Club records fall in bumper weekend
It proved to be a record breaking weekend for Bath as they booked their place in West of England Premier League T20 final on Sunday, after beating Cheltenham in Premier One on Saturday.
Jack Scrivens struck 50 off 12 balls in a club record on Sunday, before going on to score 75 from just 20 balls as Bath batted first against Bridgwater in the semifinal. Ably supported by Bradley Porteous (65), the pair put on an opening stand of 86 before Ashur Morrison (45) and Charlie Brain (35*) set a commanding total of 254-7.
Bridgwater were valiant in their reply and batted through their 20 overs, finishing 69-runs short on 185-6. Porteous added 3-22 to his earlier contribution to continue his fantastic season, while Paul Muchall claimed 2-36 and George Axtell 1-27. Bath will now face Potterne in the rearranged final after Sunday’s rain forced the postponement - Potterne’s semi-final had already been reduced to ten oversa-side.
Scrivens’ club record came after James Arney tore through the Cheltenham order with 7-20 in another Bath CC record in their WEPL history. Completely clearing out the tail, Arney helped reduce Cheltenham to 120 in 38 overs as Muchall, Axtell and Porteous shared the other three wickets.
A really poor start, including Porteous departing first ball of the innings, had Bath wobbling at 30-3 and 48-4. But captain Sam Mount was on hand to produced an unbeaten 61 from 38 balls, supported by wicket-keeper Ben Wells (29) and Tim Rouse (17*) to see Bath over the line in 23.2 overs with six wickets in hand. Lansdown saw their match cancelled at Potterne.
In contrast, Bath 2nd’s struggles keep continuing at the bottom of Prem 2 Bris/som despite only losing by three wickets at secondplaced Taunton St Andrews. Bath were asked to bat first and only Charlie Brain (43) produced a double-figure contribution from the top order. Hugo Morgan (26) and Matthew Cadywould (24) added late cameos to see Bath reach 182-9 from their 45 overs.
An opening stand of 64 put Taunton firmly in control before six wickets fell in the next 99 runs, leaving the hosts on 163-6 But with plenty of overs in hand, Taunton calmly reached the target with three wickets and 23.2 overs remaining. Morgan had taken 4-33 alongside Cadywould’s 2-56.
Corsham eked a point further ahead of Thornbury in second place in Prem 2 Glos/wilts, now two points ahead but 24 behind leaders Goatacre. They travelled to Frocester who had elected to bat before struggling to 148 in 42.3 overs. Matt Henley and Tom Foley both claimed three wickets apiece alongside two for Ahmed Jamal.
Despite a poor start and falling to 11-2, Liam Hughes (57*) and Luke Curtis (11) steadied the ship - with Mike Reynolds producing an unbeaten 65 to get Corsham over the line with seven wickets in hand in 31.4 overs.
In contrast, Marshfield slipped a further three points behind Biddestone at the bottom of the table to now be five away, but also only eight off eighth-placed Dumbleton. They hosted Thornbury, who had also chosen to bat, and partnerships of 66 for the fourth wicket and 55 for the fifth wicket saw the visitors post 205-6.
In reply Hugh Jackson (44) opened well for Marshfield but struggled to find good support. Wicket-keeper captain Patrick Grieshaber added 24 before James Williams pushed Marshfield on with 40 alongside Jackson. When both departed with the score on 139-7, the hosts were unable to dig in and were eventually bowled out 45-runs short on 160 in the 36th over.
Keynsham look set to finish mid-table after losing further ground to leaders Golden Hill in their five wicket defeat. Having been put into bat, Will Burston batted through for an unbeaten 67, combining with fellow opener Tom Bancroft (27) for a 78-run first wicket stand. But that good start faded away as the run rate slowed and Keynsham mustered 156-9 from their overs.
Golden Hill needed just 27.1 overs to reach their target with five wickets in hand, despite Ben Clarke’s 3-45.
Corsham 2nd have still yet to hit triple figures in Wiltshire Division after posting one of the lowest scores of the season but still nearly producing a shock. Having chosen to bat against Warminster, opener Ben Oakley topped the scoring charts with just eight as Corsham were skittled for 45 in 16.3 overs.
