Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Bablake Old Boys (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (235-5) beat Bablake (133) by 102 runs
Batting: P. Dogra 80*, P. Thompson 69, AJ. Smith 33, T. Whitney 31.
Bowling: A. Leather 4-32, T. Weaver 3-24.
A resurgent Bridgnorth 1st XI followed last week's victory with a storming 102-run rout of Coventry side Bablake at Cricket Meadow.
Batting first Bridgnorth made a steady start with the top order patiently building a base for some late over hitting, but at 73-3 with the dismissals of Tom Whitney and AJ Smith, the innings was in danger of stalling before the accelerator could be pressed. The innings changed pace, though, as the partnership between Indian pro Paras Dogra and the in-form Pete Thompson pushed the score up. A late flurry of runs took the hosts to 235-5 off their 55 overs, and placed them firmly in charge of the game.
In reply Bablake struggled from the off and had no answer to Bridgnorth's four-prong seam attack as they fell to 63-5. The tail made Bridgnorth work for the last 5 wickets, but the Cricket Meadow boys were in no mood to let the game slip, prising out Bablake for just 133 in the 44th over. The wickets were shared around, with Andy Leather and the ever impressive Tom Weaver leading the way.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Halesowen (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (78) lost to Halesowen (82-1) by 9 wickets
Batting: D. Bannister 20, R. Hughes 18.
Bowling:
Bridgnorth 2nd XI's Jeckyl and Hyde season continued on Saturday as they turned in a woeful performance in testing conditions, going down by 9 wickets away to Halesowen.
After losing another toss Bridgnorth were unsurprisingly asked to bat first in bowler friendly conditions, and were instantly in deep trouble as they crashed to 5-3 in the fourth over, courtesy of a hat-trick. Any thoughts of a recovery were soon halted as they slumped to 23-5 before the only resistance of the day came from top scorers Dave Bannister and Rob Hughes. With five batsmen being dismissed for ducks, Bridgnorth were all out for a paltry 78 in the 40th over.
With the wicket drying out all the time, the Bridgnorth bowlers were unable to extract the same prodigious movement as the Halesowen attack, and as such the home side marched to victory with relatively few scares, ending on 82-1 in the 17th over.
Bridgnorth CC 3rd XI v Wellington (Home)
Bridgnorth 3rd XI (139-3) beat Wellington (136-8) by 7 wickets.
Batting: L. Brown 77*, J. Shaw 18.
Bowling: J. Shaw 4-12.
Bridgnorth 3rd XI continued their march up the league table as they registered a comprehensive 7-wicket win away at Wellington IVs on Saturday.
Wellington batted first, and were well placed after a good start, reaching 92-1 before Bridgnorth fought back. The introduction of young spinner Jimmy Shaw turned the game on its head, as he posed the brilliant figures of 4-12 in 9 overs to leave the home side floundering on 136-8 off their allotted 45 overs.
In reply, Bridgnorth's captain-marvel Liam Brown, with an unbeaten 77, dominated proceedings as he opened the batting and led his team to victory. He found reliable partners in Jimmy Shaw (18), Tom Weston and Andy Mooney, as the visitors cruised home with over 10 overs to spare.
