Division One

Fitzhead v

Brompton Ralph

FITZHEAD won the toss and elected to bat and with most of their batsmen in fine form amassed 247 for the loss of six wickets.

They were on 81-2 after 20 overs and with Lawrence Burns scoring a hard hit 65 no, which included seven sixes, the home side scored 57 off the last five overs. Cavan Takle (3-54) was the pick of the Brompton bowlers.

Brompton's innings started disastrously, losing a wicket off the first ball when Darren Burns bowled Paul Poole. Burns had his tail up from then on as he went on to claim 6-42 as the visitors gave a poor display of batting, Tom Gill top scoring with 18.

Maurice Burns also bowled well to take 3-29 off his 10 overs.

Fitzhead: 247-6 (L Burns 65 no, J Soden 43 no, M Burns 34, C Takle 3-54, P Power 2-45).

Brompton Ralph: 84 (T Gill 18, A Price 16, D Burns 6-52, M Burns 3-29).

Points: Fitzhead 26 Brompton Ralph 4.

Division Two

Winsford v Stogumber

WINSFORD came up against the in form Stogumber at home on Saturday and found the bowling and the variable bounce of the wicket too much and eventually lost by seven wickets.

Things started badly for Winsford by losing the toss and being invited to bat and soon got worse when James How was bowled by a long distance shooter with the score on 12. Chris Carter steadily worked his way to 21 before being one of Brian Penny's four victims, Penny bowling with real pace at times. Terry Matravers offered some later resistance with 28 but Tim Auton came on and claimed five of the last six wickets to fall at a cost of 24 runs with the home side being all out for 101.

Stogumber's openers knew no risks need be taken early on and at the 20 over stage they were still at the crease with 48 on the board, although D Phippen bowled well without any luck. Les Biffen went for 27 but Cliff Matravers batted solidly only to be dismissed by another Matravers with victory just two runs away. Andy Jenkins was undefeated on 26 when the winning runs were scored with Stogumber having lost three wickets.

Winsford: 101 (T Matravers 28 C Carter 21, T Auton 5-24, B Penny 4-22).

Stogumber: 104-3 (C Matravers 40, L Biffen 27, A Jenkins 26 no).

Points: Winsford 3 Stogumber 26.

Exford v Carhampton

EXFORD showed no mercy to struggling Carhampton on Saturday as they beat then by 133 runs, M Sherring's bowling doing nearly all the damage.

Exford batted first and a 58 run stand between A Webster (36) and R Webster (24) gave them a good start, which was backed up well by K Atkins' 44. Useful knocks from Long and Skinner enabled the home side to reach 181-9 at the end of their 40 overs. Mat Lovell and Craig Lewington both claimed three wickets.

Carhampton had no answer to the bowling of M Sherring who finished with 7-25. Paul Skinner gave him useful support finishing with 3-14 as Carhampton were all out for just 48.

Exford: 181-9 (K Atkins 44, A Webster 36, R Webster 24, M Lovell 3-32, C Lewington 3-51, M Collinson 2-53).

Carhampton: 48 (M Sherring 7-25, P Skinner 3-14).

Points: Exford 26 Carhampton 4.

Crusaders v Bridgetown

BRIDGETOWN'S winning run continued as they won a close game against Crusaders by 31 runs on Saturday.

After winning the toss and batting first Bridgetown got off to an excellent start with openers Trevor Howard (41) and Miles Richards (61) adding 102 for the first wicket. However they then slumped to 141-8 with Mike Matravers and Roger Winchester being the only other batsmen to reach double figures. The lower order managed to raise the final total to 161-9 but leg-spinner M Warren bowled superbly to claim 7-47 to restrict the visitors to a disappointing total considering the start they had made.

Needing only four runs an over to win Crusaders lost a couple of early wickets but they looked to be in a good position at 88-2 before a fine spell of bowling by Bob Matravers (4-38) and Roger Winchester (3-27) saw them collapse to 130 all out, with excellent fielding backing up the bowlers.

Bridgetown: 161-9 (M Richards 61, T Howard 41, M Warren 7-47).

Crusaders: 130 (P Hannaford 29, P Twose 26, R Larkman 21, B Matravers 4-38, R Winchester 3-27, A Warburton 2-22).

Points: Crusaders 8 Bridgetown 26.

Division Three

Taunton A v Allerford

FORM was thrown out of the window when top of the league Allerford visited bottom side Taunton A on Saturday, the home side going on to win by 23 runs.

Taunton A batted first and their innings of 180-9 relied heavily on M Smith's 89, who received some support from A Carpenter (26) but little else. P Matravers bowled well to finish with 5-53.

Although several Allerford batsmen seemed to have set themselves for a large innings no one got any further than 30, P Hayes top scoring. S Howard and L Taylor had a useful partnership but both fell in the twenties. A Burgess did most of the damage with the ball taking 5-32.

Taunton A: 180-9 (M Smith 89, A Carpenter 26, S Case 18, P Matravers 5-53, T Howard 2-40, M Gunn 2-46).

