Division One
Timberscombe v Roadwater
DIVISION One leaders Timberscombe sank Roadwater by eight wickets on Saturday.
Roadwater elected to bat on a wicket which look good for runs and despite losing wickets at fairly regular intervals they made good progress, scoring at around five an over throughout their innings.
Tim Harral (60no) carried his bat and anchored the innings, while Ben Bowman (27), Dave Hill (43) and Ben Brewer (29) scored more rapidly.
Timberscombe struggled to control the run rate with only one regular first team bowler - Gary Thorpe's 2-32 off 11 overs was the best of the day - and their fielding was well below their usual good standard, and the visitors were able to reach 210-7.
Timberscombe's reply started steadily then gradually accelerated as captain Paul Sparks (81) and Luke Taylor (79) produced a fine opening stand of 178 off only 29 overs.
All the Roadwater bowlers struggled with the damp ball after light rain at the start of the innings, and although both openers perished, the winning post was reached soon after in the 35th over.
Roadwater: 210-7 (T Harral 60no, D Hill 43, B Brewer 29, B Bowman 27, G Thorpe 2-32).
Timberscombe: 211-2 (P Sparks 81, L Taylor 79, T Brewer 2-59).
Points: Timberscombe 24 Roadwater 6.
Brompton Ralph v Crowcombe
BROMPTON Ralph convincingly beat Crowcombe by nine wickets on Saturday.
Crowcombe reached 148-9 from their 40 overs thanks largely to Chris Brewer's 55.
In reply, Brompton rattled up the required runs in only 17.2 overs, Paul Poole cracking 90 and Tom Gill an unbeaten 55.
Crowcombe: 148-9 (C Brewer 55, P Warne 27, J Baker 18, C Takle 3-28, P Power 2-30).
Brompton Ralph: 150-1 (P Poole 90, T Gill 55no).
Points: Brompton Ralph 26 Crowcombe 4.
Crowcombe v Stogumber
LOWLY Crowcombe played high-flying neighbours Stogumber on July 27, the result going to the form book, but only just.
Crowcombe batted first and lost a wicket to the first ball when Steve Hayes trapped Tyrone Ash lbw, and when the same bowler claimed the next wicket with the score on 17 the home side looked in trouble.
P Warne and Chris Brewer then had a stand of 48 but by the time the score had reached 86 five wickets had fallen.
Chris Lewis (36) hit the highest score of the innings, supported by a typical Martin Baker innings of 22 which included two 6s and two 4s, and the home side closed on 173-9.
Steve Hayes claimed three of the wickets to fall and Jimmy Rexworthy and Timmy Auton two each.
Stogumber also found the going difficult, losing two wickets by the time the score had reached 41. However opener Stuart Thorne was continuing his good form and with support from Rexworthy (29) the score had reached 120-4 when Thorne was out for 64.
Andy Fish looked like making a score but when Chris Brewer took out some of the middle order the pendulum started to swing in favour of Crowcombe.
However this only brought in Brian Penny and he kept Stogumber in the game with some lusty blows, and with two overs remaining and ten runs required he hit 15 off the first three balls to gain victory for his side. His score of 44 included six 6s.
Stuart Bailey bowled well to take 3-29 with Chris Brewer also claiming three.
Crowcombe: 173-9 (C Lewis 36, C Brewer 31, P Warne 23, M Baker 22, S Hayes 3-50, T Auton 2-34, J Rexworthy 2-38).
Stogumber: 178-8 (S Thorne 64, N Penny 44 no, J Rexworthy 29, A Fish 17, S Bailey 3-29, C Brewer 3-59, C Lewis 2-50).
Points: Crowcombe 9 Stogumber 25.
Stogumber v Over Stowey
STOGUMBER kept up their good form when they easily overcame Over Stowey at home on Saturday.
They batted first and lost their first wicket with the score on 49, followed eight runs later by their second.
Opener Stuart Thorne was joined by Andy Jenkins, making a rare appearance, and they added nearly 90 before Thorne was dismissed for 77.
