Division One
Crowcombe v
Over Stowey
THIS local derby went Crowcombe's way when they defeated Over Stowey by 36 runs on Saturday.
Crowcombe batted first and solid knocks down the order always had the score moving along at a reasonable rate and at the end of their 40 overs they had reached 252-6. T Andrew top scored with 65 with good support from J Baker and C Brewer. Phil Rich put in his usual good spell of bowling taking 4-50.
Over Stowey also batted well with their innings centred around an excellent 102 by M Bendall. Although B Buller and S Pickard gave useful support no one stayed long enough with Bendall to build the sort of partnership needed to win and with four of Crowcombe's bowlers taking two wickets apiece the home side's total proved just out of reach of the visitors.
Crowcombe: 252-6 (T Andrew 65, J Baker 49, C Brewer 44, M Baker 33 no, P Rich 4-50).
Over Stowey: 216-9 (M Bendall 102, B Buller 34, S Pickard 33, P Ash 2-42, S Bailey 2-48, C Lewis 2-54, C Brewer 2-61).
Points: Crowcombe 25 Over Stowey 7.
Stoodleigh v
Brompton Ralph
STOODLEIGH had little difficulty in seeing off the challenge of Brompton Ralph on Saturday, winning by 71 runs.
The home side won the toss and elected to bat and at one stage were 99-6 off 31 overs but a seventh wicket stand of 65 between O Lloyd and W Miller enabled them to reach 201-8. Cavan Takle bowled well, taking 2-16 off 12 overs.
Brompton had a poor start, Paul Poole going for 2, but then a second wicket stand of 71 between Tom Gill and Shaun Lee lifted Brompton to 88-2. Wickets then started to fall and the innings folded and Brompton were all out for 130 in the 27th over.
Stoodleigh: 201-8 (O Lloyd 68 no, W Miller 57, J Cridland 18, C Takle 2-16, N Hill 2-47, J Lee 2-51).
Brompton Ralph: 130 (T Gill 39, S Lee 22, N Hill 17, W Miller 2-27, D Drew 2-31, A Pengalley 2-36).
Points: Stoodleigh 26, Brompton Ralph 8.
Division Two
Creech St Michael v Stogumber
STOGUMBER travelled to Creech St Michael to play the league leaders on Saturday and beat them by 58 runs.
Stogumber were put in on a wicket which gave variation of bounce all the game, particularly when the ball was hard. The loss of an early wicket brought Andy Jenkins in to join Les Biffen and they put on 70 before the latter was removed. Jimmy Rexworthy appeared to be unlucky to be caught 'six and out' before Jenkins and Simon Penny put on 81 to lift the score to 190 when Jenkins was bowled for a fine 78. Penny went on to finish with a good knock of 33 and lift the final total to 204-4.
Ten man Creech openers put on 60 before being parted in the 18th over by Tim Auton, who went on to bowl an excellent spell finishing with 4-18 off his 12 overs. When N Holley was dismissed for 41, the only serious threat came from home skipper Keith Piper, who was last man out for 35 off the bowling of Stuart Thorne, who finished with three wickets and should have had more. Stogumber's fielding sometimes varied from the good to the unusual with taking catches and then throwing the ball down and stopping the ball with the head being examples.
Stogumber: 204-4 (A Jenkins 78, L Biffen 38, S Penny 33 no).
Creech St Michael: 146 (N Holley 41, K Piper 35, D Plumridge 17, R Rossiter 16).
Points: Creech St Michael 6 Stogumber 26.
Carhampton v Bridgetown
BRIDGETOWN overcame fellow strugglers Carhampton by six wickets in this crucial bottom of the table clash on Saturday.
After winning the toss and batting first on what was a useful batting track the home side soon lost an early wicket but a second wicket partnership of 82 between C Milton and M Lovell put them in a good position at the halfway stage. Lovell then departed for 44 and another wicket soon followed before C Lewington (44 no) helped add an unbroken 76 with Milton, who carried his bat for an unbeaten 62. Carhampton ended on 185 from their 40 overs as the visiting bowlers struggled to breakthrough on a batsman friendly surface.
In reply, Bridgetown openers Miles Richards and Kenny Cross carried on their good form from last week to reach 109-0 from the first twenty overs. Cross was then dismissed for 51 by a good catch on the boundary and as Carhampton tightened things up three more quick wickets were lost. However, Richards was still there and he saw the visitors home with a superb 104 not out, a result that gives Bridgetown a massive boost in their bid to avoid the drop.
Carhampton: 185-3 (C Milton 62 no, C Lewington 44 no, M Lovell 44).
Bridgetown: 188-4 (M Richards 104 no, K Cross 51, R Bowkett 2-40).
Points: Carhampton 7 Bridgetown 22.
