Minch played Whitminster on a blustery day and embarked on a good win away from home this week.Skipper Alex Waring chose to bat again and openers Tom Horrell and Warren Cresswell picked up where they left of last week picking off steady early runs. Whitminster were bowling well however and a tight line and length restricted the Minch openers. Cresswells (20) frustration boiled over as he was run out from a superb bit of fielding at point. Alex Waring picked up the pace though and dispatched the ball to the boundary well. Horrell fell for a hard worked 25 and John Davies found some form to support Waring. Alex finally fell for an excellent 64 and Davies also for a much needed 27 before Minch embarked on a standard collapse but the hard work had been done. Pete Wand, Jaime Waring and Chris Wall all chipped in with quick fire runs at the death as Minch reached 189 all out. Rob Helliwell (4 for 47) and Al Davis (3 for 33) were the pick of a good Whitminster bowling attack.

In reply Minch got the early break through that was needed, as Pete Wallis clean bowled Jim Hyland (4). Tom Shearman (2 for 34) and Wallis (2 for 33) were bowling brilliantly in tandem and at times were unplayable with pace and swing. Shearman then got Biddel LBW and Helliwell bowled as Minch piled on the pressure. Youngster Matt Clutterbuck (17) and Dave Chandler (39*) provided good middle order resistance for Whitminster as Minch froze in the field. However 2nd change bowlers John Turton (3 for 18) and Tom Horrell (3 for 32) backed up the openers with great spells as Whitminster collapsed to 110 all out. Keeper Dave Cruikshanks fine work behind the stumps continued for Minch as well. A great team display by Minch with all top order batsmen contributing and all the bowlers in the wickets to secure Minch's second win in as many weeks.

Hardwicke v Leonard Stanley (by Hardwicke)

Hardwicke batting 1st 159 all out, a good 31 from young openening bat Jordan Rouse and useful contributions from Dustin Burt 17, Mak Chapple 21, Bill Rouse 17 and a valuable 35 from tail ender Chris Hutchings (3x4 and 2x6). Pick of Leonard Stanley bowling B. Fry – 8 overs, 4 for 23 runs and E. Nash 12 overs, 4 for 54. Both should have picked up 5 wickets (jug avoidance??) S. Pearman picked up an injury after bowling 4 overs, which was quite handy after taking 6 wickets last week (Hope you return to action next week)!

Leonard Stanley batting 2nd came out at full speed with P. Groves and B. Fry stroking the balls to all boundaries and looking like they would ease to the modest target, youngsters Tyrone Vincent 6 overs, 2 for 19 and Dustin Burt 6 overs, 1 for 13 slowed the game and slowly broke into the L/S team. At the ½ way stage L/S were well placed around 80 for 2. Dustin Burt bowling particularly well with pace and aggression. Bring on the experienced Bill Rouse and Mark Chaplle to slow the game further and 6 dropped catches during the innings did nothing to help.Bill Rouse finishing 11 overs, 5 for 28. and Mark Chapple 7 overs, 2 for 30 took care of the remaining batsmen.L/S finishing on 134 all out from 37 overs with useful contributions from P. Gabb 23, C. Uzzell 19 and S. Pearman 15. A tighter game than the score suggests with numerous twists, played with good spirit.

Hardwicke v Leonard Stanley (by Gabby)

With Captain Walker riding his bike down a mountain in Scotland, last week's bowling hero, Scott Kinman-Pearmain was elected Captain for the day. His first decision, heads or tails, was correct and put Hardwicke in on a hard dry wicket.
The home team's openers started well with J. Rouse racking up early runs, while the visitors bowlers struggled to find a rhythm in the blustery conditions. T. Vincent was the first to fall, caught by the juggling Uzzell at point. Pierce and Jellyman went cheaply to the accurate Nash, Pierce to an excellent catch by the skipper. Burt scored a spirited 17 before he became Nash's fourth victim. Nash finishing with 4 for 54. Chapple bludgeoned 21, ably supported by Hutchings (35) and with B. Rouse run out for 17 the tail-enders took the score on to 159 all out in the 40th over. B. J. Fry finished with figures of 8-0-23-3 for the visitors.
After tea, The Stanley openers of Groves and Fry set about the Hardwicke bowlers, Hutchings and Vincent. Groves fell first for 13 and Fry for 14 with the score at 53 from 10 overs. Gabb (23) and Uzzell (19) tried to keep the scoring rate going but were undone by the introduction of Kiwi, B. Rouse, who after disposing of the skipper, found no other Stanley batsman a serious problem and finished the innings at 134 all out in the 33rd over, with the impressive figures of 10.5-3-28-5. Tyrone Vincent also finished with respectable figures of 6-0-19-2.
So Leonard Stanley were brought back down to earth this week after beating the league champs the week before. Although this was a weakened side, it was still felt that there was enough experienced batsmen to surmount the Hardwicke total.
Thanks must go to the two League appointed Umpires who, just by being there, make the day so much more enjoyable for the two sides who don't have to do it themselves

Hardwicke v Woodchester (by H/W)

Hardwicke won the toss and put Woodchester in to bat, which looked a good decision as Woodchester soon 2 down for 10 runs. Hardwicke bowled well and kept the pressure on with tight bowling from Tyrone Vincent - 7 overs 2 for 23, and Chris Hutchings 12 overs 1 for 33. Runs were few and Woodchester reached 56 for 3 at the 20 over mark. A good partnership from P Carter 44, S. Halford 12 and P. Ledeboer 17 got the momentum going. A superb caught and bowled by M. Chapple (3 for 19) broke the partnership (Even he does not know how he held it). Good performances in the field from the young guns and also with the ball. Woodchester finishing on 137 for 8 from their 40 overs.

