Bath progress to National Club final
Bath are once again into the final of the National Club Championship after an emphatic victory in their semifinal against Brentwood on Sunday.
After being asked to bat first, Bath recovered from the early loss of Tim Rouse thanks to a 115 run partnership between Brad Porteous and Ashur Morrison. After a watchful start, Porteous hit the accelerator before perishing for 84 from 73 balls.
Morrison continued his fine form from Saturday, hitting a well made 62 from 69 balls. As Bath pushed for quick runs, wickets fell at regular intervals but 47 from Sam Mount from 38 balls ensured the team set Brentwood a highly competitive 255 to win.
A vintage bowling performance from Paul Muchall then simply blew Brentwood’s batting line up apart, as he claimed five wickets for just 11 runs combining hostile short bowling with deliveries arrowed in on the stumps. New ball partner George Axtell also picked up two wickets and James Arney maintained his form by claiming the other three.
Brentwood dismissed for just 57 in front of a raucous home crowd. The final against Sandiacre Town now awaits at Wormsley on September 12.
Bath had earlier ended their West of England Premier League Premier One Division campaign on a high with a 102-run thrashing of Bridgwater to pip local rivals Lansdown to third place by a single point. Electing to bat, Porteous (54) and Morrison (76) put on 82 for the second wicket before wicketkeeper Ben Wells stole the show with an emphatic 125 off 80 balls which included 16 fours and four sixes.
Muchall added an unbeaten 31 to leave Bath in a commanding position on 308-4. Tim Rouse claimed 3-43 as Harry Hankins and Kyle Hopper each took a couple of wickets to help dismiss Bridgwater for 206 in the 42nd over.
As for Lansdown, they also ended the campaign unbeaten but accrued three less points than Bath to finish fourth. Travelling to Cheltenham, Brad Evans’ 5-35 alongside Josh Smith’s 3-11 helped tear through the order to leave Lansdown needing to chase 145.
Good knocks from openers James Palmer (28), Evans (31) and captain Oskar Kolk (28) at four seemingly had Lansdown in full control but a mini collapse saw the visitors make hard work of it in the end before Daniel Jarman’s unbeaten 24 pushed his side over the line in the penultimate over with just three wickets in hand.
In stark contrast to their first team, Bath 2nd completed their miserable Prem 2 Bristol/som campaign with a nine wicket defeat at Weston-super-mare. Opting to bat, Will Metcalfe top-scored for Bath with 32 as only captain William Arney (28) and Richard Pandya (21) also made it past 20 before they were bowled out for 143 a ball into the 40th over.
Weston needed just 20.1 overs to reach the target with all but one wicket remaining.
Corsham had to settle for runners-up spot in Prem 2 Glos/wilts, three points behind champions Thornbury who made mistake after starting the day one point in front with a whopping 330-run victory over Hatherley & Reddings. Corsham travelled to local rivals Marshfield and were struggling on 93-4 before Mike Reynolds (87) took the mantle from Liam Hughes (42) to put on 130 for the fifth wicket alongside Thomas Weaver (41).
That eventually propelled Corsham to 261-9 at the end of their innings after Tom Clist had claimed 4-33 for Marshfield. In reply, Marshfield’s openers made starts but couldn’t dig in with only Jeremy Bond surpassing 20 to topscore on 25 before the hosts were dismissed for 123 in the 31st over to see Corsham win by 138 runs. Ahmed Jamal took 4-34 alongside Tom Foley’s 3-16 and Reynolds’ 2-27.
Keynsham ended their Bristol & North Somerset campaign seventh after defeat at third-place Congresbury.
Having been asked to bat, Russ Wakefield (59) and Jonty Flynn (41) made the biggest contributions before Keynsham were bowled out for 171 in the penultimate over. Congresbury reached the target a ball into the 33rd over with three wickets in hand, Tom Bryan and Flynn had both taken three wickets apiece.
Corsham 2nd had a tantalising final game of their Wiltshire Division season to finish with a win over fourth-place Potterne. Opting to bat, Peter Dennett (22) and Tom Young (57) put on 68 for the second wicket before Luke Curtis added a further 40 himself. The rest of the order somewhat collapsed though as Corsham ended on 179 all out a ball into the final over.
Potterne were running dead level with Corsham throughout their innings and were arguably favourites when they reached a run behind two balls into the penultimate over.
However they only had one wicket remaining and Ned Jones was able to trap Callum Barnes lbw to secure a win for Corsham by the smallest of margins. That was third of Jones’ victims, with Ben Oakley also managing 3-34.
