Midsomer Norton CC 1st XI won by four wickets.
A miserly bowling performance led Midsomer Norton to another victory last Saturday, this time against Pak Bristolians. The four-wicket win wasn’t without another below par batting effort, but Norton should feel encouraged to have three wins on the bounce without moving out of second gear.
Bowling first on a green wicket at Withies Lane, Nick Potter was the key destroyer for Norton, finishing with figures of 4–34 in his ten overs. Potter found a good line and length on a holding wicket, getting enough movement off the seam to tie the opposition in knots.
While opening batsman Syed Shah took a liking to Potter early on, crunching a couple of powerful drives to the boundary, he soon perished to a fielder in the deep. With him went any positive attacking intent from the visitors, and their batsmen came and went without any real attempt to force the pace. Only eleven times did Pak Bristolians find the boundary in 42.2 overs, all out for just 105.
Captain Nick Pang had figures of 3–15 from his ten overs, while main strike bowler, Andy Cox, could count himself unlucky. He was generally too good for the batsmen, bowling seven maidens in his wicketless ten overs. Potter should have had a five-wicket bag when returning late in the innings, only for Ben Strang to shell a tough chance at first slip.
With the bat, Norton struggled. Martin Cox was the rock for Norton, albeit a slightly out of shape rock, as he desperately tried to find some form. By the end of the
innings he was starting to find some of the timing he is known for, including one cracking sweep against the opposition’s fine left arm spinner, Ghulam Shabir.
Martin Cox ended not out on 43 from 73 balls, guiding the team to the victory target with six down as only three other batsmen reached the teens before losing their
wickets.
Norton remain second in the league table with six games played, but are yet to truly catch fire. A must win match away from home against fourth-placed Stapleton is next up on Saturday. The Second and Third teams both have home fixtures against West United CC and Oldfield Park CC respectively. Both games start at 1.30 p.m. The Sunday side visit Hanham.
Charlie Matthews