5 wickets by the close of play a lead of 16, and were skittled for 258 just before lunch on the thrid and final day, which left Wiltshire to score 147 to win. Afridi was effective again with the bal as he took 4-62, while Corsham spinner Joe King returned figures of 2-42 and Brad Dawson 2-22. Wiltshire reached their target, scoring 147-6 wickets just before tea. Ashur Morrison scored 47 and Dawson 44 to seal a final haul of 24 points.