Timsbury produced their most impressive performance of the season to comfortably defeat second in the table Frenchay at home in the Senior Division of the Bristol and District League.

After the frustrations of the previous two weeks, when the team had lost ground in the table with two cancelled matches while other sides had played, this was a welcome thirty points.

On a wet pitch, Timsbury were asked to bat first and in testing conditions, the home side were well served by openers, Mark Sage and Adam Brinkworth, who gave them the solid start that proved to be the vital element of the win. In nineteen overs they put on seventy before Brinkworth was caught in the slips for a well constructed 34. Sage again emphasised his value to the team before perishing on the boundary for 51, and then it was the turn of Graeme Webb to up the momentum. In less than an hour, he hit a quickfire sixty with ten fours and one six. Other useful knocks from Gary Pearcy and Kevin Sibley saw the home side reach a creditable 217–8 from their 45 overs. Australian Bryan Lutter was the outstanding bowler for the visitors, with 2–14 from his nine tight overs.

Frenchay Captain, Mike Donaldson, immediately took on the challenge, striking eighteen in Sam Hoddinott’s first over, but after he had been dropped, Tom Clark ended an impressive opening spell by inducing Donaldson to play on. Clark also removed the other opener, Reece Bevan and after he ended his seven overs with 2–18, it was the turn of Timsbury skipper, Steve Clothier, to hold centre stage. In his nine overs, he bowled seven maidens and had the amazing figures of 4–3. Tom Bibby and Lutter both got into the twenties, but it was very much Timsbury’s day and Webb finished off an excellent personal performance with 2–14 while Jon Strand took 2–23 as the Bristol side were beaten by 78 runs.

Malcolm Tucker