Jenkins eventually fell for 88 and with the later batsmen adding to the score the home side's innings closed on 226-6.
S Easton was the pick of the Over Stowey bowlers with a well deserved 4-52.
Stowey made a disastrous start to their innings, losing their first three wickets without a run on the board, and they were soon 17-4 with Steve Hayes claiming three of the wickets to fall.
S Pickard was the only batsman to deal with the home bowlers, reaching 44 before being dismissed by off-spinner Simon Penny.
The tail collapsed and Stowey were dismissed for a poor 95 with Steve Hayes finishing with 3-15 and Brian Penny 3-25.
Stogumber: 226-6 (A Jenkins 88, S Thorne 77, S Easton 4-52).
Over Stowey: 95 (S Pickard 44, S Hayes 3-15, B Penny 3-25, S Penny 2-18).
Points: Stogumber 26 Over Stowey 5.
Division Two
Cannington v Bridgetown
DIVISION Two leaders Bridgetown scored a crushing 266-run at Cannington on Saturday.
They hit a massive 317-4 thanks to Paul Matravers with 93, Mike Sherring 77 and Kenny Cross 57.
Cannington could offer nothing in reply as Tom Gliddon had a hand in nine of the wickets to fall, taking 5-11 and holding four slip catches, and they were all out for 51.
Bridgetown: 317-4 (P Matravers 93, M Sherring 77, K Cross 57, D Jones 2-101).
Cannington: 51 ( T Gliddon 5-11, D Sherring 3-23).
Points: Cannington 2 Bridgetown 26.
Division Three
Over Stowey II v
Timberscombe II
TIMBERSCOMBE II secured their long-awaited first Division Three win of the season by 40 runs away to Over Stowey II.
After electing to bat, their openers - stand-in skipper Bruce Lang and Phil Hayes - struggled to survive the early overs from Hicks and Woodley with runs hard to come by.
Hayes was starting to get into full flow when he was caught for 21 with the total on 43, and Royston Ball joined Lang to continue the steady progress before both were dismissed, Lang for 43.
Nick Hill then gave the innings much-needed impetus with a quick 28 and Timberscombe closed on 148-6, Stowey skipper Hicks' excellent bowling being rewarded with 4-39.
Timberscombe got the ideal start when Stowey lost two batsmen without a run on the board, both clean-bowled by Chris Hill.
B Fowler and N Buller then constructed a dangerous partnership but were both dismissed by excellent running catches from Joseph Smith and Nick Hill.
J Chillingworth was threatening to swing the game Stowey's way until Chris Hill had him caught for 24, and with Hill taking wickets regularly and Dave Chilcott bowling 11 overs for just 27 runs, the writing was on the way for the home side.
It was fitting that victory was secured by Chris Hill, taking a caught and bowled - his sixth wicket - with 40 runs to spare.
Timberscombe II: 148-6 (B Lang 43, H Hill 28, P Hayes 21, N Hicks 4-39).
Over Stowey II: 108 (N Buller 32, J Chillingworth 24, B Fowler 16, C Hill 6-32, J Smith 2-21).
Points: Over Stowey II 5 Timberscombe II 25.
Carhampton v Knapp
CARHAMPTON fell short by 38 runs at home to Division Three leaders Knapp.
The visitors chose to bat on a good wicket and steady batting led by G Whelall (61) and J Wadham (30) allowed them to post a good score of 215-5.
Carhampton got off to a solid start in reply, and with the loss of Dan Gaydon for 24, Chris Milton (62) and John Tidboald (33) took the game to Knapp.
It wasn't until the 31st over that Milton was out, after which Roadwater slowly fell behind the required rate and despite some big hits from Dave Farmer they closed short on 177-5.
Knapp: 215-5 (G Whelall 61, J Wadham 30, D Gaydon 2-53).
Carhampton: 177-5 (C Milton 62, J Tidboald 33).
Points: Carhampton 7 Knapp 23.
