CLUB legend Ian Higgins picked up his 600th wicket for Bridgwater Cricket Club at the weekend.
Playing for the Second XI he helped the side go top of the WEPL Somerset division by defeating Wellington by 8 wickets at the Parks.
In total for Bridgwater he has 569 league wickets and 31 national cup wickets. A true great of the club.
Wellington were dismissed for 145 with Callum Pope picking up 4-34 and there were two wickets apiece for Kyran Devitt, and Matt Habberfield.
However, the highlight of the innings was Ian Higgins picking up his 600th wicket for the club, with the veteran bowling a fine 10 over spell.
In reply, Pope was in a rush as he dispatched 11 boundaries in a quickfire 45 from only 27 balls, as he shared a good first wicket stand of 72 with Kieran Windsor (32). On the dismissal of Windsor, Ben Coombes (35no) and Devitt (25no) saw Bridgwater home in only 19 overs.
For the Bridgwater First XI, they put in another good performance on Saturday, when their attempt for a 4th successive Premier One victory was thwarted by the rain at Thornbury, with the game eventually abandoned.
On winning the toss Bridgwater inserted the hosts with a uncertain weather forecast and Alfie Ogborne continued his fine form dismissing the dangerous Dan Lezar early, caught at the wicket by Alex Eckland, to give the visitors a good start.
Kiwi Will Williams, back from a County Championship winning stint with Lancashire CCC, produced a miserly first spell with the hosts top order struggling to put bat to ball with Bridgwater on top.
A lengthy rain delay reduced the game to 37 overs per side, and at the resumption Thornbury fared better with opener Ed Webb sticking around supported by Chris Matthews and skipper Marc Lezar, the hosts moved leisurely to 98 for 2, with a fine spell of seam bowling by Dan Willians keeping the scoring in check.
Tom Allcoat and the returning Ogborne also got in on the act, and supported by some good catching and out fielding, the hosts lost their last 8 wickets for 52 runs, eventually being dismissed for 150 in the 34th over.
The pick of the Bridgwater bowling was Dan Williams (4-31) with a fine spell, with Allcoat picking up 3-21 and Ogborne 3-42. Keeper Eckland had a good day with 4 dismissals.
After tea Bridgwater began the run chase positively in tricky conditions, as the increasing gloom caused a very bad light. Andrew Hallaran was to be unfortunate to fall LBW, however Tome Bellinger and Charlie Sharland kept Bridgwater in a good position when the rain returned at 36 for 1 off 6 overs.
The revised target was to be recalculated at 120 to win from 25 overs, so Bridgwater had a further 19 overs to score 84, however despite Bellinger (20no) and Sharland (11no) taking the score to 54 for 1 off 9 overs, a further storm abandoned the game.
Bridgwater took a healthy 11 points from the game, however a further 40 mins play would probably have resulted in a win.
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