Crushing triumph has Bath in touch
A huge 119-run stand gave Bath the platform to overcome Bedminster and remain third in West of England Premier 1.
They were told to bowl at North Parade and made two early inroads through Lloyd Davies and Paul Muchall before Saiprasad Kamuni and George Russell got Bemmy back on track. Russell ended up top-scorer with 60, having also put on a useful stand with Rob Cunliffe, who finished unbeaten on 54. But Bath kept plugging away and a steady flow of wickets ensured Bedminster were restricted to only 230-9. Thomas Hankins (2-47) and Adam Kelly (2-30) helped keep the middle-order down, while Bobby Cave also claimed a wicket. Muchall returned with two tailend wickets to finish on figures of 3-44. After Hankins fell early in Bath’s run-chase Greg Hay (53) and Tim Rouse (60) combined to put Bath on top as they reached 138-2. Although Bedminster eventually removed both, knocks of 33 from Sam Young, 22 by Muchall, and 22 more for the unbeaten Luke Padgett gave Bath the win with four wickets to spare. ■ PREMIER 2 Lansdown remounted the Bristol & Somerset Division summit by the dispatching of Taunton Deane by 45 runs. Asked to bat, Lansdown were indebted to a fine century from Brandon Allen, who was eventually dismissed for 102 at better than a-run-a-ball. Though regular partners were in short supply, there were steady contributions from Jordan Price (30), plus Dominic Hooper (36) and Simon Cole (23) once Allen departed. An additional 25 extras left Lansdown on 270-8. Price and Hooper both snagged early victims in the Deane chase, their progress stymied by good innings from Robert Woodman (65), Harry Thomas (40) and Calvin Harrison (39). But Lansdown kept plugging away with two wickets each for Josh Smith (2-48) and Price (2-38). Matt Thomas then came in to demolish the tail with 4-24 from little more than six overs as Taunton were skittled away for 225. The result moved Lansdown ten points ahead of Weston-supermare at the top of the table. Division rivals Keynsham were beaten by 79 runs on the road at Shapwick & Polden. The Keynsham bowlers were left to toil in the early stages as Shapwick eased to 268-3. Openers Stephen Tinnion (71) and Sam Edmunds (99) put on a 168-run stand, with next man Will Mason adding another 51. Paul Robbins picked up two wickets for Keynsham, with one each for Tom Bryan, Reg Keates and Tom Moy as Shapwick finished on 295-5. The run chase never got going. All of Keynsham’s top five threatened with starts, but Robbins (57) was the only person to go on. Wickets at regular intervals would keep Shapwick in command, with Keynsham bowled out for 216. Corsham’s good run of form was brought to a halt by Dumbleton, who won by three wickets. The Wiltshire side elected to bat, but struggled to 62-4, with Charley Reed (29) and Tom Smith (20) providing the majority of the erly runs. Tom Abbott also dug in for 24, while Andy Davis top-scored on 61, in a final total of 184 all out. Dumbleton were similarly unsteady as they took on the chase, falling to 59-4 as Jonathan Parker, Archie Easton, Tom Foley and Joe King all claimed early victims. A fifth-wicket stand of 75 between Tom Clarkson (47) and Wade Risdale swung the game Dumbleton’s way again. And 36 more from the unbeaten Robbie Hardwick proved enough to push his side over the winning line.
■ WILTSHIRE Division There was better news for Corsham’s 2nd XI, as they got the best of a lowscoring clash with Marshfield by 32 runs. Ned Jones’ men racked up just 172-9 from their 50 overs having chosen to bat, but had to recover from 44-6, and then 88-8. It was the ninth-wicket stand that did the damage to Marshfield’s hopes of a sub-century chase. Jakob Valentine batted patiently to 57 not out from 91 balls while, at the other end, No10 Sam Thomson struck 45 from just 40 deliveries. Lachlan Tyler (3-26) and Tom Clist (3-17) led the Marshfield charge, with Jeremy Bond (2-14) and Calum Burnstone also among the wickets during the tougher later stages. Marshfield slipped into similar disarray at 60-5, Jones (2-29) bowling well alongside Craig Chaplin. Opener William Pascall stuck around for 30, with stoic knocks from both James Williams and
■ Bristol & north som Chew Magna were humbled by a dominant display from the Bath 2nd XI. Chew chose to bowl but were up against it as the majority of the Bath order contributed. Alain Hewitt led from the front, scoring 66 from top spot despite losing fellow opener Charlie Brain for a duck. There was also 76 from Ben Ackland and, just when Magna thought they had broken through, William Arney hit 39 not out in an 81-run final stand, to see the side to 283-6. Chew were never able to get a handle on the Bath bowling and slowly capitulated to 124 all out. Louis Brown was particularly destructive with 4-22, sweeping up much of the tail. The early damage was done largely by Joe Prescott (2-34) and Joe Jenkins (2-15), with Magna bowled out 159 runs short of their target. Tyler providing some nerves for Corsham. Eventually, however, the Wiltshire outfit broke through the resistance, Chaplin finishing with figures of 4-26. Simon Crampton also took 2-42.