Ashbrittle v Morebath
THIS high-scoring Division Three match saw Ashbrittle emerge the winners by 35 runs.
Morebath put the home side in on a good wicket and toiled away all afternoon against some aggressive batting, particularly from Ian Hoggart and Rob Williams, who both hit the bad ball to all parts of the ground.
Of the Morebath bowlers, only Steve Fisher and Dennis King emerged with any credit as Ashbrittle closed on 248-6, Williams having hit 69 and Hoggart 63.
In reply, Morebath made a bad start with Phil Venn out in the first over.
But a dropped catch then let Morebath off the hook and Steve Kelland took advantage of the pase to score 61 out of a stand of 76 with Andy Foxford.
However, after he was out no other batsman managed to produce a big innings, with only Dennis King (33) and Pete Lewis (26no) posing any threat and time ran out with Morebath on 213-7.
Ashbrittle: 248-6 (R Williams 69, I Hoggart 63, A Hill 26, S Dawson 2-71).
Morebath: 213-7 (S Kelland 61, D King 33, P Lewis 26no, R Williams 3-39, J Bradbury 2-37, A Hill 2-38).
Points: Ashbrittle 24 Morebath 8.
Division Four
Taunton Shadows v
Brompton Ralph II
ROBERT Dickens hit his first century for Brompton Ralph II as they easily beat Taunton Shadows by 165 runs.
He scored an unbeaten 101 out of Brompton's daunting 236-7 total.
In reply, Shadows had little answer to the Brompton bowling attack and were all out for only 71.
Thirteen-year-old Nathan Darlow, making his first appearance for the 2nd XI, took 3-12 off 3.4 overs.
Brompton Ralph II: 236-7 (R Dickens 101no, S Ridler 31, W Martin 20, R Lockyer 2-31, D Oaten 2-57, S Glover 2-64).
Taunton Shadows: 71 (N Darlow 3-12, A Price 2-11).
Points: Taunton Shadows 4 Brompton Ralph II 26.
Division Five
Crowcombe II v Ashbrittle II
THIRTEEN-year-old Jake Perry made an unbeaten 60 to steer bottom-of-the-table Crowcombe II to victory at home to Ashbrittle II.
The visitors elected to bat and after losing two early wickets K Prescott came in and, with support from I Regardsoe and I Harding, powered his way to 103 before being caught.
Ashbrittle finished on 191-7 with the cream of Crowcombe's bowlers another 13-year-old, Kevin Gulliford, who took 5-33 off eight overs.
In reply, Crowcombe made a steady start with Graham Lamacraft (31) and M Mason (52) creating the platform for an exciting finish.
Wickets fell in quick succession against the accurate bowling of J McIlwain, and at 120-7 it looked all over for Crowcombe.
However, young Jake stayed at the crease and showed a poise beyond his years to steer the side home in the penultimate with one wicket to spare.
Ashbrittle II: 191-7 (K Prescott 103, I Regardsoe 19, K Gulliford 5-33, P Power 2-47).
Crowcombe II: 193-9 (J Parry 60no, M Mason 52, G Lamacraft 31, J McIlwain 4-36, N Pitkin 3-59).
Points: Crowcombe II 24 Ashbrittle II 9.
Brompton Ralph III v
Wiveliscombe
WIVELISCOMBE stayed on track for promotion from Division Five with an 81-run win over Brompton Ralph III.
A knock of 70 from M Parsons led them to a 183-9 total despite the efforts of T Gilbert, who took 4-52.
In reply, only P Mullins with 49 and C Gilbert with 17 offered any real resistance as Brompton were bowled out for 102, Parsons completing a good performance by taking 4-35.
Wiveliscombe: 183-9 (M Parsons 70, R Hardy 26, R Stone 20, T Gilbert 4-52, M Wright 2-26).
Brompton Ralph III: 102 (P Mullins 49, C Gilbert 17, M Parsons 4-35, J Beale 3-44).
Points: Brompton Ralph III 6 Wiveliscombe 26.