■ WILTSHIRE LEAGUE Hinton Charterhouse held their nerve to claim the Division One title and secure promotion back to WEPL. Just one point separated Charterhouse from second-placed Beckington at the start of play but Beckington fell to a five wicket defeat at Swindon NALGO to further press home Charterhouse’s advantage come the end.
Charterhouse were hosting local rivals Bear Flat and opener Simon Cane-hardy was in no mood to let go of the title with a stunning 81, aided by late cameos from Adam Mapstone (71*) and James Jacob (46), before Charterhouse finished on a commanding 254-6. George Ellis and Joe De Souza claimed two wickets apiece for Bear.
De Souza (20) and Rob Wilson (32) made a steady start in reply but Bear were always behind the run rate.
Mark Gunning (39*) and Andy Strange (37) pushed Bear’s score up further to 173-6 before the end of their 45 overs to fall 81 runs short and commence Charterhouse’s promotion party. Grant Sheppard claimed 2-43.
Box and Bradford on Avon ended their Division Two campaigns in defeat. Third-bottom Box hosted second-bottom Beehive Southwick and were tasked with chasing down 215-8 after Matt Ryalls claimed 4-49.
Box made a disastrous start with their top four batsman falling for a combined seven before Ryalls looked to try and win the game on his own with 91. Greg Bazell added 25 but after his departure, Ryalls struggled to find too much more support and Box fell 67 runs, bowled out for 148 in the 33rd over.
Fourth-place Bradford travelled to fourth-bottom Swindon United Churches.
Matthew Hardington (30) and Tom Wade (63) made a good opening partnership and further contributions from James Edwards (36), Lewis Green (29) and Will Johnson (32) put Bradford in a seemingly commanding position on 271 before being bowled out with the final ball of their innings.
However Swindon were equal to the task and manage to overcome the challenge inside 43 overs to secure a seven-wicket victory.
Combe Down ended their Division Three campaign third after beating Potterne 3rd by four wickets. Potterne played a stubborn innings to set 207-4 as Sam Rawes claimed 2-28.
In reply, opener James Mitchell struck 60 which was later matched by James Weale and added by 29 extras and 29 runs from Alistair Davis as Combe reached the target with the final ball of the game.
Marshfield 2nd finished best of the rest in Division Four following their seven wicket win at secondbottom Ramsbury.
Hamish Walker was in inspired form to rip through the Ramsbury order and claimed 7-18 as the hosts were skittled for 76 inside 22 overs. Cameron Walker took over with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 34 alongside Tom Clay’s 27 not out to get Marshfield over the line in 18.1 overs.
Corsham 3rd finished fourth after a high-scoring win at Sherston Magna. After opener James Edmund (36) and Alfie Johnson (45) had made decent knocks, lower order contributions from Jonathan Parker (35), Scott Fleming (36*) and Paul Clifford (30*) saw Corsham to 249-7. Magna were then bowled out in the penultimate over for 185 to lose by 64 runs Martin Roberts, Parker and Johnson each claimed a couple of wickets.
Hinton Charterhouse 2nd also ended their season victorious to finish sixth. Marlborough 2nd made a stubborn but unspectacular 161-2 off their 45 overs before top-scoring knocks of 29 from Ed Borton and Toby Goodman helped Charterhouse over the line in the 43rd over with just three wickets in hand.
Bathford have finished second bottom in Division Six after a final defeat against Allington. The visitors had set Bathford 223-7 to chase down after Peter Coombs weighed in with 4-59. Openers Adam Brunton (35) and Darren Sutton (30) made a decent start in reply but Bathford eventually ran out of time on 193-9, losing by 30 runs.
Bradford on Avon 2nd were commanding in their final performance against Warminster 3rd but had to settle for third in Division 7W. Warminster managed 197-7 off their 45 overs as Ben Newmarchchristensen and Joe Milton each claimed a couple of wickets. James Pike produced a fantastic 85 alongside unbeaten knocks from Dave Carter (51*) and Milton (43*) to see Bradford home in 33 overs with just one wicket lost.
Marshfield 3rd finished fifth after suffering defeat at secondplace Chippenham 5th. Andy Elliott’s unbeaten 51 helped push Marshfield up to 177-7 off their 45 overs, which Chippenham reached in the penultimate over with four wickets in hand despite Mark Dixon claiming 3-30 and Graham Tanner 2-12.
Corsham 4th have come third in Division 8W after a bizarre win at Winsley 4th. Richard Todhunter top-scored with 33 as Corsham reached 152-7 off their innings. Winsley managed to bat through
their overs in response, but had only accumulated 80-8 to finish 72 runs short. Katy Cobb performed excellently with the ball to take 4-19. With Biddestone 4th’s withdrawal, Bathford 2nd finished bottom of the division after failing to reach triple figures.
