WITH the longest day fast approaching, all of the six Minehead cricket teams were in action over the past weekend.

Saturday saw the First XI enjoy an impressive win on the road at Shapwick and Polden, a separate report of which will appear elsewhere, the Second XI lost out to Middlezoy while the Third XI recorded a victory against Over Stowey.

On Friday evening Minehead Under 13s lost out to Ilminster, on Sunday the Under 11s were beaten by Taunton Deane, while the Under 15s beat their Taunton CC counterparts away from home.

Minehead Seconds hosted Middlezoy First XI in Division 3 of the Somerset Cricket League and after winning the toss and choosing to bat first the visitors made 193 all out in 39 overs, of which the ever reliable Nathan Barnard top scored with 68.

Pick of the Minehead attack were Logan Harrison who ended with 3 for 24 from his 8 overs, 1 of which was a maiden, and Ben Cobb who claimed 3 for 41 from his 8.

When the home team batted they fell just short and were bowled out for 178 in 39 overs, Brendon Rawle top scoring with 76, Dan Pawson hit 24 and Oli Ahern made 19.

In Division 3 of the West Somerset Cricket League, top of the table Minehead Third XI were at home to Over Stowey who opted to bat first and were bowled out for 54 in 16.2 overs.

Renjeesh Krishnan was the bowler doing the damage ending with 5 for 13 from his 7 overs, 2 of which were maidens, while young Josh Dyer claimed 3 for 6 from his 1.2 overs.

The home side also found runs hard to come by and in reply reached 57 for 5 in the 13th over, thanks to Finlay Penny who top scored with 17, G Varghese Pulikkottil made 15 and Krishnan remained unbeaten on 12.

On Friday evening Minehead Under 13s hosted Ilminster in TDYCL who batted first and posted 126 for 6, Heath L taking 3 for 16. In reply the hosts reached 75 for 7 from their 20 overs, Harry B top scoring with 22.

On Sunday the Under-15 side produced an impressive all-round performance to claim victory over Taunton.

Batting first, after captain Logan elected to field, the hosts were immediately put under pressure as Harry P struck in the opening over. Minehead maintained tight control throughout the innings, with wickets shared around the team. Harry added a second to his tally, Logan picked up two, while Ben and Heath also chipped in with a wicket apiece.

The visitors were sharp in the field, with Ben and Fin taking notable catches, and every player contributed with the ball in a disciplined display. Taunton battled well to post a competitive total of 125 from their 20 overs.

In reply, Minehead faced some accurate bowling early on, which kept scoring in check. Openers Ben and Logan dug in to steady the innings before the rest of the side built momentum as the chase progressed.

Heading into the closing stages, the match was finely balanced, with Minehead needing 11 runs from the final two overs. Josh then hit a boundary in the 19th over to seal victory with two balls remaining.

This was an excellent contest between two well-matched teams, with Minehead showing determination and teamwork to come out on top.