Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Whitchurch (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (140) beat Whitchurch (72) by 68 runs
Batting: A. Carson 46.
Bowling: D. Bannister 3-24, A. Leather 3-13, M. MacPherson-Lees 2-4.
Bridgnorth 1st XI made the perfect start to their Birmingham League Division Three campaign with a 68-run rout of Shropshire rivals Whitchurch at Cricket Meadow.
Batting first Bridgnorth's top order once again struggled to find any touch as they stumbled to 93-6. April's form-horse Andy Carson, having been promoted from the 2nds to be 1st XI opener, showed some of his more illustrious colleagues the way with a battling 46 to hold the innings together. Carson, along with Dave Bannister, added 37 crucial runs for the 7th wicket as Bridgnorth posted 140 all out in 49.5 overs.
Knowing a fast start was important a pumped up Bridgnorth came flying out of the traps to blow away Whitchurch for a paltry 72 in just 27.2 overs. All-rounder Bannister (3-24) led the attack, with the evergreen Andy Leather (3-13) providing good support. Jubilant skipper Mark MacPherson-Lees also joined in the fun, taking 2-4.
Bridgnorth travel into the unknown next week with a trip to Bablake Old Boys.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Kenilworth Wardens (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (117) lost to Kenilworth Wardens (118-5) by 5 wickets
Batting: N. Gray 33, N. Johnson 18.
Bowling: S. Pitt 2-17, G. Lewis 2-20.
Bridgnorth 2nd XI started their season in disappointing fashion, going down by 5 wickets away to Kenilworth Wardens.
On a typical early season wet wicket Bridgnorth lost the toss, and having been unsurprisingly asked to bat first were soon struggling at 26-3. The middle order mounted something of a recovery with Neil Johnson (18) and innings top-scorer Nick Gray (33) adding 55 runs for the 4th wicket. However, the departure of both men saw the team crumble to 117 all out in 47 overs.
After tea Bridgnorth's bowlers put on a battling display to give the away side hope of an unexpected victory, and after Simon Pitt (2-17) had reduced the hosts to 39-2 the result could have gone either way. But a very disciplined Wardens batting line-up made sure there were to be no surprises as they eventually crawled over the line on 118-5 in the 50th over. For Bridgnorth, Greg Lewis (2-20) and Kieron Osborne were in the wickets.
Another 30 runs could have made the difference for Bridgnorth and the batsmen will need to work harder next week as the 2nds play host to Halesowen.
Bridgnorth U13s (271) beat St Georges U13s (256) by 15 runs
Bridgnorth's U13s played host to St Georges on the day of their namesake, 23rd April, and got their season off to a good start with a 15-run victory.
Bridgnorth lost the toss and were put into bat first. All players for Bridgnorth batted well, with the two highest scorers being Ian Gough (12 runs off 4 overs) and Tom Weston, batting at his usually mature standard (20 runs off 4 overs). St Georges bowled well throughout, making it hard for the home side, who finished on 271.
St Georges batted well when their turn came, but lost too many wickets to Bridgnorth - 13 in all. The home side bowled to a high standard with Ben Lewis (3-12), Jim Robinson (3-13), Rob Hornby (2-16) and Ian Gough (2-23) the main wicket-takers. There was also a wicket apiece for Ben Leather, Joseph Burch and Richard Roberts as St Georges finished on 256, 15 runs short of the target.