Allerford: 157 (P Hayes 30, S Howard 27, L Taylor 24, D Richards 18, A Burgess 5-32, M Hastilow 3-37, M Gale 2-28).

Points: Taunton A 26 Allerford 9.

Division Four

Stogumber II v

Bagborough II

STOGUMBER II had a shock result over high flying Bagborough II at home on Saturday, beating them by 25 runs.

Stogumber batted first and had a very steady start from Mostyn Symes and Taffy Jenkins , scoring 49 runs by the half way point. However, the next 20 overs yielded 150 runs with skipper Keith Norcutt (41) and Andy Godfrey (39) being particularly severe on the visiting bowlers, backed up by useful knocks from Noddy Bryant and Joe Rose, the final total of 200-9 not being considered possible at one time. C Ritchie took three wickets for Bagborough at a cost of 57 runs, 48 of them coming in his last two overs.

Bagborough lost an early wicket but a second wicket stand took the score to 79 before young Steve Hayes claimed his second wicket. Although M Halliwell top scored for the match with 60 and C Morgan was undefeated on 30 the visitors could not put in the acceleration that was required and the home bowling was steady enough to restrict them to 175-5 at the close. Bryant also did well with the ball taking 3-40.

Stogumber II: 200-9 (K Norcutt 41, A Godfrey 39, D Jenkins 21, M Symes 18, D Bryant 18, J Rose 17, C Ritchie 3-57, P Nicholls 2-49).

Bagborough II: 175-5 (M Halliwell 60, C Morgan 35 no, R Overton 25, P Redford 18, D Bryant 3-40, S Hayes 2-36).

Points: Stogumber II 23 Bagborough II 9.

Brompton Ralph II v Bishops Hull II

THERE were only four balls to go when Brompton Ralph II hit the winning runs to beat Bishops Hull II by four wickets.

Bishops Hull batted first and the first five batsmen scored 30 plus with R Horwood and C Pipe top scoring with 40 each, enabling the visitors to reach 217-6 after their 40 overs. Alan Taylor and the old campaigner Dave Summerside took two wickets each.

Tom Acock (81) and Andy Milton (63) put on 154 for the first wicket in 27 overs to give Brompton and ideal start but the scoring rate dropped away to the extent that they needed 18 off the last three overs. This they achieved thanks to good knocks from Bill Butcher (16 no) and Dane Gilbert (17). E Welstead was the main wicket taker with 4-34.

Bishops Hull II: 217-6 (R Horwood 40, C Pipe 40 no, C Mancini 36, D Summerside 2-50, A Taylor 2-52).

Brompton Ralph II: 219-6 (T Acock 81, A Milton 63, D Gilbert 17, E Welstead 4-34, C Mancini 2-65).

Points: Brompton Ralph II 24 Bishops Hull II 8.

Division Five

Timberscombe v Stoke St Gregory

IN a fine match played in ideal conditions, both sides topped 200, with Timberscombe II just pipping Stoke St Gregory by 10 runs.

The home side decided to bat and Ian Snell and Bruce Lang gave them an ideal start with an opening stand of 84 in 17 overs before Snell was dismissed for a typically positive 42. Chris Stonier joined Lang in a stand of 87 that guaranteed setting a competitive total before he was brilliantly caught on the boundary for 45. It was left to Lang to guide the total past 200 and in so doing reached an unbeaten century.

Stoke replied positively from the start and despite losing both openers for 32, N White was undaunted and with good support from P Foley, C Pitman and R Dare kept the visitors on course as the match entered the final overs. Crucially White was run out going for a second run for a fine 70 and although they tried Stoke found the total just out of their reach. James Snell deserves mention for bowling eight disciplined overs when the run chase was in full flow.

Timberscombe II: 216-4 (B Lang 102 no, C Stonier 45, I Snell 42, C Pitman 2-59).

Stoke St Gregory 206-6 (N White 70, R Dare 34 no, P Foley 21, N Sollis 21, M Huxtable 2-37).

Points: Timberscombe II 24 Stoke St Gregory 7.

Bridgwater Dragons v Minehead A

TOP-of-the-table Bridgwater Dragons kept up their promotion challenge when they beat Minehead A by 6 wickets at home on Saturday.

Minehead won the toss and decided to bat on a perfect batting wicket. Openers Carl Clark and Alan Thomas put on 25 before Thomas was run out. After that only Clark (59) batted well with wickets falling regularly and the innings closed on 117.

Bridgwater batsmen started with a rush and had 44 on the board after nine overs only to be slowed down when B Hamblin took two wickets in his first over. They soon got back on the attack and hit the winning runs in the 23rd over with P Wright top scoring with 39. Hamblin was the pick of Minehead bowlers with 3-10.

Minehead: 117 (C Clark 59, S Gay 15, G Hake 4-37, R Seymore 4-32).

Bridgwater Dragons: 121 (P Wright 39, R Hake 30, G Hake 20, B Hamblin 3-10).

Points: Bridgwater Dragons 24 Minehead A 5.