West of England Premier League
Premier 1
Bridgwater 88-0 beat Bristol 86 by 10 wkts

ANOTHER outstanding team performance at The Parks on Saturday saw Bridgwater move up to second, six points off leaders Potterne.

On another warm day in Somerset, Bristol won the toss and elected to bat first on what looked like another great Bridgwater wicket.

Bridgwater openers Chris Skidmore (2-22) and Ned Leonard (3-18) continued their good run of form, bowling very aggressive and tight lines.

They forced Bristol into a very difficult position before Leonard dismissed Ross Mclean (10), caught behind by Jason Oakes.

Skidmore followed suit, dismissing Jack Penn and Louie Shaw in quick succession, with Leonard also picking up the wickets of Josh Tasman-Jones and Fin Trenouth, leaving Bristol at 25-5.

Bridgwater’s strength in depth was apparent with the introduction of Scott Clapp (1-25) and Chris Singleton (2-6), who continued to bowl aggressively.

Singleton dismissed Jack Ellison and Tommy Probert (15), thanks to two fantastic catches by Merv Hallaran and Max Waller, while Clapp also joined the party with the wicket of Tom Kear, leaving the visitors at 59-8.

The bowling options just kept on coming for captain Hallaran, as Waller (2-11) and Andrew Skidmore (0-4) entered the scene, and Waller picked up the final two wickets, resulting in Bristol only posting a score of 86 off 31.4 overs.

Bridgwater’s good form with the bat was continued by openers Hallaran (39no) and Clapp (39no), who capitalised on some varied bowling from Bristol.

Both players stroked some glorious shots to the boundary to the delight of the home crowd, as Bridgwater reached the target in only 8.5 overs.

Matchday sponsor: Charles Dickens Estate Agents; match ball sponsors TMB Patterns

Bridgwater now look forward to a trip to third-placed Bath this coming Saturday (12.30pm start), with an opportunity to move to the top of the division.

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WEPL Somerset Division
Chard 141 beat Bridgwater 2nds 98 by 43 runs

BRIDGWATER 2nds let Chard off the hook on Saturday as the hosts ran out winners in a low-scoring encounter.

Chard opted to bat first but lost early wickets as Ian Higgins (3-23 off 10) and first change Kieran Windsor (3-25 off five) helped reduce the home side to 61-7.

Bridgy were then frustrated by the two Scotts, Chris and Jonathan, who stubbornly joined forces in a match-winning partnership of 78 for the eighth wicket.

It took a run out to separate them, Jonathan Scott falling for 37 from 83 balls, and Tom Bellinger (2-18 from 8.3) took the final two wickets - including Chris Scott for a 76-ball 33 - as Chard were bowled out for 141 from 44.3 overs.

In reply, opener Tom Pople flew to 24 but the rest of the top eight failed to make double figures as the visitors slumped to 61-8.

Daniel Rossiter displayed resistance with 12 runs apiece, but Bridgwater were bowled out for 98 after 22 overs having lacked the discipline of the Scott pairing.

Akhona Mbanga (4-33) and Scott Wells-Burr (4-53) did the bulk of the damage with the ball.

On Saturday, Bridgwater 2nds host Street (12.30pm).

In the Somerset League, Bridgwater 3rd XI went down by 41 runs at Division 2 leaders Trull.

Tim Hill (2-30) and Freddie Brewer (2-42) chipped in with wickets, but Brian Stone’s unbeaten 61 led Trull to 233-6.

Michael Skidmore (35) and Hill (30) were two of several Bridgy batsmen to make starts in reply but no-one kicked on as they were bowled out for 192.