Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Penn (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (158-9) lost to Penn (159-8) by 2 wickets.
Batting: T. Whitney 66, M. Spence 29, P. Thompson 25.
Bowling: S. Caine 5-48, A. Leather 2-15.
Saturday saw Bridgnorth First XI go down at home to Penn as they lost by two wickets in the last over.
After wining the toss, Bridgnorth batted very steadily, perhaps a little too cautiously, against an accurate bowling attack. Tom Whitney revealed his talent with a well constructed 65, well supported by Murray Spence and Pete Thompson with 29 and 25 respectively. A total of 158-9 after 55 overs was disappointing, but challenging.
In reply Penn appeared to be cruising to victory at 121-3, despite some splendid spin bowling from the evergreen Stephen "Kip" Caine. The belated introduction of Andy Leather sparked both a flurry of wickets and the drying up of the scoring, such that Penn found themselves 8 wickets down with 15 runs wanted. Unfortunately a breakthrough was not forthcoming, and Penn edged home. A quite excellent spell from Caine 5-48 from 23 overs, with Leather taking 2-15. Four points for Bridgnorth was scant return for an encouraging performance.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Himley (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (160-9) lost to Himley (162-2) by 8 wickets.
Batting: M. Turner 43, E. Mullard 22.
Bowling: I. Lock 1-24.
Bridgnorth Seconds fell to an 8 wicket defeat away to a strong Himley team on Saturday.
Batting first the visitors were soon struggling as they stumbled to 52-4. A middle order revival led by Matt Turner (43) with support from Matt Martin and caretaker captain Eddie Mullard (22) gave Bridgnorth some hope as they finished on 160-9 off 50 overs.
In reply Himley seemed in a rush to finish as they raced to 162-2 off just 32.4 overs. A positive for Bridgnorth was Ian Lock with 1-24 as he made another step forward in his return from injury.
Bridgnorth CC 3rd XI v Church Aston (Away)
Bridgnorth 3rd XI (140) lost to Church Aston (142-8) by 2 wickets.
Batting: G. Lewis 39, D. James 21.
Bowling: G. Lewis 2-38, D. James 3-28.
Bridgnorth 3rd XI played away at Church Aston on Sunday in a rearranged league match but came out second best in a close game losing by 2 wickets.
The visitors batted first but were soon in trouble as the top order fell away leaving the score on 43-4. Greg Lewis (39) together with Dev James (21) started the repair work and Bridgnorth eventually got themselves up to 140 all out in 38.4 overs.
In a tightly fought contest Church Aston kept their nerve as they crept past the required total getting 142-8 after 41 overs. For Bridgnorth Greg Lewis (2-38) and Dev James (3-28) completed fine all round performances.
This result leaves Bridgnorth struggling at the foot of the table and it will be a tense last few games to see if they can remain in the division.
Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Newport (Away)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (188-5) beat Newport (187) by 5 wickets.
Batting: I. Gregory 63, P. Thompson 56*, G. Mumford 29*.
Bowling: M. Spence 3-42, A. Leather 3-43, S. Whitney 3-51.
The First team were in league action again on Bank Holiday Monday and at a traditionally difficult venue Bridgnorth at last gave a team performance to be proud of beating Shropshire rivals Newport by 5 wickets.
On a tricky surface, Bridgnorth lost the toss, and were asked to field. A wicket from the first ball of the innings may have been a good omen, but at 161-4, Bridgnorth could have been in some trouble. However, a tremendous team effort both in bowling and fielding - great catches by wicket keeper Gareth Mumford and Peter Thompson, meant that Newport were all out for 187. Murray Spence finished with 3-42, Andy Leather with 3-43, and Sam Whitney 3-51 off 18 overs.
Bridgnorth's reply stuttered, and at 52-4 the omens were not good. Ian Gregory though played a very mature and thoroughly responsible opener's innings. Well supported by Pete Thompson, they constructed a match winning partnership of 97, before Gregory was out for an excellent 63. There was still a lot to do, but Thompson continued his welcome return to form, and joined by Gareth Mumford, who played an extremely positive innings, Bridgnorth cantered home with 4 overs to spare. Thompson finished with 56 not out and Mumford with 29 not out.
The threat of relegation still looms, but with performances like this from Bridgnorth, anything is possible!
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Kenilworth Wardens (Home)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (143-9) had a losing draw against Kenilworth Wardens (204-5).
Batting: A. O'Connor 59.
Bowling: S. Caine 2-72, I. Baldwin 1-, G. Baldwin 1-, N. Johnson 1-.
Bridgnorth 2nds completed a disappointing Bank Holiday with a losing draw at home to Kenilworth Wardens on Monday.
Batting first, the visitors posted a tough target as they amassed 204-5 off their 50 overs. For Bridgnorth Steve Caine followed his Saturday success with 2-72 and there was a wicket apiece for Ian Baldwin, Graham Baldwin and Neil Johnson.
Chasing down such a total required a solid base and thanks to a patient 59 from wicket keeper batsman Andy O'Connor the score reached 85-2 off 30 overs. Unfortunately for the home side in the quest for quick runs wickets fell at important times and they were left hanging on at the end on 143-9 for the draw.
