Division One

Brompton Ralph v Wyvern Saints

WYVERN Saints' total was just out of Brompton's reach on Saturday as the home side finished 22 short.

Wyvern batted first and nearly all their batsmen scored runs. At the twenty over stage they were on five an over and they then increased that to six an over for the remaining 20 overs. T Everitt and J Rouse reached the forties and R Cross was undefeated on 27 as the Saints closed on 227-7. J Lee was the pick of Brompton's bowlers with 3-43.

Brompton started well through Tom Gill and Roy Takle and when Takle went for 31 the home side were on 47-2 off 8 overs, up with the required rate. The scoring rate then dropped a little, including a patient 53 in 24 overs by John Lee, and although Mark Lawrence, S Lee and Nathan Hill all got in the twenties Brompton were too far behind the required rate and closed on 205-7.

Wyvern Saints: 227-7 (T Everitt 45, J Rouse 42, R Cross 27 no, J Lee 3-43, S Lee 2-49).

Brompton Ralph: 205-7 (J Lee 53 no, R Takle 31, M Lawrence 25, R Cross 3-34).

Points: Brompton Ralph 8 Wyvern Saints 24.

Timberscombe

v Fitzhead

THERE was just one over remaining when the last Fitzhead wicket fell on Saturday, with the visitors still 47 runs adrift.

As usual Timberscombe lost the toss and were asked to bat on a wicket giving a bit of help to the bowlers throughout. At 47-4 off 16 overs, caused mainly by the pace bowling of Darren Burns, Timberscombe seemed to be faltering, but a superb recovery was initially led by Adrian Priddle (47) and then James McGuinness (54 no), sharing a partnership of 97. The tempo was increased throughout the innings, aided by some poor Fitzhead outfielding giving away overthrows.

Fitzhead's reply never really got off the ground as only 12 runs came off the first 10 overs for the loss of two wickets. Keith Graddon caused the initial breakthrough but when Nick Virgin was brought on the innings fell away completely as he took five wickets for 18 runs off 12 overs. A flurry of runs from I Gummer (39) at the end could not prevent Timberscombe from completing their victory.

Timberscombe: 184-6 (J McGuinness 54 no, A Priddle 47, D Burns 3-39).

Fitzhead: 137 (I Gummer 39, N Virgin 5-18).

Points: Timberscombe 26 Fitzhead 7.

Huish Champflower v Timberscombe

A LATE flurry of runs from Huish Champflower swung the game in their favour to beat Timberscombe by 3 wickets on July 22 at Huish.

Timberscombe lost the toss and were asked to bat on a wicket giving a lot of help to the new ball and then becoming docile later on. Timberscombe started slowly but gradually increased the tempo as the innings went on. All the batsmen made an impression, particularly Ian Goodrum (53) at the start and the Tango 111 boys Adrian Priddle (37) and James McGuinness (38) later on.

In reply Huish lost wickets at a steady rate against the accurate bowling of Nick Virgin and Keith Graddon and with 29 needed off the last three overs Timberscombe were in the driving seat. Dave Buckingham (80 no) however turned the game by hitting 24 runs off the 38th over, after a very patient innings up to that point, to claim victory with an over to spare, although V Scott bowled well for Timberscombe to finish with 4-63.

Timberscombe: 194 (I Goodrum 53, J McGuinness 38, A Priddle 37, D Pursey 3-50, D Buckingham 3-53).

Huish Champflower: 195-7 (D Buckingham 80 no, V Scott 4-63).

Points: Huish Champflower 26 Timberscombe 8.

Division Two

Stogumber v

Deane Crusaders

STOGUMBER maintained their good form on Saturday at home to Deane Crusaders when they won by six wickets with still seven overs remaining.

