Setback for Hampset in bid to secure title
Hampset welcomed third place Almondsbury to Bloomfield Rise on Saturday in the hope of picking up enough points to secure the Division 2 title.
Hampset lost the toss and were put into bat on an oddly wet wicket.
The Almondsbury bowlers set about bowling with great control and soon had Hampset 20-3 bringing Luke Mcdonald to the crease with opener Alex Lear.
The pair set about rebuilding the innings and put on 104 for the fourth wicket before Mcdonald fell for an excellent 60.
It was clear that starting out on the wicket was going to be hard so it was crucial that Lear batted through which he did for a steady 56 not out and with others coming and going around him Hampset made 158-6 in their 40 overs.
Hampset knew early wickets would be key and as always Jordan Price was on the spot taking two to reduce Almondsbury to 13-2.
From this point Almondsbury managed to rebuild to 103 before the next wicket fell and the game had started to slip away from Hampset’s grasp.
Price returned to pick up his third wicket and Hampset’s fourth of the day but the game was all but over as D Dunt continued on to 72 not out to steer Almondsbury to victory and Hampset’s first defeat of the season.
Hampset look to return to winning ways against Portishead at the Rise on Saturday and will hope to secure that much sought after Division 2 title.
Hampset 2s enter the final two league games in the thick of the promotion battle after a hard fought win over Bristol Asians.
After winning the toss and batting first, the new opening pair of Ollie Smith and Matt Hill battled hard on a wicket offering variable bounce.
Rotating the strike well, their opening partnership of 70 provided a solid platform before both were dismissed - Smith for 24 and Hill for 40.
Rich Holmes coming in at 3 increased the tempo with a quick 30 before being dismissed and with the loss of another quick wicket Hampset sat precariously on 134-4.
Jacob Marquiss and Gary Peters put Hampset back into the ascendancy with a partnership of 75, with Peters in particular finding the boundary with regularity. Peters (43) and Marquiss (28 not out) propelled Hampset to a strong first innings total of 211-5.
Bristol Asians struggled early with the excellent accuracy of Smith and Marquiss proving hard to get away. At 106-6 Hampset were clearly on top but at this point Bristol
Asians fought back and the game began to tighten.
James Dorey picked up 3 for 39 and had it not been for fielding errors he could easily have had more. Marquiss (2 for 30) finally took the last wicket bowling Bristol Asians out for 192 securing a tough win
The Hampset 3rd team travelled to Frenchay. Hampset skipper Mark Matthews won the toss and decided to bowl first. It was humid with a little cloud cover which made it ideal for the opening bowlers.
The ball swung right from the off and made it difficult at times for the Frenchay opening pair.
But they started strongly making 26 off the first 4 overs. Dave Marquiss bowled the opening batsman who looked in good form.
Then not long after Declan Mcdonald (2-44) got the second batsman out with a caught behind.
The run rate from Frenchay started to slow down slightly with 42 runs off the first 10 overs, this was down to very tight bowling and fielding from Hampset.
The middle order batsmen including T. Khawaja (54) steadied the ship for Frenchay and started putting much needed runs on the board for the.
However, then came Mr Consistent Mark Matthews (4-22). He broke a partnership between Khawaja and A. Johnson by bowling Johnson who had looked to try and build the innings for Frenchay.
As the game progressed wickets kept falling. With Ollie Richards (2-11) bowling the final batsman for Frenchay to finish on 192 all out.
Hampset needed a confident start. Frenchay looked to attack the stumps right from the off with the opening bowler picking up a very early wicket with only three balls being bowled.
Hampset needed to create a strong partnership to really set the tone for the rest of the game.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Rory Mcdonald (54) stepped in at number 3 to show what he is made of. From the start he looked to score wherever possible and get Hampset on track with the run rate.
Rory and Winston Duguid (65) batted phenomenally well with each other, hitting regular boundaries when required and giving Hampset a fighting chance.
At drinks Hampset were looking very strong with 109 runs. However, two wickets fell quickly. This made Hampset nervous as one of those was run machine Rory who got caught. He batted extremely well and got his first ever senior half century.
With Winston still at the crease batting very conservatively as he always does, in walked Ethan Wyatt (30*) at the 25th over needing 56 runs to win the game.