Hardwicke of course feeling confident they could pick the runs off, Adey Pierce LBW, Jordan Rouse caught behind soon put the home team under pressure. Woodchester kept the field tight and applied more pressure.Tight bowling from S. Porter 7 overs 1 for 25, and P. Legeboer 7 overs 2 for 26. This brought P. Carter and J. Patel to bowl who both gave little away while picking up wickets, at the 20 over stage Hardwicke were struggling at 68 for 5. Young guns Sam Hill and Curtis Watts both batted extremely well to take the total to 115 for 8 from 34 overs.Things limped along to 122 for 9 from 37 overs.Youngsters Dustin Burt 34, Sam Hill 28 not out, Curtis Watts 23 really batted very well and got Hardwicke back into the game. With Hardwicke requiring 16 runs from 3 overs with 1 wicket (the Captain) left things were too tight to call. A sensible Captains innings with young Sam Hill would see the home side win.

In came the Captain M. Chapple who promptly struck his 1st ball to long off on the boundary to end of the game.Well done to Woodchester for a very entertaining game that could have gone either way. Well done Hardwicke for the performance and battling till the end, apologies from the Captain for blowing it at the end after the teams hard work done to get us close.A big disapointment being the match ball which did not even last 55 sedate runs before needing replacement completely out of shape with all seams pulled apart.

Minchinhampton V Slimbridge

Minch visited Slimbridge for the first time in a long time and embarked on a close game full of runs and wickets.Skipper Alex Waring chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Openers Chandra and Phillips set off steadily for Slimbridge before Jeff Chandra was caught in the covers of Dan Woodrow. Plumbley entered the crease and picked his shot attacking anything short of length and dispatching it over the square leg boundary. Phillips finally fell for just 14 off 20 overs as Woodrow picked up 2 more wickets and Slimbridge were 70 for 3. Minch were however left to rue dropped catches as Plumbley raced to 46. Jaime Waring entered the bowling attack and removed Plumbley quickly, meanwhile Slimbridge captain Chaukley was building his innings. Waring (3 for 24) bowled tightly for Minch picking up 2 more wickets but Chaukley let loose and played a fine knock reaching 70, well supported by Bill Church at the death. Woodrow finally dismissed Chaukley to take his fourth wicket in a good spell, finishing with 4 for 64 from his 12 overs. The Slimbridge innings finished on 179 for 7 as Minch were made to work very hard in the field as the sun beamed down.

Quietly confident of reaching their total, the Minch openers of Warren Cresswell and Tom Horrell set off in good fashion as they have done all season so far. The two put on 60 for the 1st wicket before Cresswell finally fell for 21. This sparked a mini collapse for Minch as Alex Waring fell cheaply and Horrell (39) were both disappointed not have stuck around. 15 year old Matt Price showed his great promise in batting under the pressure of needing to hit runs, but Minch fell behind the run rate. Price (7) and Jon Davies (16) did their best to run quick singles but Minch found themselves struggling to hit boundaries and now needing 100 off the last 12 overs. However Jaime Waring entered the crease and brought a glimmer of hope back Minchs way. Waring hit Chandra for 2 large sixes and well supported by good running by Pete Wand they clawed Minch back into the game. However needing 32 off the last 3 overs, Waring fell for 39 and Minch struggled to hit vital boundaries and fell short by just 12 runs ending on 168 for 9. Ash Phillips was the pick of the Slimbridge bowling with 4 for 31.

Whitminster v Leonard Stanley (by L/S)