■ timsbury A three-wicket defeat in a lacklustre affair to fellow high-fliers Nailsea saw Timsbury slip behind in the title race. Having made 166 on an unpredictable wicket the visitors were very much in the game at tea, but their attack failed to exploit the conditions the way Nailsea had and their effort wilted in the hot sun. Gary Pearcy contributed more than a quarter of Timsbury’s runs and his innings of 43, which
included nine fours, was only ended by a sharply lifting delivery. Jack Williams celebrated his late call-up with a valuable 23 before falling to an excellent catch at square leg by Liam Lester, but the second top contributor was the extras column of 29. Mike Ready led the way for Nailsea with 4-26 and there were two wickets each for Lester, Josh Dann and Pete Hardcastle. Arran Stewart gave Timsbury an early boost when he trapped Ready LBW from the second ball of the Nailsea innings, but captain Tom Moss (49) and Rob Wood (42) then added 96 for the second wicket to put the home side well in control. Wickets did fall but Timsbury never seriously threatened victory. Gareth Dann saw the home side over the line with an undefeated 33, although he survived one scare when he was given out LBW. Timsbury, however, aware that the batsman had hit the ball asked for the decision to be reversed. Sam Hoddinott emerged with the best bowling figures for Timsbury with 3-41 but it was generally an afternoon to forget. There was no better news for the 2nds who were beaten at home by BAC in a top-of-the-table clash in Division 8. In a high scoring encounter Timsbury were left to chase 311 and despite a century from Andy Carter, who made 108, and 37 from skipper Ben Hosford they were all out for 243. The 3rds too were left to chase a large total away to Winterbourne 5ths. The Bristol side made 293-6 and Timsbury finished 80 runs short. Lee Hulbert made 64, skip-
per Ashley Davis 46 and Alex Lane was 41 not out. ■ hampset The 1st XI fell to top of the league Bedminster 2nd XI by 116 runs. Hampered by two in-game injuries, and an excellent batting deck, Bedminster showed their good form by hitting 373 off their allotted 45 overs, with Sheen and Trifonos scoring 153 and 154* respectively. In reply, Hampset finished on 257-7 to claim full batting points, as Hill top-scored with 53. This weekend, Hampset travel to Frampton Cotterell where they will hope for a return to winning ways. Hampset 2nds welcomed their Nailsea counterparts for a game both teams really needed to win. Batting first, Hampset lost an early wicket but then Gary Peters (87) and Louie Gratton Peters (42) shared a partnership of 119 for the second wicket. Good contributions from Julian Sadgrove (38) and Josh Smith (24) meant Hampset posted a respectable, if not necessarily match-winning, total of 229-5 from their 40 overs. Nailsea began their reply steadily but Hampset always appeared in control and with Ethan Silcox (2-29) and Dave Marquiss (3-37) once again the pick of the bowlers, the Scorpions restricted their visitors to 200-8 to record a much needed win. The Hampset Development XI eased past Bristol Lions. The toss was won by the Lions, and they elected to bat first. Hampset opening bowlers James Wilson and Ollie Smith picked up five wickets between them in the first nine overs while conceding 31 runs. The Lions’ innings eventually finished on 90 all out. The Hampset response got off to a poor start, with the early wicket of Hamish Evans. Josh Smith (58no) and Nick Lear (23no) punished the Lions’ wayward bowling and reached the target of 91 inside 13 overs. The team do not have a fixture this coming Sunday. At the halfway point in the season the team have played eight matches, won seven and lost one. ■ combe down The Devizes 2nd XI came to down and ended Down’s unbeaten home record. Asked to bat first, the Downers laboured to 153 all out within 44 overs, with visiting skipper George Dunford (3-21) most successful among the Devizes bowlers. In reply, opener Joe Hutchinson (43) started like a train and, though wickets fell cheaply thereafter, fellow opener Richard Mansell (56no) kept the visitors on track for victory at 157-7 inside 41 overs. Simon Elliman (9-4-13-2), Santosh Nair (9-2-24-2) and Ian Corrick (9-4-22-2) were the pick of the bowlers.
■ wiltshire The first home match of the Unicorns County Championship is set for this coming Sunday-tuesday, as Wiltshire host Berkshire at Corsham’s Station Road ground. The squad, which contains Corsham spinner Joe King, will be looking to bounce back from defeat to Dorset last time out.