Despite looking a really simple target, Michael Myatt (2-22) and Josh Stanley (2-3) were doing their bit and causing some nerves as Warminster fell to 13-2 and then 38-6 before finally getting over the line in a frantic 13.2 overs with four wickets in hand.
■ SOMERSET LEAGUE Peasedown St John continued their struggles with an 81-run defeat at Wells 2nd. Wells had chosen to bat and put on 172-6 despite two wickets for Charlotte Hazel. Only Michael Tucker (22) and George Wilcox (29) made it past 20 though for Peasedown before they were bowled out for 91 in the 36th over.
■ WILTSHIRE LEAGUE Hinton Charterhouse remain in the title hunt in Division One after victory over Chippenham 2nd in a game decreased to 40 overs-a-side. Scott Woolley (31) and Henry Cheal made a good second wicket partnership before Andrew Boyce delivered an unbeaten 55 to help Charterhouse to 201-8. Chippenham could only reach 133-9 to lose by 68-runs as George Simmonds and James Jacob claimed three wickets each.
Bear Flat were narrowly beaten at Swindon NALGO. Ross Newman’s 60 was the shining light in Bear’s 192-9. Swindon reached the target in the 40th over, but with just one wicket in hand as Henry Reeves and George Ellis both took three wickets each.
The derby in Division Two went the way of Bradford on Avon in a tight contest at Box. Sam Plowright (33) was the only Box batsman to pass 20 as they finished on 135-9 Matthew Harrington and Jonathan Moss both claiming three wickets.
Despite a poor start, Tom Wade (29) and James Edwards (43) helped steer the Bradford innings before Rich Fuller’s unbeaten 23 got them over the line with two balls to spare and two wickets in hand. Paul Macauley took 3-30.
Combe Down saw their Division Three tie at home to Royal Wootton Bassett 2nd cancelled, while Marshfield 2nd kept in touch with Division Four leaders Erlestoke with victory at Melksham. In another game reduced to 40 overs, Melksham made 135-6 as Alastair Christie and Matt Cox each picked up a couple of wickets. Callum Burnstone (52) and Russell Lodge (38) then helped Marshfield home in 28.5 overs with four wickets in hand.
Hinton Charterhouse 2nd were unable to prevent Erlestoke from keeping ahead of Marshfield. Erlestoke posted a commanding 268-7 despite three wickets for Simon Butcher. Charterhouse struggled in their reply too as Chris Knight top-scored on 21 before the side were bowled out for 107 in 31.2 overs, 161 runs short.
Corsham 3rd were another side beaten at Wanborough. The hosts managed 237-5 off their overs before Corsham reached 159 in 42 overs when they were dismissed 78-runs shy of the target. After a poor start, Mark Hick (49) and Ben Da Costa (33) helped rescue the innings but to no avail.
Bathford’s Division Six match against Swindon NALGO 2nd was cancelled, as was Marshfield 3rd’s trip to Trowbridge 3rd in Division 7W. Bradford on Avon 2nd were able to complete their match against Chippenham 5th and came away 52-run winners. Joe Milton played a fantastic 90 alongside contributions from James Pike (21), Ollie Saunders (22), Steve Rendell (34) and Ben Newmarch-christensen (22) as Bradford scored 2519.
Chippenham were unable to match the run rate but batted through to 194-9. Milton added 5-40 to his earlier knock for a fantastic all-round performance.
Bathford 2nd were heavily beaten at Chippenham 6th in Division 8W. Chippenham collected 219-6 despite three wickets for Alex Garrett before Bathford were bowled for just 116 in 38.3 overs Pete Miles top-scoring with 23 which was still nine fewer than the extras column. ■ BRISTOL & DISTRICT LEAGUE
Timsbury produced a top team performance to defeat Pak Bristolians by seven wickets in the Senior Division, with the hosts dominating from start to finish to claim 20 league points.
Opening bowlers Kev Sibley and Sam Hoddinott set the bar early and bowled their eight overs without a break. Sibley conceded 1-11 while Hoddinott took 2-22. Teenager Joe Kinnear took three crucial wickets in his best spell for the senior side to end with 3-30, while Greg Passingham kept up the pressure in conceding just 19 runs from eight overs.
