Division One

Over Stowey v

Timberscombe

TIMBERSCOMBE, as in every game this season, lost the toss, but the outcome went in their favour by just 11 runs.

The visitors made steady progress and after 20 overs were on 87-1, thanks to a 83 stand between Paul Sparks and Paul Keal. Adrian Priddle then helped to increase the run rate but a steady loss of wickets kept the final total to a reasonable 199. Only Phil Rich bowled with any consistency and deserved his 4 wickets for 18 runs off 8 overs.

Over Stowey made a steady reply and were on 51-3 off 14 overs. But then Barry Buller and Phil Rich took control with a stand of 98 off 19 overs. The turning point came when skipper Andy Dyer had Phil Rich caught in the deep and then bowled Barry Buller next ball. Despite 26 from A Easton Timberscombe grabbed their chance and with some slick outfielding ran out the last two batsmen, only three balls remaining when the last wicket fell.

Timberscombe: 199-7 (P Keal 50, A Priddle 50, P Sparks 38, P Rich 4-18).

Over Stowey: 188 (P Rich 58, B Buller 45, A Dyer 3-30).

Points: Timberscombe 26 Over Stowey 8.

Brompton Ralph v Huish Champflower

BROMPTON'S final total was never going to be enough and so it proved, as Huish Champflower comfortably passed the required total with just over six overs remaining.

Brompton's batsmen could never get on top of the Huish bowling, although S and J Lee did their best. D Pursey (3-36 off 12 overs) was the pick of the Huish bowlers.

Knowing they didn't need a high run rate Huish paced themselves, with Phil Buckingham top scoring with 55, backed up by brother Dave with 26, and the victory post was passed with no major problems.

Brompton Ralph: 154-6 (J Lee 44, S Lee 23, D Pursey 3-36, P Buckingham 2-40).

Huish Champflower: 157-5 (P Buckingham 55, D Buckingham 26).

Points: Brompton Ralph 7 Huish Champflower 24.

Crowcombe v

Roadwater

CROWCOMBE'S poor form continued as Roadwater comfortably beat them at home on Saturday by 7 wickets.

Electing to bat Crowcombe slumped to 12-3 before Chris Brewer repaired some of the damage, only for Toby Brewer's three wickets left them reeling at 73-7. John Baker then hit an aggressive 39 (five 6s) before Bowman returned and immediately bowled him and ended with his last 10 overs yielding four wickets and only nine runs from the bat.

Chasing 139 Bas Bucknall got Roadwater off to a flyer and later David Hill shared an unbeaten partnership of 71 with Bowman who anchored the innings throughout, showing excellent concentration and shot selection.

Crowcombe: 139 (C Brewer 39, J Baker 39, B Bowman 4-21, T Brewer 3-44).

Roadwater: 140-3 (B Bowman 58 no, D Hill 34 no, S Bucknall 22).

Points: Crowcombe 5 Roadwater 26.

Division Two

Creech St Michael v Bridgetown

BRIDGETOWN visited Creech St Michael on Saturday and failed to score enough runs to cause the home side much problems and lost by 7 wickets.

Bridgetown batted first and were in trouble on 14-3 after 7 overs. Mike Matravers and Chris Sherring then put on 40 and then a late flurry of runs from Brian Mitchell and Darren Heard lifted the final total to 112.

Creech never found it easy to score quickly but the visiting bowlers couldn't break through to put themselves in with a chance of winning. M Holly held the innings together with a fine 52 no.

Bridgetown: 112 (B Mitchell 30, M Matravers 23, D Heard 16, N Holly 4-25).

Creech St Michael: 113-3 (M Holly 52).

Points: Creech St Michael 26 Bridgetown 4.

Winsford v Ashbrittle

WINSFORD at last found some form and on a soft wicket scored enough runs to beat Ashbrittle by 22.

Batting first, Winsford lost an early wicket, but then a stand of 120, helped by six dropped catches, between James How (71) and Dave Wilson (39) put the home side in the driving seat. When How was out Dan Phippen lifted the final score to 144, a useful score considering the conditions.

Ashbrittle made a steady start against some tight bowling, with J Bradbury (33) their main contributor. When the visitors tried to accelerate Fred Hayes and Andrew Blackmore each claimed four wickets to control the batsmen to the extent that they were all out for 122.

Winsford: 144-4 (J How 71, D Wilson 39, D Phippen 16 no, J Dawe 2-12).

Ashbrittle: 122 (J Bradbury 33, C Prescott 29, A Blackmore 4-17, F Hayes 4-39).

Points: Winsford 25 Ashbrittle 5.

Division Three

Morebath v Allerford

AS befits a top of the table clash this high scoring game proved close with Morebath beating Allerford by 20 runs.

Put into bat, Morebath got off to a bad start losing Kelland early, but Phil Venn and Ian Hyde put together a good stand. This was followed by a good knock from Andy Foxford and a well constructed 42 no from Kevin Kingdon which together helped the home side to 200-7. All the Allerford bowlers suffered as Morebath accelerated.

In reply Allerford got off to a sedate start and with Steve Howard holding the innings together and four other batsmen getting into the twenties, the visitors had hopes of a victory. Unfortunately for them their tail failed to wag, due largely to the bowling of Steve Kelland, who claimed 3-28, and Patrick Hyde, whose 10.2 overs only cost 21 runs.

Morebath: 200-7 (P Venn 52, K Kingdon 42 no, I Hyde 40, K A Foxford 21, P Cuthbertson 2-48, P Matravers 2-50).

Allerford: 180 (S Howard 42, P Hayes 34, R Southy 28, R Rich 25, P Matravers 24, S Kelland 3-28, K A Foxford 2-51).

Points: Morebath 26 Allerford 8.

Division Five

Timberscombe II v Brompton Ralph III

TIMBERSCOMBE still had 7 overs remaining and eight wickets in hand when they hit the winning runs home to Brompton Ralph III on Saturday.

Brompton batted first and totalled 146-7 with Roy Takle showing his class with a stylish 46 before being unfortunately run out, backed up by D Gilbert and K Grabham. C Stonier and D Cook both took three wickets for Timberscombe.

Timberscombe's I Snell was dropped off the first ball of the innings, which proved a bit expensive as he went on to score 96, being out with the scores level. He and Keith Storey had an opening stand of 99 in 22 overs to put Timberscombe on their way to an easy victory. Graham Fitt was the pick of Brompton's bowlers.

Brompton Ralph III: 146-7 (R Takle 46, D Gilbert 26, K Grabham 25, D Cook 3-19, C Stonier 3-43).

Timberscombe: 147-2 (I Snell 96, K Storey 37, G Fitt 2-31).

Points: Timberscombe 26 Brompton Ralph 5.

Minehead A v

North Newton

MINEHEAD'S bowlers proved too strong for North Newton as the visitors finished 48 short of the winning target at Minehead on Saturday.

Minehead lost an early wicket but then C Clark and K Welsher put on 54 for the second wicket and backed up by solid batting from the remainder of the team the home side finished on 154-9. S Best took 5-30 for North Newton.

North Newton lost a wicket first ball and never got going with the bat. Steve White was the only batsman to look comfortable against the Minehead attack, for whom Steve Smith bowled well to take 6-26.

Minehead A: 146-9 (C Clark 54, S Gay 15, S Best 5-30, Barnard 2-25).

North Newton: 98 (S White 30, C White 15, S Smith 6-26, C Clark 2-20).

Points: Minehead 25 North Newton 6.