Bridgwater CC 1st XI 157 / 6 (20) vs Taunton St Andrews CC 1st XI 121 / All out (18.3)

IN the 2022 instalment of the Baker Cup, it was Bridgwater CC who claimed the spoils over rivals Taunton St Andrews in the final.

It was a tense battle that Bridgwater came out on top of with a 36 run victory in the T20 match played at the Cooper Associates County Ground.

After winning the toss, Bridgwater elected to bat first and they would have been slightly worried that 157 perhaps was too low of a score on the Taunton track.

However their bowlers stood tall and dismissed the Saints for 121 after 18.3 overs.

Opening the batting for Bridgwater was Andrew Hallaran and Chris Skidmore. The pair both struggled to get the innings off to a good start as Hallaran was out for 0 runs and Skidmore 7.

However Charlie Sharland at three continued his league form and racked up a 41 ball 50 which included 4 fours and a six.

Alex Eckland also put in a good knock, hitting 31 runs and Bridgwater's hopes of a high score were growing.

However these two important wickets fell at similar times and the runs dried up at this point.

George Thomas in particular was bowling well for the Saints, limiting the Bridgwater run rate really well.

Stuart Butt (10) and Kian Roberts (16) lost their wickets soon after and with just two overs remaining Tom Allcoat and Tom Bellinger were at the crease.

Sitting at around the 125 run mark, Bridgwater needed a miracle and Bellinger delivered. He scored 28 runs from just 5 balls in the final over to make sure their score was a stronger one.

Thomas and Matthew Liberman both took two wickets in the innings for Saints; Thomas with the best figures, going for just 18 runs in three overs.

Bridgwater Mercury: Baker Cup Final. Pictures: Brian Sweeting

In reply, Taunton St Andrews got the innings off to a strong start as James Regan smashed a six in the first over.

However he lost his wicket for 14 runs soon after and fellow opener Stephen Tinnion scored 22 before he was out.

Josh Thomas scored 2 runs but his brother George scored 22 to salvage the start of the innings a little.

Toby Williams-Thomas looked in good form for Taunton as he flew to 26 runs but his wicket was an important one to lose as momentum went with him.

From then wickets fell very cheaply and quickly as the Bridgwater bowlers ran riot.

Seth Locke in particular had a field day in the final, taking 6 wickets for 29 runs in 4.3 overs.

In the end captain Justin Burke was the final wicket to fall for the Saints as they were 36 runs short of the target.

Another year of a successful Baker Cup competition ends with Bridgwater being crowned the best in the land.