Winsford v Taunton Deane Crusaders
AFTER an excellent bowling display by Chris Carter had dismissed Crusaders for 91 Winsford's batting once again let them down and they lost by one run.
Batting first, Crusaders got off to a steady start with an opening partnership between C Axon (26) and Hughes (40) of 60. But the introduction of C Carter and T Matravers produced the demise of Crusaders as Carter went on to take seven wickets, including a hat-trick.
Winsford, in reply, were cruising at 72-3 but a huge collapse left them struggling and they ended up one run short with a very disappointing finish. Dave Willson top scored with 28.
Crusaders: 91 (Hughes 40, C Carter 7-24, T Matravers 2-20).
Winsford: 90 (D Willson 28, T Matravers 17, S How 16, Larkman 5-7).
Points: Winsford 7 Crusaders 23.
Division Three
Morebath v
Stoke St Mary
MOREBATH were in record breaking form on Saturday as they destroyed Stoke St Mary by 240 runs.
Morebath won the toss and batted first on a good wicket. Phil Venn and Steven Kelland took the visitors' bowling apart, putting on 132 in 17 overs, and when Venn was out Kelland was joined by Ian Hyde and they then put on a further 120. Kelland was eventually out for 172 in the 39th over, setting a new club record, with the final total of 313-5 being a club record in the league.
Stoke St Mary started poorly, losing wickets at regular intervals, with John Reed taking 4-24, backed up by Steven Fisher and Allan Burton. The visitors were all out in the 22nd over for a disappointing 73.
Morebath: 313-4 (S Kelland 172, I Hyde 57, P Venn 35).
Stoke St Mary: 73 (Penny 16, Willis 15, J Reed 4-24, S Fisher 2-9, A Burton 2-10).
Points: Morebath 26 Stoke St Mary 3.
Allerford v
West Monkton
THE Allerford bandwagon kept rolling along on Saturday when they had little difficulty in defeating West Monkton by six wickets.
West Monkton batted first and although they had batsmen who looked set for a big score this never materialised, partly through the home bowlers P Cuthbertson and R Southey, who each took three wickets.
E Striker and P Binding were both dismissed on reaching thirty.
R Rich was in fine form for Allerford when they replied and had scored 62 before being dismissed. There were other useful knocks to support him so that when Allerford reached the required total only four wickets had fallen.
West Monkton: 145-8 (E Striker 30, P Binding 30, D Packer 25, P Cuthbertson 3-27, R Southey 3-40).
Allerford: 147-4 (R Rich 62, L Taylor 23, D Richards 19 no, R Southey 17, J Biggers 2-42).
Points: Allerford 24 West Monkton 6.
Division Four
Brompton Ralph II v Crowcombe II
AN exciting game at Brompton on Sunday saw the result of the game depend on the last ball, and it was Crowcombe who just came out winners by one run.
Crowcombe batted first and reached 223-6, T Andrew (73) and Joe Bailey (43) being their main scorers and also sharing a 79 run fourth wicket partnership. Dave Summerside once again showed his class by taking 3-55 for Brompton.
In reply opener Mike Pollock scored 31 and then a 119 sixth wicket stand between A Milton (70) and Richard Norman (83) put the home side in a winning position but they lost momentum and with two balls left needed two sixes to win but Norman just failed by hitting one six and a four. S Parry was the pick of Crowcombe's bowlers with 4-35.
Crowcombe II: 223-6 (T Andrew 73, J Bailey 43, G Lamacraft 19, D Summerside 3-55, R Disney 2-34).
Brompton Ralph II: 222-8 (R Norman 83 no, A Milton 70, M Pollock 31, S Parry 4-35, P Rexworthy 2-42).
Points: Crowcombe 25 Brompton Ralph 8.
Cutcombe v
Hinkley Point
A CLOSE fought game saw Cutcombe just lose out to Hinkley Point by four wickets on Saturday with just two overs remaining.
Asked to bat Cutcombe batted well down the order with most batsmen contributing. The top knock was from opener L Baker (40) and a fine 48 from P Webber. D Hill was top bowler for Hinkley returning 3-29 off 12 overs.
In reply, Hinkley made a steady start but regularly lost wickets. Again the tight bowling of P Webber (3-38) kept Hinkley in check to the degree that with 15 overs remaining they still required 95 runs. With their sixth wicket falling Dave Hill came in to partner Simon Turner, who together gave a fine display of patience and hard hitting to guide Hinkley to victory with two overs remaining.
Cutcombe: 169-7 (P Webber 48, L Baker 40, P Webber 3-38).
Hinkley Point: 170-6 (S Turner 42 no, D Hill 42 no, J Cock 34, D Hill 3-29, S Britton 2-37, L Latty 2-62).
Points: Cutcombe 8 Hinkley Point 24.
