Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Wombourne (Away)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (78) beat Wombourne (64) by 14 runs
Batting: P. Dogra 16, G. Mumford 14.
Bowling: T. Weaver 4-28, A. Leather 3-13, AJ. Smith 2-17.
Bridgnorth travelled to Wombourne on Saturday to find a bowler-friendly damp, green wicket that had been a struggle to prepare due to the midweek rain. Captain Mark MacPherson-Lees lost yet another toss and Bridgnorth were inserted to bat.
Bridgnorth's batting faltered, and a few poor shots coupled with good bowling in the very tough conditions meant that the away side struggled to an eventual 78 all out, with Paras Dogra top-scoring with 16, and Gareth Mumford making 14.
Bridgnorth went straight back out to field, and with the mentality of having everything to gain they attacked the Wombourne top order from the start. Brilliant bowling from Tom Weaver (4-28, including three wickets in an over) left Wombourne on 44-4 at the tea interval.
On returning to the field, some big shots from the Wombourne middle order looked to be taking the game away from Bridgnorth. The intensity was then increased from all 11 players, and some superb bowling from Andy Leather, who finished with 3-13 from 16 overs, coupled with AJ Smith, who finished off the innings with 2-17, saw Wombourne crash to 64 all out.
This meant that Bridgnorth, showing all the character needed to avoid relegation, had pulled off an unexpected and somewhat miraculous victory.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Shrewsbury (Home)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (99-7) had a winning draw against Shrewsbury (171-8)
Batting: M. Martin 46, G. Edwards 25*.
Bowling: I. Baldwin 4-, S. Caine 3-.
After winning the toss on a wet looking pitch and inserting Shrewsbury into bat in the difficult conditions, Bridgnorth 2nd XI were looking to make early inroads on Saturday.
However, they failed to do so as the away side doggedly kept out an impressive opening spell from Nick Gray. The home side did manage to keep the run rate down throughout the whole innings though, as Shrewsbury struggled on the slow, damp pitch. It looked as though the away side were going to make a substantial total, with only one wicket down in the 30th over, but with tight bowling, good ground fielding and excellent wicketkeeping from the improving Rob Hughes, Bridgnorth restricted the total to a respectable 171-8. The leading wicket-takers were Ian Baldwin with a hard fought four-fer, and the evergreen Steve Caine with three scalps, again bowling with control and guile.
Bridgnorth's reply to off to a flying start, as they raced to 30 off just five overs. However, a change in bowling resulted in four quick wickets going down, as the home side slumped to 36-5. In a very tense atmosphere and amidst some top class bowling, Matt Martin and Glenn Edwards battled hard in an attempt to rebuild the innings. However, Martin was dismissed for an impressive 46 as his good form continued, leaving Edwards seemingly stranded as the weather began to change. But Edwards battled hard, and looked to be recovering some of his lost form as he made a vital unbeaten 25, just before the rain came.
This meant that Bridgnorth finished on 99-7, and gained a winning draw as they were ahead of the required run rate at the time the game was brought to a premature close.
Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Coleshill (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (166-8) beat Coleshill (158) by 8 runs
Batting: P. Thompson 32, S. Whitney 21*.
Bowling: M. MacPherson-Lees 5-23, S. Whitney 3-47.
Bridgnorth once again lost the toss and were inserted to bat on a bowler friendly wicket on Monday.
The home side got off to a bad start, losing three early wickets, but a good partnership between AJ Smith and Pete Thompson gave Bridgnorth a platform to build from. This allowed some late hitting from Sam Whitney (21*), enabling the Cricket Meadow men to end on a respectable, but slightly below par total of 166-8.
Unlike Saturday, the seamers were unable to penetrate the opposition's top order as Coleshill got off to a good start. However, the spinners responded to the call to take wickets, as Whitney completed a good all-round day with 3-47 and skipper Mark MacPherson-Lees quickly removed the tail to take 5-23, leading Bridgnorth to a tense 8-run victory, and a highly successful weekend.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Old Elizabethans (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (144) lost to Old Elizabethans (145-6) by 4 wickets
Batting: M. Martin 27, A. Unitt 40, D. Taylor 15, K. Osborne 16.
Bowling: S. Pitt 3-24, J. Shaw 1-40, S. Caine 2-.
After gaining a winning draw on Saturday, the 2nd XI were looking to continue their good form on a slow-looking pitch at Old Elizabethans.
After losing the toss, Bridgnorth were asked to bat first, and once again got off to a good start with Matt Martin making a quickfire 27 off 21 deliveries, in an opening stand of 35. However, wickets then fell at regular intervals due to some tight bowling and very poor shot selection, meaning no momentum could be gained. Andy Unitt and Dan Taylor then battled hard, with Unitt making 40 and Taylor 15, and a brief cameo from Kieron Osborne (16) enabled a young batting line-up to reach 144 all out. However, this looked to be at least 20 runs short of a par total.
Bridgnorth's bowlers now had it all to do, and tight opening spells from Osborne and Simon Pitt (3-24) kept the run-rate down, but the luckless away side failed to make regular breakthroughs. Jimmy Shaw bowled well to take 1-40 in 13 overs, in tandem with stand-in captain Steve Caine, who grabbed two further scalps, and with some fantastic fielding Bridgnorth battled hard.
Unfortunately, they were unable to prevent the home side reaching the target, as they hit the winning runs off the penultimate ball of the match to seal a dramatic four-wicket victory.
Bridgnorth 2nds will look to get back to winning ways at home to Bromsgrove tomorrow.
