WRINGTON 1st XI hosted title contenders Bath 3rd XI at the Recreation Ground last Saturday.

WRINGTON 1st XI hosted title contenders Bath 3rd XI at the Recreation Ground last Saturday.

Wrington won the toss and decided to field on what looked like a good bowling wicket, a prediction that was to be correct with Kenny James being bowled with the first ball of the match by Anton Lovatt.

The momentum continued with Bath being held to 29 for 3 from 10 overs. Then the Bath middle order ground out several small but vital partnerships and took advantage of some lapses in concentration from the fielding side. This enabled Bath to get perhaps 20 more runs than they should have. The innings ended in the 39th over with Bath reaching 147, with the pick of the bowlers being Oscar Wimshurst (3-25).

Although Wrington knew it was not going to be easy to get 148 the players thought it was well within their capability. However, Bath had other ideas, bowling with pace and bounce and with frequent and over zealous appealing which resulted in the umpires talking to their captain.

They made the breakthrough in the eighth over when opener Tim Ledbury guided an easy catch to gully. From then on the wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals with only Adam Whiting and Oscar Wimshurst offering any resistance. The match ended in the 31st over, Wrington being bowled out for 87.

Wrington next host Stratton when they will be looking for a win to get their season back on track.

n Wrington followed up their impressive victory against Bridgwater in the Somerset Minor Cup with a win in the next round against Weston.

Weston batted first and were rattling along nicely until Edmunds bowled opener Lane (31) with his first ball before ripping through the rest of the batting line-up to finish with five wickets for two runs from his allotted five overs. Wrington reached their target of 96 in relative ease, the pick of shots seeing Edmunds (33 not out) punch Lane off the back foot for six through the covers.

n Wrington 2nds made their longest trip of the season to face Bath Exiles 2nds for what was always going to a tricky fixture.

Exiles won the toss and chose to bat but perhaps were regretting this decision when they found themselves 33-5, largely thanks to Adam Ford (4-1-16-2) removing both the in-form Exiles batsmen, Keepen and Allard, for hardly any score between them. James Fowler produced an excellent opening spell of 8-3-9-2 as Exiles realised the need to rebuild their innings. With no first team fixture, Exiles were able to call on Clarke to help make up their numbers and he was nearly the difference between the sides.

Credit must go to skipper Allard for resisting the temptation to call on more first teamers and instead sticking with his regulars, a temptation some would have succumbed to. Batting steadily at four, Clarke was eventually removed by a superb caught and bowled by Tapson (8-2-31-3) with the hosts in the end setting a respectable 147 from their full quota of deliveries.

Wrington's chase was a measured and one which quickly became about seeing off the brilliantly accurate and varied Clarke, who amazingly went for just a single run from his eight overs.

Importantly for the visitors, however, was that this was only to the tune of one wicket and Wrington chased down their target for five wickets with 35 overs faced with Bright (38) and Duthie (30 not out) making notable contributions.

Man of the match, despite being on the losing side, has to be awarded to Exiles' Clarke for his outstanding all-round performance.

Wrington, who extended their winning streak to seven, are currently four points clear at the top and next face second place Keynsham with the winners likely to have some potentially telling momentum for the rest of the season.

n The third annual Micky Ball Memorial Cricket Day will take place at the Recreation Ground in Silver Street, Wrington, on Sunday, July 5.

Starting at 10.30am, the day will feature a series of 10 overs per side matches between teams representing Wrington Cricket Club, Winscombe Rugby Club, Alvis Bros, Yeo Valley Farms and Athletico Wrington FC, culminating in an early evening final.

The Social Club bar will be open throughout the day and there will also be a pig roast, courtesy of Alvis Bros, prior to the final.