Bristolians were never able to gain control and were dismissed for 104 as Steve Clothier gained a wicket alongside captain Jon Strand’s late 3-8. Subhan Razaq (39) and Bilal Butt (30) were the only real contributors to the score.
Chasing the modest total, Timsbury suffered an early blow when Mark Sage was bowled for four. But a crucial partnership between Passingham and Gary Pearcy settled the nerves. After Passingham was dismissed, Jack Williams carried on the good work alongside Pearcy before departing for a hard hitting 25. With the job almost done, Pearcy hit the winning run for an excellent half-century to see Timsbury home by seven wickets.
In Division Six, Timsbury 2nd kept up the pressure at the top with a comprehensive nine wicket win at Knowle 3rd. Knowle got their innings off to an excellent start through Lewis (54) and Marshall (29), but once they had gone the innings subsided with three wickets apiece for Dave Nowell and Dan Hill alongside two for Zak Cox.
Frustratingly for Timsbury they couldn’t scoop that final wicket as Knowle finished on 126-9. However, they wasted no time in chasing the target with a confident opening stand between skipper Ben Hosford and Dan Hill. When Hill was out for 32, Paul Cracknell joined the crease and battered the bowling for an undefeated 53, Hosford finishing 32 not out, as Timsbury got over the line in just 16 overs.
To complete a good day for the club, Timsbury 3rd won by five wickets in a low scoring Division 14 game at Clevedon 4th. The hosts were dismissed for 83, with Josh Bond-kendall leading the way with 4-20 and Liam Hosford 3-15. Timsbury lost three early wickets in reply, but captain Laurie Jones and Ben Smith took control. When Jones departed for 26, Smith saw his side home with an unbeaten 45.
Hampset continued their winning momentum into the second half of the season with victory against Cleeve in Division Two, taking their unbeaten run to ten games. Having been put into bat, Hampset faced tight opening bowling that accrued for two early and important wickets for just 28. Runs were hard to come by as Josh Smith (44) saw regular wickets fall around him as he anchored the innings from a collapse.
Sam Marquiss (22) then shifted momentum with some lusty blows to help Hampset to a competitive total of 156-9. Jordan Price (3-11) instantly put pressure on Cleeve’s batting and they soon fell to 32-4 in 15 overs, which became 72-4 at drinks.
Spin twins Josh Tregaskes (1-15) and Thomas Marquiss (4-24) took the game away in the closing overs and they inevitably bowled out for 114 in the 35th over, leaving Hampset firmly on top of the table.
■ WILTSHIRE CCC earned a draw against current NCCA Champions Berkshire in another rain-affected match. Wiltshire elected to bat but were soon facing trouble at 41-4, however young Jack Stearman applied himself superbly to claim a top-scoring 35 from 116 deliveries. Ed Young had earlier made 26 with Arthur Godsal (24) and Tahir Afridi (26) moving the score to 179 on the following day after rain curtailed day one and help up the start of day two.
When Berkshire got their reply underway they put on 88 for the first wicket before Chris Aubrey had Archie Carter (42) well held by Will Naish. Savin Perera (121*) held firm though and was well supported by Josh Lincoln (96) who was trapped lbw by Aubrey. There were also wickets for Josh Croom, Joe King and Young but Berkshire had moved to 347-5 before declaring over lunch on day 3, giving Wiltshire 70 overs to see out the draw.
A shower brought an early tea and the loss of a few more overs to help Wiltshire’s cause as they lost an early wicket with just one on the board. Steel (25) and Naish (26) began to look comfortable before both perishing and Wiltshire were soon 70-5.
However, Wadworth Man of Match Stearman entered once again and scored a valuable unbeaten 22 from 135 deliveries to frustrate Berkshire. He was ably supported by Jack Goodwin who applied himself equally well with an impressive unbeaten 56 - bringing up his 50 with a straight six. The hard fought draw enable Wiltshire to finish on a positive note ahead of facing Dorset on July 25.