Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Brockhampton (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (111) lost to Brockhampton (115-2) by 8 wickets
Batting: P. Dogra 29, I. Gregory 27.
Bowling: A. Leather 1-, S. Whitney 1-.
Bridgnorth 1st XI's miserable 2008 hit new lows on Saturday as a crushing 8-wicket defeat at home to Brockhampton left the Cricket Meadow men rock bottom of the Birmingham League.
Batting first against the team lying second in the table Bridgnorth needed a strong start, but a few early wickets checked their progress as they slipped to 57-3. But the departure of club professional Paras Dogra (29) and Ian Gregory (27) led to a complete batting collapse as the home side were blown away for a meagre 111 in just 42.5 overs.
In reply the Bridgnorth bowlers needed to produce something special, and at 51-2 the game was not yet over. However, a confident Brockhampton continued without any further alarms to reach their target at 115-2 in 32.1 overs. Andy Leather and Sam Whitney took a wicket apiece for the home side.
Next Saturday sees the 1st XI travel to second-bottom Studley, in what is now a huge game for the club in their fight to climb the table.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Sutton Coldfield (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (159-7) beat Sutton Coldfield (123) by 36 runs
Batting: G. Edwards 49, E. Mullard 24, R. Hughes 27*.
Bowling: S. Caine 5-21, D. Taylor 2-25, E. Pottinger 2-.
Bridgnorth 2nd XI finally broke their away-day jinx as they registered their first away win of the season by 36 runs at lowly Sutton Coldfield.
A depleted Bridgnorth batting line-up were asked to bat first and after a watchful start were looking to press on before Glenn Edwards (49) fell with the score on 88-3 after adding 50 for the third wicket with skipper Eddie Mullard. With Mullard (24) following shortly afterwards following a mix-up in the running Bridgnorth were struggling on 104-4. However, wicketkeeper Rob Hughes (27*) together with seamer Ian Baldwin showed their all-round credentials by lifting the total up to a defendable 159-7 off 50 overs.
The Sutton Coldfield top order came out blazing as they looked to make short work of the run chase. Dan Taylor (2-25) picked up a couple of early scalps but at 71-3 the home side were narrow favourites. However, the introduction of debutante Elliot Pottinger proved to be the turning point in the contest as the U15s star picked up two wickets to swing the game back the way of Bridgnorth, the first being courtesy of a diving catch by Steve Caine. Caine then picked himself up and dusted himself down, and promptly ran through the home side's lower order as the master craftsman took 5-21 off 15.5 overs. This reduced Sutton to 123 all out and handed Bridgnorth a much needed victory.
Bridgnorth CC 3rd XI v Quayside (Away)
Bridgnorth 3rd XI (188-8) beat Quayside (67) by 121 runs
Batting: L. Brown 51, H. Davies 22, K. Osborne 41.
Bowling: L. Brown 4-12, K. Osborne 2-22, D. James 2-18.
Bridgnorth 3rd XI's bumper June form continued as they swept aside Quayside on their home ground by a substantial 121 runs.
Batting first, Bridgnorth were again led from the front by in-form skipper Liam Brown (51) who together with Henry Davies (22) and Kieran Osborne (41) helped the visitors post a very useful 188-8 from their allotted 45 overs.
In reply, Quayside were never interested in the chase and turned in a turgid display with the bat as their innings run rate crawled along at 1.5 runs per over. Brown again showed his all-round qualities with a terrific spell of 4-12 off 13 miserly overs as Bridgnorth bowled their way to victory, dismissing the home side for just 67 in 41.2 overs. Osborne showed a welcome return to form with 2-22 and Dev James, in his first outing of the season, claimed 2-18.
Bridgnorth CC Sunday 1st XI v Wombourne (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (151-1) beat Wombourne (150-6) by 9 wickets
Batting: I. Gregory 65*, A. Carson 56, P. Dogra 20*.
Bowling: A. Leather 4-12.
In a match reduced by rain to 30 overs a side, Bridgnorth romped to a 9-wicket victory with five overs to spare.
Wombourne chose to bat first, but struggled against excellent opening spells from Simon Pitt and Liam Brown. Despite some lusty hitting by Willetts (70*), Wombourne never mastered the bowling and finished on 150-6, with Andy Leather picking up 4-12.
In reply, Ian Gregory and Andy Carson took the attack to Wombourne with a mixture of strong hitting and excellent running between the wickets. Their opening partnership of 110 took the fight out of the opposition, before Carson was run out for 56. However, Bridgnorth cantered home with ease as Gregory finished on 65*, and Paras Dogra a cameo 20*.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Wombourne (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (179-7) lost to Wombourne (183-5) by 5 wickets
Batting: M. MacPherson-Lees 103, W. Buxton 33.
Bowling: G. McKenna 2-.
Bridgnorth 2nd XI turned in a very positive performance away at Wombourne on Sunday but ultimately fell just short as the home side won by five wickets with only 8 balls to spare.
Put into bat first, the young Bridgnorth line-up batted around Mark MacPherson-Lees (103), with Will Buxton the pick of the crop making a well-compiled 33, as the home side reached 179-7 in 40 overs.
However, Wombourne chased their target down well despite a spirited effort with the ball and in the field by Bridgnorth, as the hosts reached 183-5 in the 39th over.
