West of England Premier League
Premier 1
Bedminster 184-4 beat Bridgwater 183 by 6 wkts

BRIDGWATER 1st XI were left frustrated at their six-wicket defeat at Bedminster on Saturday, when a below-par batting display proved 40 runs light and enabled the hosts to crawl over the line with two overs to spare, writes Scott Sealey.

After winning the toss, Bridgwater were somewhat out of the game in the first 10 overs, as they slumped to 29-4, with Scotland A international Adrian Neill doing the damage, clean bowling the first three batsmen.

But Stu Butt (47) and Max Waller (23) then initiated a counter-attack with an aggressive stand of 78 in 10 overs, which tilted the balance back in favour of Bridgwater.

Butt played some exquisite drives and with Waller looking busy at the crease and putting pressure on the opposition, the visitors were back in the game at 107-4 with more than half the innings still to bat.

Disaster then struck, as both were dismissed in an over, though Chris Skidmore (18) and Ned Leonard (33) brought Bridgwater back in the game again with an excellent stand of 55 in only 10 overs.

That left the visitors on 170-6 with 17 overs still to bat and ready to push on to a competitive score of around 230.

However, once again both set batsmen were dismissed within an over, and the innings subsided to a disappointing 183 all out with eight overs unused.

After tea, the visitors came out of the traps and bowled particularly well with little luck, with Skidmore and Leonard looking like taking a wicket almost every ball.

The introduction of Andy Roberts kept the pressure on the home openers as he reeled off seven overs, taking 1-11 in a miserly spell.

But credit goes to Bedminster, who had worked out that they only needed to bat the overs for the win, and duly dug in as necessary, with Rob Cunliffe (49) and Saiprasad Kamuni (45) playing crucial knocks.

Still the bowlers stuck to their task, with young Leonard (2-32 off 10 overs) being particularly impressive in a fiery second spell that picked up two wickets with pace and bounce.

However, after 48 overs the hosts got home for a crucial win, leaving Bridgwater to rue the poor opening 10 overs of their innings.

Matchball sponsors: TMB Patterns Ltd; match travel sponsors: Charles Dickens Estate Agents and Falcon Vehicle Solutions Ltd.

Bridgwater – third from bottom in the table – host Potterne at The Parks this coming Saturday, in a crucial Premier 1 encounter (12.30pm start).

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WEPL Somerset Division
Uphill Castle 233-6 Bridgwater II 232 by 4 wkts

BRIDGWATER 2nds went down by four wickets in their WEPL Somerset Division match at home to Uphill Castle on Saturday.

The hosts chose to bat first and made a solid start, reaching 47 for the first wicket, only for Tim Netto (11) and Dan Rossiter (42) to both fall to George Cox (3-56 off 10 overs).

Jonathan Vickery added 27, but still Bridgwater looked uneasy at 101-5.

Ed Habberfield produced the score of the innings, 67 off 89 balls, as he and Tom Bellinger (21) took their side up to 148.

Will Moyse added 27 and Ian Higgins 14, but Dayne Siede (2-17 off four) ended the innings at 232, with three overs going unused.

Siede then took charge with the bat, smashing a majestic 157 not out off 146 balls (21 4s and three 6s).

No other Uphill batsman scored more than 20, as Matt Habberfield took 2-37 off 10 and Ed Habberfield 2-41 off eight, but with Siede in that kind of form, it mattered little.

And so the visitors got over the line with 15 balls to spare; this coming Saturday sees Bridgwater 2nds travel to Yeovil.

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Bridgwater Mercury:

SHOT: Georgia Edmundson in action for Bridgwater Ladies against Taunton Deane. Pic: Ash Magill

BRIDGWATER Ladies enjoyed two good wins in the opening fixtures of the Somerset Cricket Board’s hardball league on Sunday.

Bridgwater hosted Wembdon and Taunton Deane at The Parks, winning against Wembdon by seven wickets, with Bernie Forge and Laura Gibson taking two wickets apiece.

They then beat Deane by 23 runs, as Joey-Leigh Roberts and Jemima Turner both retired on 25, and Georgia Edmundson and Forge claimed two wickets each.