Norton’s exciting home victory over Lansdown earlier in the season seemed like a dim and distant memory last weekend, when Norton suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of the League leaders.
Norton go into their final League game of the season in sixth place in the League table, thirteen points ahead of bottom-placed Taunton.
Winning the toss at Combe Park and batting first, Norton’s openers made slow progress until the fall of the first wicket to first-change bowler, Dominic Hooper.
From seventeen without loss, Norton subsided to 25–4, and the pattern had been set for the Norton innings and the match. No-one passed the twenty mark, and extras (nineteen) surpassed the score of any Norton batsman.
Norton’s innings was completed in 37 overs; the leading wicket takers for the home side were Dominic Hooper (4–23) and Matt Thomas (3–21).
Skipper, Nick Pang, rang the bowling changes in an attempt to give Norton a foothold in the game, but to no real effect. Lansdown lost two wickets chasing down their target in less than 22 overs, with Captain and opening batsman, Jordan Smith, ending on 58 not-out. Andrew Cox (2–26) took the two wickets to fall.
Norton’s League campaign concludes with a home fixture against Bishopston this Saturday, 1st September, while the Second XI travel to Claverham and the Third XI are at home to Thornbury.
C. Matthews