He gave Hampset the reassurance that he would stay at the crease and bat out to the end. He hit a few boundaries and gave Winston more running to do.
Winston and Ethan batted out the last runs with ease, reaching the required runs in the 35th over.
Most notable batting performance from the innings was Winston Duguid who kept the scoreboard ticking over, hit the bad balls away and batted very well. He used his years of experience to give reassurance and advice to the younger batsmen, keeping them feeling very calm.
Hampset will be looking to keep this winning way going with Clevedon at home at the weekend.
Hampset Sunday XI loss the toss and were inserted onto a variable pitch despite this opener Josh Smith managing to dig out 32, supported later by Sam Marquiss and his 26 before a collapse and left Hampset all out for 89 in the 25th over.
Despite little hopes of winning the game, Hampset took to the field in high spirits.
The bowling started well with Tom Shattock and Steve Aust both picking up an early wicket before the off spin of Sam Marquiss and Tom Marquiss tore through the middle order.
With the game in the balance, 8 runs needed by the Afghans and 3 wickets needed for Hampset. A few big shots from the Afghans number 9 took them over the line just after drinks.
■ Bristol & District league Shirehampton 132 Timsbury 90
Timsbury wasted a great opportunity of making further progress in the Bristol and District League Senior Division with a poor batting display losing by 42 runs away to bottom club Shirehampton.
The bowlers had done their part earlier taking the last nine home wickets for a mere 50 runs but in the end it was to no avail.
After being put into bat Shirehampton got off to the fastest of starts with the aggressive Adam Geddes taking the attack to the opposition.
The visitors were not helped by a shoddy fielding display as the home side reached an imposing 82-1. When Geddes was eventually out he had contributed 77 out of a total of 95-3 but from then on it was a story of bowler domination.
Opening bowlers Kev Sibley (3-29) and Oli Hulbert (3-35) were the main beneficiaries with two wickets each for Sam Hoddinott and Graeme Webb.
The Timsbury innings never got going with only Gary Pearcy (18),
Hoddinott (18) and Webb (13) reaching double figures.
A late partnership between Webb and Hoddinott gave some hope after Timsbury had collapsed to 56-8 but both players departed within a run of each other as the visitors were dismissed for 90.
Tom Rogers (4-26) and Lewis Palmer (3-19) led the way for the home side.
Timsbury 2nd XI top the Bristol and District League Division 6 after another impressive batting display in their 7 wicket win at home to Bristol Pakistanis 2nd XI.
There were two wickets each for Zak Cox, Steve Clothier and Dan Hill as the visitors finished their 40 overs on 188-8. The in-form Hill then got the reply off to a rousing start with a typically aggressive knock of 60 and Sol Thompson (53) and James Rawlings (49 not out) continued the good work to see the league leaders home with plenty to spare.
Methodists 115-6 v Cleeve 2nds 111 all out
After the previous weekend’s soggy abandonment, the Methodists welcomed ten-man Cleeve 2nds to a sunny Norton Hill.
The visitors opted to bat first, Andy Martin (31) and Alex Nicholls (21) getting things going with a decent stand of 33, but eventually Nicholls’ luck ran out and he was caught at the sixth time of asking!
A brilliant caught-and-bowled from Mark Robinson quickly had Cleeve two-down, but Martin and new batter Terry Horler were then able to put on 28 for the third wicket before Martin was finally dismissed by Josh Potter.
Horler and his skipper, George Parsons, had got the score into the nineties when Parsons was run out, followed quickly by the wicket of the watchful Horler.
Alex Nash (3-17) and James Green (2-9) then quickly skittled the youthful Cleeve tail - the away team posting a modest 111 all out at the break.
After tea, the Methodists’ toporder were again strangled by Cleeve’s super-slow bowling attack of Terry Horler and Kelston Crew.
Horler was especially destructive - after Crew had claimed the dangerous Nash in single-figures, he caused the downfall of batsmen two, three and four, while conceding just ten runs during his tidy spell.
Although the home side were now 37 for 4, they had kept up with the required run-rate and new batsmen Mark Robinson and Stuart Green were able to patiently put on fifty, getting the team to within 25 runs of victory.
Despite losing parntners late on, Robinson (43*) was able to finally get the Methodists across the line with four overs to spare to win by the margin of four wickets.
Next match: 21.8.21 Old Bristolians Westbury 3rd (home)