Norton travelled to the picturesque Bishopston ground hoping to extend their unbeaten run to ten games. On winning the toss, Bishopston had no hesitation in taking first use of what was a hard track, looking full of runs.
The opening bowlers, Henry Voigt and Andy Cox, set about their task with plenty of pace and carry on offer. The imposing figure of Mark Coombes pounced upon anything loose, striking some early boundaries as Bishopston got off to a positive start. That start was halted when Cox drew the edge from Coombes, with brother, Martin, taking the catch in the gully.
The joy was short-lived for Cox, as a serious back injury forced him off the field of play. Martin Cox and Alex Davis were introduced into the attack to attempt to exert some control and, as the scoring slowed and the pressure built, the second wicket soon followed. A partnership of 41 for the third wicket was cut short as Cox accounted for O'Brien. A gift of a wicket came in the same over as Warner, over confident after hitting his first ball for four, smashed a full toss straight to Voigt on the boundary. Pang bowled Rajh with a quicker ball, before Adams and Booth set about rebuilding the innings. Their partnership of 45 was broken by Sam Gould, who drew a false shot from Adams, caught at cover by Lear. Booth and Connelly fell in quick succession, as Gould and Davis wrapped up the Bishopston innings for 181, a total that looked sub-par on an excellent batting pitch.
Norton looked to make a strong start to their run chase and James Harvey provided impetus with some early boundaries. However, his positivity proved to be his undoing as he top-edged a pull to give Bishopston their breakthrough. After a cautious start, Lear and Cox, who survived some hostile bouncers from the opening bowlers, set about ticking off the runs and, not for the first time this season, they formed an excellent partnership, finding the boundary regularly and running well between the wickets.
After an uncharacteristically scratchy innings from Cox, a top-edged sweep proved to be his undoing. This brought Clifton to the crease and he bludgeoned the attack to all parts before a leading edge saw his demise and Lear was adjudged LBW next ball. With Midsomer Norton on 145–4, Bishopston were back in the game, but Nick Pang remained unflustered despite the fall of Nick Potter and Martin Blackmore in quick succession. Waiting patiently for the bad ball, he continued to count down the target and scored the winning run off the bowling of Cook to seal the victory for Norton with fifteen overs to spare.
This Saturday, the top-of-the-table Norton First XI welcome Chew Magna to Withies Lane, while the Second XI take on the same opposition away from home. The Third XI visit Nailsea. On Sunday, Bath are the visitors for a Sunday Firsts fixture. The Sunday Seconds make the short trip to Temple Cloud.