On a glorious Saturday afternoon, Leonard Stanley visited Whitminster only two days after the latter had won at Stanley in the evening knockout cup. Whitminster won the toss and invited the visitors to bat on what promised to be a good day for batsman.
Things didn't go to plan from early on for Stanley with Fry being bowled for 6 in the 2nd over by Rob Helliwell. Gabb was next to go in the 6th over, again for 6 when he hit a juicy half-volley straight back at Helliwell who caught the ball in self defence. Groves, meanwhile was making steady progrgess at the other end and when he was joined at the wicket by Captain Walker, the Stanley ship steadied for a while. Walker seemed to take forever to get off the mark and avoid a triple duck, but when he did, runs came fluently. Groves was bowled by Woodham for 23 and Andy Brennan soon followed when he was guilty of daydreaming at the crease and was run out, another one bites the dust! At 67 for 4 on the 15th over runs weren't a problem but the wickets were tumbling at an alarming rate. Uzzell padded-up once too often and was out LBW for 2, Walker was finally bowled by Woodham for a valuable 19 and Scott Kinman-Pearmain was Woodham's 4th victim when he was bowled for 15. Oakes and Collins didn't do much to trouble the scorers, but it was the ever youthful John Priestly who at 63 and batting at no.8 showed the rest how to do it with a priceless 25. Stanley were all out for 119 in only the 37th over, Whitminster's bowlers had done a stirling job. Woodham finished with 12-2-34-4, Helliwell 12-2-51-3 and Meadcroft 6-3-8-1.
After tea Whitminster set about chasing Stanley's relatively small total. They found runs very hard to come by, thanks to some very accurate bowling and extremely keen fielding. Hyland fell first, LBW for 7, Chris Biddell was next to fall bowled for 2 followed by Clutterbuck and Chandler for the same score. Captain L Cooke tried to force the scoring along but fell for 13. The run rate was climbing ever higher but the Whitminster batsmen had no answer to Stanley's bowlers. Rob Helliwell tried his best to win the game for Whitminster on his own but fell in the 38th over for a battling 40. Groves took the final wicket, in the 39th over, that of R Birch for 1 giving Stanley an improbable victory by 30 runs. Nash bowled well (12-4-30-2), ably supported by Kinman-Pearmain (12-4-19-2) and backed up by Groves (12-1-27-4) and Fry (3-0-7-1).

Woodchester v Minchinhampton (by Minch)

With 3 key players missing including the skipper Alex Waring and a late drop out meaning Minch were forced to field a youth team player, Minch visited Woodchester and the omens were not looking good. Vice Captain Warren Cresswell stepped up to the plate in Warings absence and chose to bowl first. Minch got the early breakthrough they wanted as Woodchester skipper Matt Curtis was removed bowled by Dan Woodrow. Woodrow (2 for 37) struggled to find line and length, but Pete Wallis (1 for 28) at the other end was extremely economical and restricted the run rate well. Porter and Holford (11) built a 2nd wicket partnership before Tom Horrell (2 for 44) entered the attack and removed Holford, again bowled. Meanwhile Porter batted very well at the other end, dispatching any loose balls. But it was the guile and spin of veteran John Turton that turned the innings Minchs way. Turton bowled his 12 overs straight through with impeccable accuracy and in doing so took regular wickets, finishing with 5 for 34. Minch also fielded superbly for once, taking 6 catches along the way. Porter reached 59 for Woodchester, but no other batsmen breached 11 as Woodchester were all out for 148 in the final over.

In reply Minch got off to a great start. Dan Woodrow was promoted from number 11 to number 1(!) in an effort to leave early and showed us all his true batting ability and built a great partnership with Tom Horrell. Woodrow played the holding role, rotating the strike well, whilst Horrell (64) dispatched any bad ball to the boundary on his way to his 2nd half century of the season. Woodrow finally fell, C&B off Jag Patel, for a well played 22 with Minch on 88 for 1 from 20 overs. 15 year old Matt Price was also promoted up the order to No.3 following some impressive performances with the bat on Sundays and again showed great promise and composure making 10, before a sharp catch again from Patel removed him. Self demoted Captain Warren Cresswell (14 not out) came in at 4 and steadied the ship and Jaime Waring at no5 hit 17 from 6 balls as Minch crept closer to the total. However Pete Wand was required to bat and against his old club guided Minch to victory by 6 wickets with 9 overs spare. Jag Patel was the pick of the Woodchester bowling with 1 for 33 from his 12 overs.

Hardwicke v Frocester IV

A fine sunny day for cricket, and a fine day of cricket it was too despite being a low scoring affair. Hardwicke won the toss and confidantly put Frocester in to bat. Lee Ingram bowled with good pace finishing with 7 overs 3 maidens 1 for 6 runs giving nothing away. Tyrone Vincent at the other end also gave little away finishing with 6 overs 2 for 13 runs, turning R. Tuck inside out as he bowled him. Frocester were finding runs very tight to find.I. Smith started to find his feet and score some runs but was undone by a great diving one handed catch by Mark Chapple. D. Baker also got a foothold scoring 11 but Hardwicke were bowling and fielding very well. Frocester 35 for 2 from 10 overs and struggling around 60 from 20 overs. Curtis Watts taking a fine catch on the boundary to dismiss D. Whiffen for 18 who was starting to hit the ball very hard to the boundary with ease, and a late blast from Sean Little with 16 runs got a total on the board. Dustin Burt 1 for 30 runs, Chris Hutchings 2 for 16 runs from 9 overs, Jordan Rouse 2 for 16, and Curt Watts 2 for 7 from 4 overs all bowled very tightly to keep the pressure on and finish Frocester off at 111 all out. (A much better performance in the field than at Eastcombe recently).