Crusaders were invited to bat and this decision soon proved correct as they slumped to 25-4 by the twelfth over with Jimmy Rexworthy claiming three of the wickets to fall. Then a stand of 79 between B Jeffrey (48) and B Larkman (29) brought the total up to a more respectable 104 but on breaking through wickets began falling again and only a gritty knock by P Warren of 24 got the final total up to 154. All five Stogumber bowlers had some success with Andy Jenkins claiming the last two wickets in two balls.

Stogumber didn't get off to the best of starts losing their first wicket with the score on 12 but then Les Biffen was joined by Andy Jenkins and they put on 66 before Biffen 'sacrificed' himself and was run out. Jenkins then had partnerships of 43 and 31 with Rexworthy and Simon Penny but was out for 73 just two runs short of victory, which was achieved the following ball.

Deane Crusaders: 154 (B Jeffrey 48, B Larkman 29, P Warren 24, J Rexworthy 3-31, A Jenkins 2-7, T Auton 2-47).

Stogumber: 156-4 (A Jenkins 73, J Rexworthy 39, L Biffen 22).

Points: Stogumber 26 Deane Crusaders 7.

Bridgetown v Exford

BRIDGETOWN'S recent good form continued with a comfortable 81 run victory over local rivals Exford on Saturday.

After being put into bat Bridgetown got off to another solid start, the openers sharing a partnership of 60 before the first wicket was lost in the 18th over. Trevor and Greg Howard then each added 21 to give good support to Miles Richards, who carried his bat for a fine 74 no — his fourth successive 70-plus score. This enabled the home side to reach the competitive total of 169-3, while for the visitors Will Sherring claimed 2-52.

In their innings Exford never recovered from losing a wicket in the first over with only Paul Skinner showing any sort of form in his 30. They slumped to a final total of 87 all out with swing bowlers Tom Gliddon (5-19) and Bob Matravers (4-38) bowling well.

Bridgetown: 168-3 (M Richards 74 no, T Howard 21, G Howard 21, W Sherring 2-52).

Exford: 87 (P Skinner 30, T Gliddon 5-19, B Matravers 4-38).

Points: Bridgetown 26 Exford 2.

Division Three

Stoke St Mary v

Allerford

LEAGUE leaders Allerford met middle of the table Stoke St Mary on Saturday and once again they showed the difference in class by winning by 10 wickets.

Stoke batted first and struggled all through their innings against the bowling of R Southey, P Matravers and M Gunn, with only J Mayed and D Parsons getting in the twenties as they were all out for 101.

This total never looked like causing Allerford too much trouble and so it proved as L Taylor (54 no) and S Howard (42 no) took their side to 107 without loss and victory.

Stoke St Mary: 101 (J Mayed 26, D Parsons 23 no, R Southey 3-30, P Matravers 2-14, M Gunn 2-32).

Allerford: 107-0 (L Taylor 54 no, S Howard 42 no).

Points: Stoke St Mary 2 Allerford 26.

Division Four

Dulverton v

Brompton Ralph II

DULVERTON easily beat Brompton Ralph II at home on Saturday, just losing one wicket to achieve the winning score.

Dulverton won a good toss and invited Brompton to bat and the visitors never looked happy, only two of their batsmen getting into double figures. They were all out for 63 in the 32nd over with D Stone having an inspired spell of five wickets for four runs off four overs.

Although Dulverton lost a wicket with the score on 4 D Stone (43 no) and J Ellerby (14no) knocked off the runs in just over 13 overs.

Brompton Ralph II: 63 (A Taylor 19, D Stone 5-4, C Rowe 3-12, R Irwin 2-4).

Dulverton: 64-1 (D Stone 43 no).

Points: Dulverton 26 Brompton Ralph 0.

Crowcombe II v Stogumber II

THE 'wooden spoon' appears to await one of these two local rivals and it was the home side who helped their cause with a 38 run victory.

Put into bat Crowcombe openers G Lamacraft (41) and P Power put on 55 before being parted and a maiden 50 for A Hay and a rapid 20 from M Blake saw the home side achieve their target of in excess of 200, finally closing their 40 overs on 202-9. Young S Hayes was the pick of the visitors' bowlers taking 3-27 from 7 overs.