Stogumber II v
Dulverton
DULVERTON travelled to Stogumber and came away with an impressive 159 run win.
Openers C Hooper and J Ellerby laid the foundations for Dulverton's massive 311 total by putting on 127 for the first wicket. When Hooper was caught for a boundary filled 76 (14 fours and one six) and Ellerby was bowled the next over Stogumber looked to be back in the game but with all the Dulverton middle order contributing quick runs they passed the 300 mark in the 40th over, for the loss of seven wickets, four of which A Godfrey claimed for 88 runs.
Despite the efforts of M Hole (32), M Rawle (24) and R Hayes (32) the Stogumber batsmen failed to get close to Dulverton's 311 and were all out in the 34th over for 152. W Bircham, A Smith and R Irwin all took two wickets apiece.
Dulverton: 311-7 (C Hooper 76, J Ellerby 38, M Drewer 35, M Blake 33, A Godfrey 4-88).
Stogumber: 152 (M Hole 32, R Hayes 32, A Smith 2-22, R Irwin 2-30, W Bircham 2-35).
Points: Stogumber 8 Dulverton 26.
Division Five
Timberscombe II v North Newton II
AN enjoyable game saw Timberscombe II overcome North Newton II by 41 runs.
Ian Snell gave Timberscombe an ideal start with a positive 37 in good time in an opening stand of 78. Richard Smith then joined Bruce Lang in a stand of 75 and when Lang was dismissed for 62 in the 29th over, the total was 153 and a score well in excess of 200 looked possible. But North Newton stuck to their task well and restricted the final total to 194 with Smith unbeaten on 36.
When North Newton replied, Dave Chilcott took two early wickets to leave the visitors struggling on 5-2. T Bradford and G Luxon led a recovery with 21 and 28 respectively but with Maurice Huxtable taking three wickets and the visitors on 108-7 all seemed over. However C Jones was getting into his stride and with three sixes put the visitors back into the frame and Timberscombe were relieved when Lang and Snell combined to run him out for an excellent 58. The end came swiftly with North Newton dismissed for a creditable 153. Young James Snell bowled a disciplined spell at the death of 7 overs, 2 for 16, just when it was needed.
Timberscombe II: 194-6 (B Lang 62, I Snell 37, R Smith 36 no, B Tozer 3-41).
North Newton II: 153 (C Jane 58, G Luxon 28, T Bradford 21, M Huxtable 3-51, J Snell 2-16, D Chilcott 2-25, C Stonier 2-52).
Points: Timberscombe 26 North Newton 8.
Brompton Ralph III v Taunton Cavaliers
THERE were nearly three overs remaining when Taunton Cavaliers passed Brompton's total on Saturday to win by five wickets.
Brompton batted first and Roy Takle and Mike Wright put on 115 in 20 overs before Wright was out for 56. Only three other batsmen reached double figures as the home side failed to accelerate and they finished on 203-9 after their 40 overs. S Glover was top wicket taker finishing with 3-44.
P Daw and R Parkinson gave Cavaliers a solid start reaching 117 in 23 overs when Daw was caught for 69. Parkinson went on to score 70 and with the middle order scoring steadily Cavaliers reached the required total without too many problems.
Brompton Ralph III: 203-9 (M Wright 56, R Takle 44, G Fitt 23, S Glover 3-44, A Yarde 2-38, M Lockyear 2-56).
Taunton Cavaliers: 206-5 (R Parkinson 70, P Daw 69, A Yarde 18, C Welsh 2-40).
Points: Brompton Ralph 7 Taunton Cavaliers 25.
Nuclear Electric
Cup Final
Allerford v Cavaliers
THE final of the Nuclear Electric Cup took place at Brompton Ralph last Monday evening, Allerford winning by 9 wickets.
Because of the late arrival of Allerford Cavaliers were given the choice of batting or bowling and decided to bat first. Progress against the Allerford opening attack was slow, although the wides bowled helped to keep the scoreboard ticking over. P Twose and A Mardon tried to lift the scoring rate but then Ian Cape came on and bowled well to take 2-19. Cavaliers eventually reached 112-7 after their 18 overs with P Cuthbertson taking 3-30 for Allerford.
Allerford's openers S Howard and L Taylor got off to a flying start and were always well up with the required rate. Wides also appeared regularly in the score book from the Cavaliers' bowlers and although Taylor was dismissed for 41 Howard was still at the crease when the winning runs were hit with still plenty of overs in hand.
For his captaincy and 42 no Steve Howard was chosen as the man of the match.
Cavaliers: 112-7 (P Twose 22 A Mardon 18, P Cuthbertson 3-30, I Cape 2-19, P Matravers 2-28).
Allerford: 114-1 (S Howard 42 no, L Taylor 41).