Hardwicke knew the pitch was not easy to bat on and would require a good effort, and Jordan rouse came out strongly with 2x4 and 1x6 for a quick 29 to get Hardwicke going, and with Alex Lane gone at the other end the score was 42 for 2 from 11. 2 further quick wickets and Hardwicke were 43 for 4 and the game was swinging back Frocesters way. D. Whiffen bowling very well with an excellent slower ball removing 3 batsmen. With Sean Little also bowling fine giving nothing to hit, runs were slow and a struggle. Hardwicke limping along to 65 for 6 from 24 overs. Lee Ingram came to the crease and played a brutal innings at just the right time giving no respect to the bowlers with 3x4 and 4x6 scoring a fine 41 runs and Hardwicke now 104 for 8 and nervous. The advantage back with Frocester. A quick wicket left Hardwicke 106 for 9. Frocester closed up the field and brought back Sean Little and sensed victory. Youngsters Tyrone Vincent and Sam Hill under real pressure to find the remaining 6 runs. Both played great blocking the good stuff and picking up singles to get close taking no chances. Sam Hill picking the right ball to hit through the covers to the boundary to see Hardwicke home by 1 wicket with 4 overs remaining. D. Whiffen bowled a very good 12 overs taking 4 for 27, Sean Little 11 overs 2 for 18 runs, and J. Roberts 7 overs 2 for 45, including a fantastic slower ball which got rid of danger man Lee Ingram and D. Richardson 1 for 21 from 7.

A great game with both teams bowling very well on a difficult batting track it appeared, superb fielding performances and the Captain vindicated (just) for putting Frocester into bat against against everyone’s judgement. A noted performance from 12 year old B. Tegg behind the stumps for Frocester who batted very well, and kept wicket superbly, coming off the pitch disappointed he let 2 byes through. (We let 15 through)!

Bisley v Leonard Stanley (by L/S)

After last weeks weather enforced week off, Stanley travelled to Bisley this week and came away winners by 7 wickets. Captain Rob Walker won the toss and chose to bowl first. Bisley started promisingly, reaching 46 without loss by the 9th over. Kinman-Pearmain made the breakthrough in the 10th over bowling J. Hemmings for 16, followed by O. Smith, LBW for a duck, in the 12th over. G Baker hung around until the 15th over but became Kinman-Pearmain's 3rd victim, with his slower ball, for 36. Kinman-Pearmain finishing with figures of 8-1-26-3. With Ed Nash unable to play due to work commitments, the other opening bowler slot was filled by Jamican-born new boy, Dennis Hilton. Struggling to find his line, any similarities between him and Michael Holding were soon dismissed as he appeared to bowl more like Paris Hilton! Rob Walker found himself bowling for the first time in two years and what a job he did. Bowling 12 overs straight off he stifled the Bisley middle order also taking 3 wickets. Bisley were finding it hard to get the ball away thanks to the ever accurate Tractor Boy Groves and the score dribbled along to 72 for 8 in the 24th over. Rich Tuttle and Jeremy Fern held up the tail for 13 overs until Fern was LBW to Groves for 14. Rich Tuttle was the final wicket to fall Run Out in the last over by some nifty footwork by Gabb. Groves finished with figures of 12-6-14-3. Had Stanley fielded like a team at the top of the league instead of a team of Fat Bottomed Girls, the target would have been much less and in many fewer overs. 5 catches were put down and the throwing to the keeper was woeful.

After a superb tea, Stanley set about the Bisley total with the emphasis on not losing wickets to gain points. Tractor Boy Groves and Gabb opened for the visitors but Groves was caught in the gully in the first over. Gabb was joined by Fry who became Fern's second victim in the 3rd over. Gabb was then joined by man-of-the-match Walker and the ship was steadied for a while, until Gabb mis-read a well pitched-up delivery and yorked himself for a valuable 34,(1x6, 5x4) in the 10th over. Walker was joined at the wicket by Andy Brennan and the pair saw the game off in the 18th over. Walker finished on 41 n.o. (5x4) and Brennan on 18 n.o. (3x4). Jeremy Fern was the only effective bowler for Bisley with figures of 6-1-18-2.

Eastcombe v Whitminster

Eastcombe edged back into second spot with a hard fought 3 wicket win at home to Whitminster. Put into bat, Whitminster struggled to score early on, with Kev Pring and Tom Morgan bowling tightly. Both made early breakthroughs, as the visitors struggled to 12 from the first 12 overs. Rob Helliwell was beginning to get into his stride, but a change of bowling brought a wicket as he was bowled by Mike Niblett for 20. The same applied as L.Cook was bowled by Andy Westley for 26. N.Williams picked up the scoring rate for the visitors with a hard hit 49, before his wicket was claimed by the returning Pring, who finished with 12 overs 3 for 19. Tom Morgan (4 for 24) returned to take 3 late wickets and finish his old side off, all out for 166.