In reply Stogumber were always behind the required run rate and when opener M Hole was out for 49 the visitors were then chasing a lost cause. M Rawle (40 no) ensured maximum batting points but time ran out and they finished on 164-7, at least denying Crowcombe maximum bowling points. A Hay rounded off a fine day by taking 3-37 from his 12 overs.

Crowcombe II: 202-9 (A Hay 50, G Lamacraft 41, M Blake 20, S Hayes 3-27).

Stogumber II: 167-7 (M Hole 49, M Rawle 40 no, A Hay 3-37, J Andrews 2-26).

Points: Crowcombe II 24 Stogumber II 9.

Division Five

Pitminster v

Timberscombe II

IN a match where the pitch ensured that the odds were stacked against the batsmen, Timberscombe II won at Pitminster by 5 wickets.

After being put into bat, Pitminster lost a wicket in the first over and were always struggling. Although at one stage being 30-2, once S Ellett was dismissed for 12 (the only batsman to get into double figures) the rest of the innings folded to the bowling of Dave Chilcott and Chris Stonier with the home side being all out for 48 after 21 overs — Chilcott finishing with 6-21 and Stonier 4-19.

Given the conditions, this modest target was going to be a challenge — and so it proved. Timberscombe lost a wicket in the third over, and then Ian Snell battled hard, surviving a blow to the head, until he was undone by yet another 'lifter'. Richard Smith joined Bruce Lang and they edged towards the total before Smith was well caught. Roger Andrews took three quick wickets but Dave Chilcott completed a good day by hitting the winning runs in the 23rd over with Lang carrying his bat for a defiant 19 not out.

Pitminster: 48 (D Chilcott 6-21, C Stonier 4-19).

Timberscombe II: 49-5 (B Lang 19 no, R Andrews 3-3).

Points: Pitminster 2 Timberscombe II 23.

Minehead A v

Taunton Shadows

MINEHEAD A had a comfortable 71 run victory over Taunton Shadows at home on Saturday.

After electing to bat, Minehead got off to a sound start but when the openers were out the day belonged to Steve Smith with a solid 51. All top six made useful contributions for a useful score of 152-9.

In reply, S Smith removed Shadows' top three batsmen for no runs. Only R Parkinson with a classy 31 and a useful knock from R Lockyer got them to 81. Young Joel Baker took one of the last wickets to fall, his first in the league.

Minehead A: 152-9 (S Smith 51, K Welsher 25, C Clark 18, A Smith 15, S Smith 4-25, C Clark 2-25, B Hamblin 2-16).

Taunton Shadows: 81 (R Parkinson 31, R Lockyear 18, A Yarde 4-60, D Oaten 3-29).

Points: Minehead A 26 Taunton Shadows 5.

Brompton Ralph III v Stoke St Mary

IN a game which lasted a total of only 52 overs, Brompton beat Stoke St Mary at home by five wickets on Sunday.

Stoke St Mary elected to bat and were on 56 before they lost their first wicket and on 95-2 after 20 overs, looking likely to reach a good total. But then a collapse began and they were all out for 120 in the 32nd over. Robert Dickens (3-3) and Dane Gilbert (2-27) did most of the damage with the ball.

Brompton lost their first wicket with the score on 10 but then 13 year olds Dane Gilbert (45) and Graham Fitt (47) scored well for the home side and Brompton passed the visitor's total in the 21st over with five wickets down.

Stoke St Mary: 120 (D Hudson 30, M Collins 28, D Parsons 27, R Dickins 3-3, D Gilbert 2-27).

Brompton Ralph: 124-5 (G Fitt 47, D Gilbert 45, R Dickins 15, Finchett 2-29, D Hudson 2-46, R Hineston 1-22).

Points: Brompton Ralph III 24 Stoke St Mary 5.