SUNDAY, 7 MAY vs CLEEVE CRUSADERS at BLAGDON
Blagdon 261-2, Cleeve Crusaders 242-5 - Won by 19 runs


Our first home match of the season was a glorious day and we fielded quite a strong side. Jack Newman was captain and won the toss and elected to field first. A wise decision it proved to be.

Cleeve got off to a steady start with 8 for the opening pair without loss. Freddie Johnson and Charlie Cook bowled superbly but were unable to penetrate their solid defence. Will Powell and Jack Newman took over and Jack quickly grabbed two wickets, first bowling Andrew Barnes and then Freddie caught a top edge at gully. The next 8 overs saw Cleeve’s score see-saw around 210 as they got some runs but were pegged back by Peter Strong’s accurate bowling as he took out the middle stump twice in successive overs. Harry Sparkes also got one wicket and David Alexander bowled well without any luck. Our final four overs were a bit generous as Cleeve moved on from 215-5 to 242-6 at the end of their 20 overs. Overall we fielded well and Jack kept everyone in the game.

Another good break with plenty of cakes and biscuits provided by Julie Branch and we were happy bunnies. Our batting pairing seems to have settled to the correct pair after only the second week. Peter and Douglas opened again this week and did really well until the third over when Peter gave it a heave-ho and top-edged to slip. Their batting was solid and just what we needed to begin. Freddie and Will had an excellent understanding and ran fantastically, grabbing every chance. They added 19 wonderful runs. Cambell and David were going well and added 22 until David did his Murray Walker impression again. Unlike last week he lasted another 3 balls before being bowled by one that straightened horribly at the last moment. Cleeve brought back their better bowlers as the game was slipping away but Charles and Harry teamed up well again and added a good 7 runs. The final pair of Jack and Charlie were delightful to watch as they added a very stylish 17 runs, all very controlled.

The final result; Cleeve Crusaders 242-5 Blagdon 261-2 and we chalked up our first win of the season. The team are coming together very well.