Price is right for dramatic finish
There was final ball drama as Lansdown recorded a one-run victory away at Bristol.
Defending their total of 217-9, Lansdown ran out Tommy Probert off the final ball of the 50 overs to ensure victory.
Jordan Smith gave them a solid start having been sent out to bat with 41 from the top of the order.
Dominic Hooper would add 50 more and Jordan Price 57, the duo also combining for a 94-run stand.
Although Bristol added steady if unspectacular knocks, Lansdown were able to hold the run-rate back as a close finish ensued.
Tom Fogerty (2-37) and Matt Thomas (2-39) snatched a pair of wickets each, but it was Price that completed the final run-out as Bristol desperately chased the tie.
Bath’s nearest West of England title rivals Potterne held on to secure a key victory and close the gap at the top of Premier 1.
The Wiltshire outfit were dismissed for 169, but would skittle the Swords for just 140 to move within eight points at the head of the table.
Potterne’s innings stuttered as Paul Muchall (2-27) and Kasey Aldridge struck early for Bath.
Adam Kelly also came into the attack and claimed 3-43 figures to leave the visitors to North Parade 64-5.
However, an unbeaten 46 from Sahan Wijerathne, plus 21 from No9 Jack Bramwell, helped Potterne recover to a point before Tom Hankins (3-32) returned to mop up the tail.
But Bath’s chase - despite running at a good tempo, was fractured all too often by wickets, as Tahir Afridi took 4-35.
Muchall’s middle-order 29 was the top score, aside from the 30 extras, as Potterne returned home with victory in hand.
■ Premier 2 Keynsham picked up their second win of the season in overcoming Ilminster in the Bristol & Somerset Division.
It was the south Somerset side that chose to bat first, and they saw a reasonable start from openers Louis Kraucamp (33) and J Warry (22) before matters began to unravel.
Keynsham slowly began to chip away at the wickets column, with Kraucamp’s tally the best among Ilminster’s scorecard.
Sam Wheller and Will Burston each took two wickets to help Keynsham on their way, before Richard Pannell’s 3-29 from 5.4 overs swept away the tail.
James Fuller, James Mitchell and a Fuller run out accounted for the remaining victims.
The run chase was built around an unbeaten 97 from Fuller, smacked off 77 deliveries.
Next best was 19 from Tom Bancroft, with 14 more from Daniel Jarman.
And though Antony Cains was given out for a rare obstructing the field call, the hosts ran out fivewicket victors.
Over in the Gloucestershire & Wiltshire Division, Corsham came up short against Frocester.
They had chosen to bat on the road, but were skittled out for 107, as Alex Russell nabbed 4-27.
Tom Foley struck 21 not out for Corsham and opener Charley Reed 20 in a torrid innings.
They would make a fist of it with the ball, however.
Alexander Higgins took 4-41 and Foley 3-45 in combination to leave Frocester 84-7.
But Dan Whincup stood firm for an unbeaten 25 alongside Nick Trainor (10no) to see the hosts to their target with no more wickets lost.
■ Wiltshire Division Marshfield stormed to their eighth straight win at the top with a 227run thrashing of Calne.
Jeremy Bond got the league leaders off to a flyer with 113 from 83 balls, including 11 fours and seven maximums before he was bowled by Joseph Clare.
Further runs were added by a more tame 46 from Dave Jenkins, before skipper James Williams smashed 43 from 27 deliveries to help Marshfield to 297 all out.
Seventh bowler Jerron John took 5-39 for Calne to quell the tailenders.
Sean Adams hit 18 from the top of the Calne order, but that was as good as it got in an innings of 70 all out.
Bond provided more heroics with the ball as he claimed 4-16, following up good work by opening duo Lachlan Tyler (2-19) and Tom Clist (3-22) in the rout.
Hinton Charterhouse slipped to a disappointing 140-run loss to Swindon.
It was Swindon that chose to bat, and would peg 253 all out on the board as middle order duo Conor Taylor (71) and Adam Tucker (45) frustrated Hinton.
Charterhouse used eight bowlers on the day, with two wickets each for Michael Abington, Will Metcalfe and Tom Baker.
But their reply never got going, despite a quickfire 31 from opener James Jacob.
Chris Antrobus, with 25 was the only other player to reach the twenties as Tucker and Chris Aubrey took four wickets each for Swindon.
■ Bristol & north som A lower-order collapse saw Timsbury fall to defeat against the Bath 2nd XI.
Though Bath batted out their 50 overs, they could only reach 207-6 against lean bowling, none more so than Kevin Sibley, who went for just 15 runs from ten overs.
Ben Ackland struck 70 at the top, with 52 more from Alain Hewett in a steady if unspectacular knock.
Ellis Hancock took 2-37 for Timsbury.
The response could hardly have started better as Mark Sage (41) and Adam Brinkworth (40) put on an opening stand of 93 for Timsbury. Sibley went cheaply but Jesse Bishop continued the good work with a handy 29.
But that was where the positives ended, as none of the final seven batsmen to reach the crease made double figures.
Jack Scrivens (3-24) was the man to dislodge the top order for Bath, before William Arney returned to spark the collapse with 3-47 of his own, as Timsbury were bowled out for 175.
■ Bear flat A trek to the furthest reaches of east Wiltshire failed to bear fruit as the Bears suffered an agonising two-run defeat at Burbage & Easton Royal.
Batting first, the home side’s 234-8 from their 45 overs didn’t look an insurmountable total on a ground with short boundaries on three sides.