■ BRISTOL & DISTRICT LEAGUE Timsbury ended a topsy-turvy season in fine style with a four wicket win at champions-elect Bedminster 2nd in the Bristol & District League Senior Division. It was a victory which propelled Timsbury into third, their highest position throughout the campaign, as proved a personal triumph for wicket-keeper Adam Brinkworth who concluded a lean season with a superb innings of 81.
After being asked to bat, Bedminster had a number of batsmen making useful contributions, only to be dismissed when well set with George Davey top-scoring on 30. The Timsbury attack nagged away and there were two wickets apiece for Oli Hulbert, Joe Kinnear and Kev Sibley as Bedminster ended their 45 overs on 189-8.
Following the early exit of Graeme Webb, Mark Sage and Gary Pearcy took Timsbury to 50 before the latter went for 23.
A fruitful partnership between Sage and Brinkworth took the visitors past 100 until Sage was caught for 35. Brinkworth though was in full flow and took Timsbury to within one ball of victory upon his dismissal, leaving Kinnear to hit the winning runs.
Division Two champions Hampset travelled to Bishopston and, with the loss of an early wicket, Hampset looked to build a platform for a big score. With wickets falling around him, Alex Lear stayed calm and found partners down the order in the form of Jordan Price with a quickfire 54 and skipper Sam Marquiss (47*). Lear (101*) reached his century in the 40th over as Hampset finished on 255-6.
Ethan Silcox was able to pick up an early wicket before Tom Marquiss continued his fine campaign with a run out. From there, Dan Roberts picked up 2-21 while spin duo T Marquiss and Josh Tregaskes took regular wickets to finish on 3-20 and 2-34 respectively.
Bishopston batted out their 40 overs and finished on 163-9 but Hampset were left celebrating their first league title since 1985.
Timsbury continued their celebrations as the Second Side clinched the Division Six title with a six-wicket win at home to Bristol United Banks. The experienced Steve Clothier shone once again for Timsbury by taking 3-16 in his eight overs, alongside Freddie Hosford’s 2-45 as Bristol finished on 173-7 after Zuber Pathan ended unbeaten on 54.
Timsbury made light of the challenge with the in-form Sol Thompson leading the way with a polished unbeaten 67, ably supported by Paul Cracknell’s 44.
Hampset 2nd completed their Division Eight campaign at home to Churchways. Openers Matt Hill (84) and Scott Costello continued their fine season with a fantastic 192-run partnership. Costello’s 127 was exemplary until he was stumped. Jacob Marquiss (49) enjoyed his promotion up the order as Hampset finished on 313-3.
Needing to take full points, Ollie Smith (2-40) got the opener caught first ball while James Dorey (2-20) also found joy with a couple of wickets caught behind. Hampset restricted Churchways to 83-7 but deja vu from earlier in the season struck as they remained stubborn. Isaac Bogg (1-26) and Finley Richards (2-28) brought Hampset to within a wicket of full points and Marquiss took the final wicket to finish second and secure promotion.
The club thanked scorer Colin Voutt for his service after he decided to put the pen down at the end of the season.
Hampset 3rd travelled to Chipping Sodbury 4th and restricted their hosts to 168-8 from their 40 overs. Charlie Pritchard produced a highlight with a running catch while Freddie Hiscott topped to bowling figures with 3-24, Saf Mahar claimed 2-46 alongside James Boyle (1-24) and Mark Matthews (1-16).
Hampset met a poor start to their chase, losing three wickets for 15 runs. A fine stand between Winston Duguid (42) and Ethan Wyatt (40) set Hampset back on track before Ollie Richards (18*), Mark Griffiths (23) and Boyle (21*) struck some fine boundaries to secure the victory with an over to spare.
Timsbury 3rd brought their Division 14 campaign to a disappointing conclusion with a four wicket defeat at home to Golden Hill 6th.
Seb Nix was the main contributor for Timsbury, but a total of 114 always looked below par. Neil Hulford took 2-21 for the hosts but the Bristol team reached their target with four wickets to spare, leaving Timsbury finishing fourth after a good season overall.
■ NORTH SOMERSET LEAGUE
A struggling Hampset were inserted by Old England and the batsmen took little pity on the bowlers, smashing 318 off their 40 overs. Steve Aust took 2-65 and Tom Marquiss 8-1-23-1. Decent performances from Josh Smith (76) and Sam Marquiss (41) helped Hampset to 219 all out in the 37th over.