Bashley (Rydal) are back on top of Southern League West Premier/1 after a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Calmore Sports – but, as match winning skipper Michael Porter points out, any of four teams could qualify for the Grand Final on September 19.
“I’ve been doing some sums and I reckon that, if you balance the matches played against the averages, there’s about 11 points in it,” he said.
“Bournemouth, St Cross Symondians and South Wilts are only just behind us, so there’s everything to play for in the last three rounds of matches, especially with several of us going head-to-head.”
Porter hit an unbeaten 74 after Bashley had lost two early wickets chasing down Calmore’s 138-9 at Loperwood Park.
Tom Jacques went lbw third ball and Alex Turner an over later as Bashley wobbled at 9-2 – but that was as good as it got for the Division 1 hosts, once Porter and Ben Walker (30 not out) got in.
Porter went on to hit three sixes and eight fours, leaving Walker to play a support role.
Earlier, left-arm seamer Ben Fletcher (3-18) and 14-year old leg spinner Ethan Baker (2-24) celebrated their full Bashley debuts by taking five of the nine Calmore wickets to fall – Dom Clutterbuck (3-18) taking his wickets in the latter phase of the innings.
Baker, bowling in tandem with Josh Digby, teased the batsmen with his flight and got some lift and turn off the soft surface, having Ben Johns (15) caught before clean bowling James Manning (22), two decent scalps for his embryo CV.
It left Ben Fisher (38) and Matt Taylor (17) a mid-innings rebuild, Oxford University student Fisher ultimately becoming one of two stumpings by Harry Fisher off the left-arm spin of Clutterbuck.
“I’ve been doing some sums and I reckon that, if you balance the matches played against the averages, there’s about 11 points in it,” he said.
“Bournemouth, St Cross Symondians and South Wilts are only just behind us, so there’s everything to play for in the last three rounds of matches, especially with several of us going head-to-head.”
Porter hit an unbeaten 74 after Bashley had lost two early wickets chasing down Calmore’s 138-9 at Loperwood Park.
Tom Jacques went lbw third ball and Alex Turner an over later as Bashley wobbled at 9-2 – but that was as good as it got for the Division 1 hosts, once Porter and Ben Walker (30 not out) got in.
Porter went on to hit three sixes and eight fours, leaving Walker to play a support role.
Earlier, left-arm seamer Ben Fletcher (3-18) and 14-year old leg spinner Ethan Baker (2-24) celebrated their full Bashley debuts by taking five of the nine Calmore wickets to fall – Dom Clutterbuck (3-18) taking his wickets in the latter phase of the innings.
Baker, bowling in tandem with Josh Digby, teased the batsmen with his flight and got some lift and turn off the soft surface, having Ben Johns (15) caught before clean bowling James Manning (22), two decent scalps for his embryo CV.
It left Ben Fisher (38) and Matt Taylor (17) a mid-innings rebuild, Oxford University student Fisher ultimately becoming one of two stumpings by Harry Fisher off the left-arm spin of Clutterbuck.
