The Methodists journeyed to Filton to play Grendel and, with both teams looking to secure valuable points to ensure their Division 10 survival, the ten-man home side were asked to bat first.
Opening pair, Laurie and Joss Coventry, got off to a flying start as they put on 49 runs in good time, but the brothers were eventually parted by Meths’ Skipper, Stuart Green (2–21) in the twelfth over, bringing Nirmal Patel to the crease to join his Captain.
After a brief partnership, Laurie (29) was then snared by the spin of Craig Eyles (2–27), prompting a slowing of the scoring rate as Nirmal looked to bat more cautiously. His measured stand of 32 with H. Patel kept Grendel in the game, but the excellent pressure built up by the tidy bowling of Howard Jones (0–11 from eight overs) and Graham Smith (1–17) eventually saw Nirmal (44) hole out to Alex Nash on the boundary. Some lusty hitting late on from Tony Pinder (20*) boosted the home side’s total, but returning opening bowlers, Daniel Shearn (2–21) and James Sackett (2–47) were able to wrap the innings up for 148 with eight balls to spare.
After tea, Grendel (unfortunately now reduced to just nine men) found it hard to contain the Methodists’ opening batsmen – Nash (66) and Jason Stotesbury (54) finding the boundary more than twenty times due to the large gaps in the field, and rattling up a stand of 136 in just eighteen overs. Though both perished in the final couple of overs, they had done enough to set up a comfortable eight-wicket win for the visitors, completed in just 21.1 overs.
This weekend, the Methodists are home to Bedminster Fourths. Daniel Shearn