WEPL Somerset Division
Wellington 172 beat North Petherton 167 by five runs

NORTH Petherton came up agonisingly short in their pursuit of victory at Wellington on Saturday, with the hosts claiming their first win of the season by just five runs in a low-scoring encounter.

Having lost the toss and been asked to field, the visitors made a strong start as Brad Porteous dismissed A. Campbell (4) and R. Davies (0) early on.

Overseas player Kayden Hine soon followed for 18, but a valuable partnership between captain Alex Sparks (37) and Luke Desave (64) halted the growing Pethy pressure.

Porteous returned to claim three more scalps on his way to fine figures of 5-36, with Scott Briffett, Ian Blackwell and Paul Short chipping in with a wicket each as Wellington were dismissed for 172 in the final over of the innings.

Having starred with the bat, Desave then made an instant impact with the ball by removing both Pethy openers, Tom Williams and Lewis Irish, in quick succession.

Porteous (34) and Short (36) staged a recovery, but once they departed the rest of the batting line-up fell away with Lloyd Irish (13) the only batsman between numbers five and 10 to reach double figures.

The visitors managed to keep the game alive right up to the final over as last man Briffett (15*) kept Pethy’s hopes alive, but Will Pope was dismissed from the penultimate ball of the innings as the away team came up five runs adrift.

The defeat leaves Pethy fourth in the division ahead of this weekend’s visit of early pace-setters North Perrott, who have won each of their opening five fixtures.