However, 166 began to look a defendable total, as Eastcombe lost 2 early wickets and were 27 for 2 after 8. The ship was steadied by Perrins brothers Anth and Jer. Anth took on the more attacking role and was first to go for 53. It was Lee Medcroft (3 for 38) who claimed his wicket and also that of Jer for 34. By this time, however, Eastcombe had put themselves in the driving seat, a position that Andy Westley maintained with a very sensible 30 not out. Westley began with caution before hitting two huge sixes to finish the game and make sure of 20 points for Eastcombe, finishing on 169 for 7.

Minch entertained Eastcombe on an overcast day at Stuart Playing Fields. Losing the toss Minch were put into bat and with usual opener Warren Cresswell unwell and dropping down the order, youngster Matt Price stepped up to open the batting with fellow teenager Tom Horrell. Minch made steady progress before Kev Pring quickly struck twice, 1st removing Price clean bowled and then Horrell caught at mid-off. Alex Waring steadied the ship and Pete Wand found his stride straight away with sum powerful pull shots to get Minch back on track. However again Waring (12) and Wand (34) fell in quick succession and Minch were struggling at 80 for 4. Jaime Waring and Rupert Wakefield briefly stabilised things for Minch before Waring (5) was removed caught behind after a wild swish outside off stump. Wakefield was beginning to time the ball well and hit 2 large sixes off the bowling of Niblett to show his intentions. Minch continued to lose wickets though and at 125 for 8 things looked bleak. However Tom Shearman at no10 batted superbly and dispatched some wayward late bowling from Eastcombe. As Shearman hit the boundaries, Wakefield ran well and together the 2 put on 50 for the 9th wicket and Minch reached an excellent 176 for 8. Shearman finished on 37n.o and Wakefield 38n.o.

In reply Minch knew they needed early wickets as it appeared Eastcombe seemed to be without some key batsmen. Openers Rich Powis and Anth Perrins were calm and collected at the crease and moved onto 30 from the first 10. However a rare moment of in-decision between them lead to the run out of Powis, by Chris Wall with the score on 50. Jer Ward came and went quickly as Tom Horrell clean bowled him for 5, but meanwhile Perrins was playing a fine knock at the other end. Minch however were made to rue missed chances as Alex Waring put down 2 edges from Perrins in the slips and these proved very costly. Pete Wallis and Tom Shearman put in a big effort with the ball but Minch just couldn’t take regular wickets. Morse was then removed again by Horrell, this time caught in the deep but Lee Pritchard (36) came in and played a good supporting knock and Eastcombe comfortably reached their target with 4 overs to go. Anth Perrins playing a fine captains knock to reach 86 not out and guiding his team to victory.

Minchinhampton vs Eastcombe (by Eastcombe)

Eastcombe returned to the top of the league with a fine win at Minchinhampton. Knowing his team were under full strength, Eastcombe captain Anth Perrins was pleased to win the toss and put the home side into bat. Minchinhamtpon made a respectable total of 177 for 8, with Rupert Wakefield (38 not out), Tom Shearman (37 not out) and Pete Wand (34) the biggest contributors. For Eastcombe Jer Ward was the pick of the bowling with 12 overs 3 for 23. He was well supported by Kev Pring (2 for 35) and Mike Niblett (2 for 36). Pete Small took two catches behind the stumps, while Lee Pritchard claimed a catch and a run out. Eastcombe's approach to chasing the target was a cautious one. Anth Perrins and Rich Powis edged their way past 50 before the latter had a moment of madness and ran himself out for 12. Perrins continued with useful little partnerships with Jer Ward and Paul Morss, but it was Pritchard who joined him for the most significant partnership, batting with unusual composure !!. The two of them took Eastcombe to 177 for 3, Perrins finishing on 86 not out and Pritchard on 38 not out. A useful 22 points, took Eastcombe back to the top with Leanard Stanley suffering a rare defeat.

Leonard Stanley v Hawkesbury

League leaders Leonard Stanley welcomed Hawkesbury to the rec on Saturday.Stanley won the toss and invited the visitors to bat first. Hawkesbury got off to a bright start until D. Blackwell was caught by Marcus Collins for 19. G. Bailes was next to perish, to the hard working Walker, for 10, then opener C. Gardener was cauhgt and bowled by Fry for 38. T. Crichton (28) kept the scoreboard moving along with J. Vaughan(23), Fry bowled Chancellor and Salt for 7 and 11 respectively and Hawkesbury finished at 167 for 8 from their 40 overs. Fry,finished with 11-2-26-3.
After another fine tea Stanley took to the wicket for the run chase. They didn't get off to the best start with Chris Uzzell being caught at short fine leg off the first ball of the innings. Fry tickled the second ball for a single then Gabb was also out first ball top edging one for the keeper to take at short square leg. One over of leg spin, one run, two wickets. Enter G Huxford into the attack. Fry caught behind off the first ball of the over, Rob Walker bowled off the last. Two overs, six runs, four wickets. That set the tone for the rest of the innings, Huxford totally bamboozled the Stanley batsman with his ability to turn the ball both ways at will. Only Scott Kinman-Pearmain (17) and Ade Holder (13) showed any resistance. Stanley were all out for 58 in the 22nd over, Huxford finished with 10.3-4-17-8 and thouroughly deserved every wicket. The last time Stanley lost, Rob Walker was on a bicycle race, if only the rest of the team could have been on one on Saturday, it would have spared their blushes.

