A sublime century from Joe Thompson was not enough for Congresbury as they lost by six wickets against Golden Hill in their first pre-season friendly at King George V Playing Field on Saturday.

Captain Justin Yau won the toss and elected to bat, giving Congresbury a solid platform alongside Stuart Castle until he dragged a delivery onto the stumps.

Weston Mercury: Congresbury's Stuart Castle scored 42 runs from his 50 balls before he was bowled by Golden Hill's Cyrus Shafi and caught by John Colley.Congresbury's Stuart Castle scored 42 runs from his 50 balls before he was bowled by Golden Hill's Cyrus Shafi and caught by John Colley. (Image: Archant)

Castle and new batsman Jack Kearns both looked in good touch as they scored fluent 40s on what appeared to be a good track.

With Kearns, Castle and Mick Edmunds departing the Congresbury innings could have faltered, but Thompson ensured this would never happen.

The Congresbury number five took a cautious approach early in his innings but flicked a switch as the innings progressed and brought up his 101 in just 69 balls.

Thompson was given excellent support by Tom Field and Doug Storey, but following the tea break the Golden Hill batsmen showed just how good the wicket was with both openers scoring 50s.

Edmunds, Evans and Field stemmed the tide of runs but with a short boundary and a lightning fast outfield Golden Hill eased home with three overs to spare.

“It was great to get back out on the grass and have a competitive game of cricket,” said Yau.

“It was all about getting practice in for the boys and there were some huge positives coming out of the game.

“The obvious one was Joe Thompson who smashed a great 100 but time in the middle for all batters, particularly Stuart Castle, Jack Kearns, Doug Storey and Tom Field was very welcome.

“It was also great for people to get overs under their belt with Sam Evans and Mick Edmunds in particular bowling well.”

Congresbury return to action this Saturday in their second and last pre-season friendly at Rockhampton.

Weston Mercury: Congresbury's Jack Kearns scored 47 runs from his 46 balls before he was bowled by Golden Hill's Cyrus Shafi.Congresbury's Jack Kearns scored 47 runs from his 46 balls before he was bowled by Golden Hill's Cyrus Shafi. (Image: Archant)

“It will be a tough game but it is always good to challenge ourselves with teams who will be strong,” added Yau.

“It is also a lovely ground and a great place to play cricket so we are excited with the challenge that it will bring.

“We will hope to lift our intensity up another 15-20 per cent to take ourselves closer to competitive level in readiness for the season ahead.”