A hot afternoon saw the Methodists put in a solid start on a hard, dry Bedminster wicket. After losing an early wicket, Mark Robinson and Roger Howe added fifty for the second, before the home side removed the middle-order somewhat cheaply – the visitors now 131–5.
Robinson was then joined by Josh Potter (36), and together they put on a stand of 83 in just ten overs, until a returning Kishan Patel (3–32) found a way past Robinson’s (97) bat and dismissed him an agonising three runs short of his maiden century. A final three overs of scampering saw the Methodists post a par-score of 237–7 at tea.
After the break, the Bedminster innings followed a similar pattern – an early wicket followed by a fifty-run stand between Aled Vaughan and Aidan Jones. A double-strike by the Methodists was then parried with 45 runs from Jones (52) and Lee Shorney (26) to keep the match in the balance, the fielding side finding the lightning-fast outfield hard to defend.
Solid spells of bowling from David Baker and Potter kept the visitors in it and, at 163–7 after 31 overs, it was still anyone’s game. Then, a crucial partnership between Calum Mason (30*) and Andy Sheldrake (35) added 64 runs in ten overs to leave the scores level with one ball left in the innings.
Methodists’ Captain, Stuart Green, brought the field in tight to save the single before he bowled the final delivery. Sheldrake takes a swing at it, aiming for the boundary, but the middle stump is knocked back! Match tied! Points shared after an amazingly close game.
Next week, the Methodists are away to Keynsham Thirds.
DS