Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Smethwick (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (199-9) had a losing draw against Smethwick (224-8).
Batting: P. Thompson 55, A. Unitt 53, G. Mumford 22*.
Bowling: S. Caine 5-100, A. Leather 2-22.
An entertaining encounter at home against a strong Smethwick side ended in a draw for Bridgnorth First Team on Saturday, who gained sufficient points to move out of the relegation zone.
Smethwick, who are pushing for promotion, batted first, and were very well placed at 98-0 after 25 overs. Bridgnorth skipper Andy Leather broke the partnership, and with Steve Caine again in fine form, wickets fell at regular intervals. Sam Whitney maintained the pressure, and at 180-8, the signs were good. However, a 9th wicket partnership of 44 in 5 overs pushed Smethwick to 224-8, Caine finishing with 5-100 & Leather 2-22.
This total looked a tall order for Bridgnorth, particularly when they were reduced to 42-4 after 18 overs. However, an excellent partnership of 108 in 20 overs between Andy Unitt (53) & Pete Thompson (55) put Bridgnorth right back in the game. Gareth Mumford (22*) & Matt Martin maintained the chase positively, but Mumford was left short of support as the late order failed again, and Bridgnorth settled for a draw at 199-9. With just two games left, Bridgnorth lie two points ahead of second bottom Evesham and it's all now in Bridgnorth's own hands.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Sutton Coldfield (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (161-9) had a losing draw against Sutton Coldfield (266-8).
Batting: M. Turner 74, S. Farquhar 30.
Bowling: N. Johnson 4-, A. O'Connor 1-, C. Goodwin-Tindall 1-, A. Carson 1-.
Bridgnorth second team made the long journey to Sutton Coldfield on Saturday where a weakened side were worked hard for a losing draw.
Batting first the hosts got off to an impressive start however Neil Johnson kept things tight at his end during his first spell. With the first three bowlers not making any inroads Captain Ed Mullard brought himself and the versatile Andy O'Connor on to bowl. Both players bowled in good areas to lower the run rate but it wasn't until after the drinks break that O'Connor got Bridgnorth their first wicket. This didn't stop Sutton though as they continued to dominate and the next wicket didn't fall until the 37th over when part time medium pacer Conor Goodwin-Tindall removed the other opening bat for 98. As Sutton's innings came to an end the re-introduction of Johnson ripped through much of the rest of the Sutton Coldfield line up to finish with four wickets. Left armer Andrew Carson also chipped in with one wicket. This left the hosts on a very daunting 266-8 off their 50 overs.
The Bridgnorth innings got off to the worst possible start as the top three batsmen were removed for very little. These wickets brought in Matt Turner who battled through the pain barrier to make a very important 74 and Stuart Farquhar who played his own game very well to make it to 30. However once those two were dismissed Bridgnorth crumbled again only to be saved by Mark Weston and Neil Johnson who not only saw Bridgnorth through to the losing draw but also achieved a useful batting point as Bridgnorth finished 161-9.
More application is required if Bridgnorth are to chase down totals and turn these losing draws into wins but this wasn't a bad performance considering the missing players.
Bridgnorth CC 3rd XI v Whitchurch (Home)
Bridgnorth 3rd XI (172) lost to Whitchurch (175-8) by 2 wickets.
Batting: E. Martin 68, L. Brown 20, H. Croft 23, D. Taylor 22.
Bowling: H. Croft 4-38, E. Lewis 2-21, L. Brown 1-.
An inexperienced Bridgnorth thirds played against Whitchurch third team on Saturday in a very tightly contested match between top and bottom of the table.
Bridgnorth batted first and a fantastic innings' from young opener Ed Martin (68) and other opener Liam Brown, getting 20, gave the base for a good total. A mid innings stutter was then halted by Harry Croft making his debut with 23 and then later Dan Taylor, also on Saturday debut, with 22. Bridgnorth finished their innings on a competitive 172 all out.
Whitchurch then began their reply poorly with Ed Lewis taking a wicket in the first over and finishing with figures of 2-21 whilst Liam Brown completed a good all-round performance with a wicket and a run out. Harry Croft showed his all-round potential as he came on to complete a brilliant debut taking 4-38. In a tense finish, Whitchurch chased down the total with five overs and just two wickets to spare on 175-8 which leaves Bridgnorth needing to collect a large amount of points from their last three games to avoid relegation.
Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Bronze (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (155-3) beat Bronze (151) by 7 wickets.
Batting: M. Spence 60*, A. Whitby 44, C. Goodwin-Tindall 17*.
Bowling: G. Edwards 4-7, S. Pitt 2-24, E. Lewis 2-29.
Bridgnorth Sunday 1st XI finally clicked into gear last weekend as they stormed to an impressive 7 wicket victory at home to high flying Bronze in the Sunday League.
The visitors won the toss and opted to bat first but were soon in trouble as exciting prospect Ed Lewis (2-29) led the way in an opening bowling spell which deserved more rewards. On a wicket which was batsman friendly Bronze recovered well and at 96-3 at the 20 over stage a total of over 200 was in the offing. The introduction of Sunday specialist Glenn Edwards changed the face of the game as a spell of 4-7 saw the away side slump from 134-4 to 151 all out. Paceman Simon Pitt (2-24) also picked up a couple of late scalps.
Bridgnorth's reply started in positive fashion with opener Al Whitby leading the way with a stylish 44 but at 98-3 there was still some work required. The result was never really in doubt though as South African Murray Spence (60*) found some welcome batting form and together with Conor Goodwin-Tindall (17*) guided the hosts home finishing on 155-3 with 7 overs still remaining in the game.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Bronze (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (273-5) beat Bronze (184-5) by 89 runs.
Batting: M. Martin 103, N. Johnson 90, J. Jones 29, M. Weston 21*.
Bowling: M. Weston 1-. I. Lock 1-, H. Davies 1-.
Bridgnorth 2nd XI continued their good form on Sundays, as they outplayed Bronze seconds on their own patch in a fairly one sided match.
In a game played in great spirits Bridgnorth won the toss and elected to bat first. Josh Jones batting at 3 got the innings off to a flyer as he smashed 29 off just 13 balls. However Bridgnorth looked in a little bit of trouble at 44 for 2, but Neil Johnson and Matt Martin went about repairing the damage as they put on a mammoth stand of 155 for the 3rd wicket. Johnson eventually fell for a sparkling 90 off 87 balls but the unstoppable Martin completed his maiden century for the club smashing 103 off just 81 balls. All-rounder Mark Weston added a useful 21 not out as Bridgnorth ended on a massive 273-5 off 40 overs.
Bronze never really looked like troubling the challenging total due to some tight bowling and good commitment in the field restricting the run flow. Mark Weston, Ian Lock and Henry Davies each bowled well to claim one wicket apiece and 2 run outs meant that Bronze finished on 184 for 5 off their 40 overs a distant 89 runs short of their target.