Leonard Stanley v Woodchester

Woodcester won the toss and put Stanley in to bat on a surprisingly green wicket, given the recent dry spell.
Stanley got off to a rocky start, with 12 on the board in the 3rd over Gabb was bowled by Payne for 8 trying to work the ball on the leg side. Groves was next to fall for 24 in the 8th over, bringing in Kimber who went cheaply for 2, but Andy Brennan, with Clemence, steadied the ship with a stand of 42 before Brennan became Paul Carter's first wicket, being bowled for 18. Fry, who arrived late, came in at no. 7 with the score on 133 for 5 and, with 18 overs left, set about the Woodchester bowlers with glee. Clemence became Carter's 2nd victim for a well constructed 43 and Chris Uzzell played a good supporting role for Fry, trying to give him the strike. Uzzell was out stumped for 9, all singles! Chris Oakes joined Fry and delighted the home side with some exquisite shots until he was caught and bowled by Carter for 17. Fry finally fell for 53, after being dropped 3 times, becoming Carter's 5th wicket. Nash and recently 21 Marcus Collins were the last pair at the wicket for the last over, Nash going for 2 with one ball remaining. Stanley were all out for 227 with Paul Carter mopping up the tail with 7 overs, 1 maiden, 6 for 36.
Needing over 5 per over, Woodchester's opening scoring rate was slow. Having scored only 22 from the first 12 overs, a change of pace was called for. Groves replaced Kimber and Nash replaced Walker. Groves had Nuttal trapped LBW in his second over for 24 and Nash managed to bowl Smith for 16 in his third over. Groves continued by bowling Patel for 24 and Curtis was stumped by Oakes, having missed a full toss, without scoring. He was also unlucky not to have Carter superbly caught one-handed on the boundary by Collins, who just stepped over the line in what was a fantastic attempt. Woodchester 84 for 4 in 21 overs! Fry replaced Nash and although his first 2 overs only went for 2 runs, he was taken off for Kimber, having gone for 24 from 4. Walker returned to the attack, replacing Groves and was unlucky not to have Carter caught and bowled. The square leg umpire adjudging a 'bump ball'! Kimber bowled Holford for 15 and Carter finally went for 46 caught by Nash. Smith survived two good appeals for a catch behind and LBW but was eventually bowled by Walker for 17. Dave Holmes and M. Green, saw off the final three overs scoring only 4. Woodchester finished on 160 for 7.

Slimbridge v Eastcombe (by E/C)

Eastcombe remain top of the league after completing the double over Slimbridge on Saturday. Before the match at Slimbridge started, both sides agreed to change to a different wicket to the one that had been allocated, but, even so, the home side were asked to bat first once Eastcombe skipper Anth Perrins had won the toss. The Slimbridge openers found it tough going, but persevered well and brought up 50 without loss. However, by this time, about half of the allotted overs had been used, and it was time to step on the gas. Ashley Phillips (20) and S. Adams (35) made way to J.Plumey (33), who increased the run-rate before trapped LBW by youngster Scott Westbury. Westbury was the pick of the Eastcombe bowlers, with 2 for 33. Jeff Chandler (32 not out) and Dave Tudor (21 not out) then gave the home side a chance by boosting the total up to 160 for 5. In reply Eastcombe's Simon Ward (29) and Anth Perrins (31) laid the platform with a solid opening partnership. Dave Tudor (2 for 42) bowled well for Slimbridge, but Tim Phillips was in imperious form with 73 not out, taking Eastcombe home to a 5 wicket win, finishing on 164 for 5. Ashley Phillips took 2 for 24 for Slimbridge, who fielded very well a and took a couple of excellent catches, but they didn't quite have enough to keep Eastcombe at bay.

Eastcombe v Leonard Stanley (By Eastcombe)

