BISHOPSTON 244-5 MIDSOMER NORTON 184-9
Midsomer Norton’s First XI tasted defeat for the first time this season when they lost by sixty runs to Bishopston on Saturday.
Norton won the toss and fielded first. With Gloucestershire’s Benny Howell opening the batting, the home side scored at a steady, but not spectacular, rate.
The visitors found it hard to make inroads though, and only five wickets fell in the fifty over innings – wickets being shared between Chris Hampshire, Paul Robbins, Jake Rowe and Nick Pang. Howell top-scored with 62, and there was also a half-century for Jamie Tapper. By the time the innings closed, Bishopston had reached 244-5.
Norton’s reply got off to the worst possible start with openers, Pang and Sutton, both dismissed without scoring. Half-century stands between Caleb Rowe (25) and Paul Robbins (60), and then between Jake Rowe (61 not-out) and Robbins, got Norton back on track. At 129-3, Norton were in the game, but following Robbins’ dismissal, the required run chase never materialised, and Norton’s innings ended at 184-9, sixty runs behind.
This Saturday, 25th May, Norton take on Keynsham at Withies Lane. The game starts at 12.30 p.m. The Second XI visit Pakistan Express and the Third XI have a home game against Hampset. Both fixtures start at 1.30 p.m.
Midsomer Norton Cricket Club’s T20 season started last week, but, despite some encouraging individual performances, the club has been knocked out of the Somerset Cricket Board KO Cup and the WEPL T20 Cup Competition.
Last Thursday, Norton visited Lansdown in the Somerset KO Cup and put in a good performance against a WEPL Premier One side. Norton’s T20 skipper, Jake Rowe, won the toss and chose to field first. Gary Filer led the attack and, with two wickets in two balls, finished with 2-7 from two overs. Rowe had the most impressive figures with 4-for-8 from his four overs. Nick Pang, Josh Sutton and Chris Hampshire took one wicket apiece as Lansdown were restricted to 122-for-9.
In response, Norton’s wickets fell regularly due to some very tight bowling, and the only players that made significant scores were Morgan Skipp with a gritty 21 and Dan Chard with a classy run-a-ball 24 not-out. Norton finished on 96-for-8, 26 runs short. Although a disappointing result, it was good to see glimpses of second team players being capable of making the step up to the First XI.
At Withies Lane on Sunday, Midsomer Norton went head-to-head against Frome and Bristol in the first-round group stage of the National T20 competition; the winner of the group moving on to the next round. With both Norton and Bristol beating Frome, the stage was set for a winner-takes-all showdown between Midsomer Norton and Bristol, last season’s regional winners. In this final game, Norton disappointed the supporters, who had turned out in large numbers.
Norton batted first and rattled up their first fifty runs in less than six overs, with Paul Robbins scoring 32 from 24 balls. With Robbins’ departure, Norton stalled and added less than seventy more runs to find themselves 122-7 at the end of twenty overs. Caleb Rowe was undefeated on 21 at the end.
When Bristol batted, they went off at a similar rate to Norton, but were able to maintain their momentum and lost only one wicket in chasing down their target in less than sixteen overs. Opener, Jack Penn, scored an unbeaten half-century, and Chris Phylips (1-32) was Norton’s only wicket taker.
Last Friday evening, despite the cloudy and chilly conditions, more than seventy women took part in Midsomer Norton Cricket Club’s Bubbles and Bats Cricket Festival. The event was organised by the club’s Women’s Team, Midsomer Mavericks, and their skipper, Jennie Webb.
The Bubbles and Bats Festivals are an introduction to the game and are aimed at groups of friends and workmates who want to give the game a try. Each player on the team receives a women’s softball t-shirt and each team gets a bottle of Prosecco – usually at the end of the game.
Women’s cricket is making tremendous progress on and off the pitch – at Midsomer Norton as much as anywhere else. The progress made by the Midsomer Mavericks has helped establish the women’s team as one of the most enthusiastic and active parts of the club. They are unbeaten in the current season to date.
Women’s cricket training takes place on Thursday evenings (7 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.) at Midsomer Norton Cricket Club’s Withies Lane ground. For more information, contact Jennie: [email protected]
Charlie Matthews