This week, the Methodists made their furthest trip of the season to picturesque Old Down, in sight of the Severn Bridge, where the home team won the toss and batted first on a hard, dry wicket.

The visitors’ bowlers struck quickly, with Daniel Shearn removing batsmen numbers one and three in the very first over, reducing the opposition to 2 for 2 after six deliveries. Any thoughts the Methodists might have had of skittling out their hosts for a low total soon had to be abandoned though, despite another early wicket falling. The arrival of Chris Rovery in the middle at the fall of the second wicket had seen the ball departing at high speed to all parts of the surrounding countryside, so that after three overs, there were now 33 runs on the board. Such was the ferocity of his hitting that Old Down’s hundred was brought up in just the twelfth over – Rovery having bludgeoned about eighty percent of the runs – and the Methodists’ bowlers were running out of ideas. Finally, having survived several chances, Rovery’s luck ran out when he missed a straight delivery from Josh Potter (2-63) and he left the field to prolonged applause with 122 runs to his name. Cameos from Lee Griffiths (23) and Dave Lippiat (20) saw the home side past the two hundred-mark, but wickets continued to fall regularly, and the innings was brought to a close on 241 in the 33rd over when Shearn (4-38) finally removed the last man.

After tea, the Methodists set off in pursuit of their target requiring a touch over a run-a-ball, but soon discovered that Rovery was equally potent with a ball in his hand. In concert with Simon Higgs (3-37), he quickly helped reduce the visitors to 9 for 3 after four overs and seriously dented the Methodists’ slim chances of victory. Stuart and James Green briefly re-ignited the chase as they added 27 in six overs, but Old Down’s opening pair would go on to claim the top six batsmen – Rovery (3-16) bowling the well-set James Green for 21 in last over of his spell. The Methodists’ agile ’keeper-batsman, Dave Sackett (32), entertained for a while in partnership with debutant Dave Murthi, the pair adding forty runs in just four overs, but a flurry of wickets for Lippiatt (3-16) then saw the visitors slump from 98 for 6 to 98 all out midway through the 22nd over, as the home side wrapped up their first win of the season by a comfortable 143 runs.