In the battle of the top two on Saturday, Eastcombe steam-rollered their way past Leonard Stanley to take a strangle-hold of the top spot. The weather was bound to be a factor, so the first crucial point in this match was the toss, which was won by home skipper Anth Perrins, who duly asked Stanley to bat. The visitors made a bright start, moving to 23 for 0 from the first 5, but the breakthrough came in the sixth over, as Kev Pring got one to rise up on Paul Gabb, who couldn't keep it down, Tim Phillips taking the catch. Pring then induced two more catches, by Tom Morgan and keeper Pete Small, and finished with 3 for 42. At the other end Jer Ward was in full swing, knocking down the stumps of the dangerous Paul Groves for 33, and then hitting them again to leave the visitors reeling on 60 for 5. Youngster Scott Westbury then joined the party with another cheap wicket, the catch snaffled by Perrins. Stanley then staged a bit of a recovery, with C.Nash and C.Uzzel digging in. Dave Morss (7 overs 1 for 13) made the breakthrough this time, with a decent catch held on to by Pring to dismiss Nash for 19. Uzzel (21) was joined by Oakes (14), but the returning Ward bowled them both out to finish with 9 overs 4 for 32. Scott Westbury (2 for 26) wrapped up the innings, and Eastcombe completed a pretty good fielding display, - Morss taking the final catch, with none dropped in the innings (for a change !!). Eastcombe began their innings knowing that they may have to contend not only with the Stanley bowling, but also the real threat of rain. Perrins and Simon Ward both hit a few crisp boundaries early on, but Walker (1 for 21) was bowling very well and his pacey swing bowling took the home captain's wicket. Enter Tim Phillips, into his stride quite quickly with a four and a six. The skies began to darken, and Ward fell for 20, but Phillips was at his most destructive, racing to yet another 50. Phil Barry was his new partner a made a quick 15 not out. With the rain just beginning to sweep across, Phillips hit 4 sixes in 6 balls, to finish on 76 not out, taking Eastcombe to 136 for 2 in the 21st over, bringing 22 points in the process and keeping them firmly at the top of the league.

Eastcombe v Leonard Stanley (By L/S)

Eastcombe won the toss and put Stanley in to bat on what looked like a lively surface. Groves and Gabb opening for Stanley made a steady enough start against the opening attack of Ward and Pring, until Gabb was caught in the 6th over for 6, with the score on 28. Clemence came in at no. 3 to watch Groves start to play his shots. However, when Groves was out for 33, Stanley suffered a mini collapse. Captain Walker, the hero when the two sides met earlier in the season, went for a second ball duck and Clemence followed him 3 balls later for 1. Fry lasted 4 balls and Stanley went from 46 for 1 to 47 for 4. Andy Brennan and the promoted Ed Nash, put up a bit of resistance before Brennan was out for 9. Chris Uzzell joined Nash until the latter was out for 19. Chris Oakes joined Uzzell and the score pushed on to 124, before Uzzell was bowled by Ward for 21, Oakes went soon after for 14 and Paul Walker was the last man out for 5. Stanley all out for a poor 131 in 34 overs. The Eastcombe bowlers came out on top. J Ward 9-0-32-3, K. Pring 8-1-42-3, S. Westbury 6-0-16-2 and D Morse 8-2-15-1.
With time available before tea, it was decided that 10 overs could be bowled. Eastcombe openers, Anth Perrins and S. Ward,started cautiously against Nash and Walker. Perrins was bowled by Walker for 14 but Ward and Tim Phillips saw out the time until tea. After the best away tea of the season so far, Eastcombe resumed their efforts to overhaul the Stanley total before the much predicted rain. With Phillips in unforgiving form, it only took another 11 overs to do this. Putting the Stanley bowlers to the sword he finished on 76 not out seeing Eastcombe home with 18 overs to spare.

Leonard Stanley v Hardwicke (by Hardwicke)

With 5 unplanned changes to the team from last week, a trip to 2nd placed Leonard Stanley was always going to be tough. Hardwicke won the toss and elected to bat 1st hoping to post a 180 score as in recent weeks. With opener Jordan Rouse missing again this time for a beach party, it was left to 14 year old Alex Lane and a slightly older Wayne Evans to open the batting. Both battled well against very tight bowling, with Alex unlucky to be caught and bowled for 17 by Pearman just as he was getting into his stride. Recent form batsmen Chris Hutchings and Mark Chapple both came and went cheaply (proving that form really is temporary and class permanent) and Hardwicke were struggling to score against the tight bowling from Rob Walker and M. Collins, both using the seaming pitch to their advantage. Wayne out later for a battling 33 runs. Hardwicke at 20 overs were 54 for 3, at 30 overs upto 99 for 3 thanks to a great partnership between Wayne Evans and Lee Ingram who decided to take the bowling on. Lee particularly brutal out for a great knock of 46 runs including 3 x 4 and 3 x 6. A late cameo from Sam Hill 10 runs and Hardwicke finished all out for 137, at least 20 runs short of a defendable total. R Walker bowled very well, 12 overs 1 for 27, unlucky to not take more wickets with many balls unplayable. M Collins 1 for 28 from 9 also very tight. Pick of the bowling has to be Scott Pearman, whose 1st spell was 6 overs 1 for 21, Scotts 2nd spell coming down the hill was 5 overs 5 for 9 to finish with 11 overs 6 for 30 runs – superb. A great all round effort from Leonard Stanley with the ball.

