Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Evesham (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (139) lost to Evesham (142-6) by 4 wickets.
Batting: J. Francis 30*, M. Turner 20, M. Martin 19.
Bowling: A. Breakwell 2-24, M. Spence 2-32.
Bridgnorth 1st XI's dismal 2007 season continued on Saturday as they slumped to a 4 wicket loss at home to fellow strugglers Evesham.
After winning the toss acting home skipper Andy Breakwell decided to bat first but the hosts soon found themselves in all kinds of trouble at 4-3. A number of middle order batsman got starts, including Matt Turner (20), Matt Martin (19) and Gareth Mumford (17), but none could go on as Bridgnorth fell away to 107-9. A last wicket stand of 32 between the in-form Jason Francis (30*) and Simon Pitt took the final total up to 139 off 42.1 overs.
In reply Evesham were soon in trouble as Bridgnorth fought back and with the score on 20-3 any result was still possible. The visitors overseas professional S. Williams then took over and he led the charge taking Evesham past their target with the loss of just three more wickets as they finished on 142-6 in 34.2 overs. For the home side, Murray Spence (2-32) and Andy Breakwell (2-24) picked up the wickets.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Stratford-on-Avon (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (158) lost to Stratford (161-2) by 8 wickets
Batting: L. Evans 41, N. Johnson 20.
Bowling: G. Edwards 1-21, Steve Burch 1-25.
Bridgnorth 2nd XI's 20 month unbeaten league run came to a shuddering halt on Saturday as they crashed to an 8 wicket defeat away at Division 1 league leaders Stratford.
After losing the toss and being asked to bat Bridgnorth were soon in trouble as the top order stumbled to 42-3 in the 16th over thanks to some uncharacteristically bad shots. Club stalwart Lez Evans (41) set about repairing the damage and along with Neil Johnson (20) added 50 for the 4th wicket but the dismissal of both batsmen left the visitors struggling once more. Although eight players reached double figures only one man passed twenty and a final total of 158 all out in the 49th over never looked like being enough.
In reply, a confident home line up looked like they wanted to make short work of the total and they raced out of the blocks in search of the win. Going at over four an over visiting captain Steve Caine rung the bowling changes and this eventually paid some dividends as Steve Burch (1-25), in his first game of the season, finally made the breakthrough. Glenn Edwards (1-21) picked up the only other wicket to fall as Stratford cruised to victory reaching 161-2 with 15 overs still remaining.
This result highlighted the quality of the league and Bridgnorth will look to bounce back next week against an in-form Himley.
Bridgnorth CC 3rd XI v Alberbury (Away)
Bridgnorth 3rd XI (73) lost to Alberbury (141) by 68 runs
Batting: D. James 14, J. Jones 13.
Bowling: M. Weston 4-33, D. James 3-15, H. Davies 2-25.
On a sunny afternoon, Bridgnorth's youthful 3rd team travelled to Alberbury for their first league match in three weeks.
The day began well with skipper Mark Weston wining the toss and deciding to bowl first on a newly prepared wicket. This seemed to have been a good choice as opening bowlers Ed Lewis and Ed Martin bowled with great maturity and control as the Alberbury batting line up found it hard to score runs. The experience of Graham Baldwin only further dried up the runs as he finished with figures of 0-18 off 10 overs. It was only with the introduction of Henry Davies (2-25), Mark Weston (4-33) and Dev James (3-15) that wickets began to fall at regular intervals. The Alberbury innings finally came to a close at a par 141 all out. Bridgnorth believed they were on top, but with a low, uneven wicket the chase would never be easy.
The reply however began in solid fashion with openers Dev James and Stuart Farquhar adding 36 in 12 overs. It was the fall of the latter that triggered the batting collapse with the other nine batsmen only able to amass another 37 runs between them. This left Bridgnorth all out for 73 and a disastrous defeat for the team. The only notable contributions with the bat came from Dev James (14) and Josh Jones (13). A depleted Bridgnorth only receive 5 points from the game.
Bridgnorth CC Sunday 1st XI v W.B.Darmouth (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (119-7) lost to W.B.Darmouth (193-5)
Batting: M. Spence 37, L. Brown 27, S. Whitney 18.
Bowling: S. Whitney 3-36, L. Brown 1-23, S. Pitt 1-27.
West Bromwich Dartmouth won on a faster run-rate after Bridgnorth's innings was curtailed by rain.