Though it could have been a much tougher target for the Bears after the classy Rhys Davies (43) had got Burbage off to a flier.
However, after the impressive Paul Wood (1-31) had removed Davies, the Bears got the better of the middle over exchanges as the run rate was pulled back to under four an over.
But Burbage’s final ten-over surge proved decisive as Garreth Robb blasted his way to 64 to take the score on past 200.
Ross Newman and Shreyas Malhotra, with three and two wickets respectively, helped the Bears claim four bowling bonus points. Ashwin Agrawal was excellent behind the stumps.
After a fine tea, the Bears set about their chase. Chris Bence and Mark Gunning had put on 65 for the first wicket before a needless run out claimed Bence for 43.
This precipitated a flurry of quick
wickets as Newman, Gunning (34) and Sam Vesey’s departures left the Bears struggling at 95-4.
Enter Ashwin, Shreyas’ young prodigy, who proceeded to take the attack to Burbage; a series of towering sixes, each one greeted enthusiastically by mentor Malhotra, giving the Bears a sniff of victory.
Ably assisted by Jack Mainwaring (28), Ash passed 50 before departing LBW, and despite a late flourish from Andy Strange (29no), which left the Bears requiring four from the final ball for victory, it was not meant to be, a scrambled single leaving the visitors two-runs short. ■ hampset Hambrook ran out winners on their visit to Bloomfield Rise.
Losing the toss, Hampset were inserted by Hambrook. After initially getting off to a good start, the Scorpions continued to lose regular wickets throughout their innings, making partnerships hard to come by.
With a final recovery, Hampset were able to bat their allocation of overs, ending on 178-8.
In reply, Hambrook lost both openers to good early pressure applied by S Marquiss and J Self.
However, with careful batting and two sensible partnerships Hambrook were able to knock of the required runs with five overs to spare.
Pick of the bowlers for Hampset was Marquiss with 2-32 off his eight overs.
Hampset travel to Bishopton next week as they look to get on the front foot for the second half of the season.
■ The Hampset 2nd XI travelled to Downend 3rds needing a win to keep promotion in sight.
In sunny, dry conditions, captain Rich Holmes decided to bat first after winning the toss - however Hampset lost both openers for seven, with Josh Smith and Mark Prentice joining each other at the crease.
The pair rebuilt, with both players reaching 50 shortly after tea.
Following a collision with a Downend bowler, Prentice had to retire hurt on 55, and at this point Smith took on the responsibility of pushing Hampset to a total beyond 200.
He batted superbly, finishing not out on 132, allowing Hampset to tally 256. It was Smith’s first ton, full of exceptionally timed shots through the on side, and had put his side in a strong position at the halfway stage.
Downend made a quick start in response.
They passed 100 with the loss of only one Wicket, but a sharp catch by Smith to get opener Matthew Curtis changed the game.
Hampset took a flurry of wickets to have Downend seven down, before late resistance from their captain steadied the ship.
This was ultimately in vain, however, as Hampset took the three remaining wickets needed to both win the game and secure maximum points.
George Pickering (2-25) and Jacob Marquiss (3-17) were the pick of the bowlers, while Smith added two wickets to his sharp catch in the field, a run-out and his earlier unbeaten ton.
■ Hampset’s Sunday side suffered defeat at the hands of Lansdown for the second time this season, falling short by 19 runs.
Skipper Sam Marquiss won the toss and opted to bowl, his decision almost reaping immediate rewards with Steve Aust (0-24) finding the outside edge in the first over, only to see the ball drop short of the waiting fielder.
Despite the efforts of Steve Aust and Ollie Smith (0-17) the score remained wicketless after ten overs.
The introduction of Ethan Wyatt (2-43) and Tom Marquiss (1-27) into the attack gave the home side a footing with three quick wickets, including both openers.
These however brought an adept middle-order pair to the crease who were able to accelerate in the second half of the innings via a mix of clean hitting and rather indifferent Hampset fielding.
While both were eventually removed by the pick of the bowlers Earle-brown (2-35), each made a half-century, propelling the visitors to 198-5 at the close of their innings.
Hampset’s reply got off to an inconspicuous start, losing a wicket to the seventh ball of the innings and once Sam Marquiss (18) picked out mid-wicket trying to repeat a previously profitable shot, they struggled to keep in touch with the required run rate.
Hamish Evans (70) held the chase together with a fine innings and briefly raised hopes of an unlikely victory by launching consecutive sixes on to Bloomfield Rise.
His dismissal soon after signalled the beginning of the end and when Earle-brown (22) became one of several batsmen to depart while trying to up the tempo, the game was beyond Hampset.
Hard running between the wickets from Ollie Smith (13no) and Tom Marquiss (13no) ensured the innings ended on a respectable 179-7 and a much smaller margin of defeat than in the previous meeting between the two sides.
This loss leaves Hampset third in the table with a trip to Knowle scheduled for next weekend.
■ Wiltshire The first match in the Unicorns County Championship away at Cheshire petered out into a draw after 31 overs were lost to rain on the first day, while the third was washed out.
Cheshire racked up 352 in their first innings as Luke Evans took 4-62 and Jake Lintott 4-44.
Wiltshire finished short in their first response, Lintott hitting 59 and Tahir Afridi 49 in a total of 257.
But they made a solid start when Cheshire went out to bat again, the hosts left 58-3 before play was curtailed early.
Evans had taken 2-7 by that point.