Hardwicke were cautious of defending such a small total but always back themselves to do well in the field and knew they needed early wickets to make a game of it. Lee Ingram and Tyrone Vincent bowled tight lines conceding 21 for 0 wicket from the opening 6 overs. Lee was now bowling with great pace and ripped out 2 wickets in the 7th over. The dangerous Groves now gone. Tyrone joined the action removing Walker next over to leave L.S now 32 for 4 from 9 overs – game on. Tyrone bowled out his allotted 7 overs and Lee continued to steam in to leave L.S 57 for 7 from 20 overs. Lee Ingram finishing with 3 for 41 from his 12 overs, and Tyrone Vincent 1 for 18 from his 7 overs also superb, both bowled great. Chris Hutchings joined the attack with a wicket maiden 1st over and continued to trouble the batsmen and give little away also bowling very well. C. Oakes proved defiant and made a steady 10 runs in the middle order. Mark Chapple replaced Ingram to slow the attack and soon dismissed Oakes in his 1st over, L.S now struggling at 81 for 8. Only Pearman offering any resistance struggling to play his preferred attacking innings with his partners falling around him. M. Chapple finished off Pearman to finish with 2 for 8 from 4 overs, and Chris Hutchings finishing with 3 for 22 from 9 overs. Curtis Watts also enjoying a great direct hit run out to dismiss A.Brennan. Sam Hill also tidy behind the stumps as usual. Leonard Stanley all out for 95. The pitch proving difficult for both sides to bat on. A fantastic Hardwicke effort in the field from everyone, Lee Ingram immense and without doubt the matchwinner. Hardwicke doing the double over Leonard Stanley in the League (with a 3rd win in the knock out competition) – who would have bet on that!

Minch v Whitminster

Minch played hosts to Whitminster on an overcast day at Stuart Fields and were just pleased to be able to field a side and with mass unavailability Minch had just 8 players at one point on Saturday morning! Scraping a side together captain Alex Waring chose to bat first on the Minch wicket.Openers Warren Cresswell and Tom Horrell played well as they have done all season and took on the role of dispatching any bad ball. The 2 batsmen made a calm and collected 50 partnership, however a rare moment of mad in-decision left them at the same end and Cresswell was run out for a well played 28. At the halfway stage Minch were 75 for 1. Alex Waring picked up where Cresswell left off and likewise hit some clean struck boundaries before he to fell for 28, LBW by Al Davis. Horrell was looking to push on now and get out of his troublesome 60’s but couldn’t do so and was clean bowled again by Davis for a very well played 64. With Minch at 110 for 3 on 30 overs there was still work to do. The key partnership came between John Davies and veteran Paul Winder, dragged back into league cricket once again. Davies ran well between the stumps and Winder bashed the ball to the boundary and the 2 added 50 in quick time. Davies finally fell and a couple of late cameos from Chris Wall and Tom Shearman helped, but it was Winders knock of 49 not out that was vital to the Minch score, as the total reached 194 for 5 from the 40 overs. Once again a great team batting display by Minch with all the top-order chipping in.

A brief rain shower at tea threatened to do damage, but infact this helped the Minch cause in looking for 10 wickets. Pete Wallis (with a train to catch at 7pm) knew his role was 12 quick overs and lots of wickets and he did not disappoint! Wallis removed openers Helliwell and Clutterbuck in quick succession with some great pace and swing and this set the tone for the Whitminster innings. Despite some chances going down, Minch fielded well and Alex Waring led from the front with a superb direct hit run out to remove Hyland. This then followed by Wallis taking 2 further wickets in 2 balls and a calamitous run resulting in Chandler run out and Hardwicke were reeling at 55 for 5. However there was a fight back from Whitminster. Lewis Cook blasted runs on the leg side and was getting good support from Lee Medcroft. The 2 added frustrating runs from a Minch point of view and gave Whitminster a glimour of hope when with 10 overs remaining they needed approx 60 runs for victory. However Tom Horrell finally found his line and length and with wicket to wicket bowling removed the Whitminster tail end and, like Pete Wallis, finished with 4 wickets – a great day for the young all-rounder. Cook finished with a well played 54 for Whitminster, but Minch delighted to have a got a game in and claim a 55 run victory victory.

Leonard Stanley v Hardwicke (by L/S)

Leonard Stanley welcomed Hardwicke to the rec on Saturday, looking to bounce back from their defeat the previous week at the hands of Eastcombe. Hardwicke won the toss and elected to bat first on a damp, green wicket, that should offer a little help to the bowlers. Opening with Evans and Lane, Hardwicke did indeed find it hard to score against Rob Walker and Scott Kinman-Pearmain. with 10 overs bowled, Kinman-Pearmain made the breaktrough having Lane caught and bowled for 17. John Clements was brought into the attack in the 13th over and had Hutchings caught behind by Oakes with his first ball. Rob Walker toiled away at the other end and was rewarded with his only wicket when he bowled Chapple for 4. Walker finished with figures of 12-4-27-1, but deserved much more success. L. Ingram came to the wicket and took the attack to Stanley by thrashing the ball to all parts. He was finally bowled by Groves for 46, having hit two sixes into the tennis courts! Kinman-Pearmain was brought back into the attack, this time from the street end and set about mopping up the Hardwicke tail. He finished with 11-3-30-6. Groves ended the innings trapping D. Vincent LBW with the last ball. Hardwicke totalling 137 all out. Scott did the teas on his own this week and what a fine job he did, although some raddishes would have been nice! A crazy little thing called love

Stanley started the run chase confidently enough against the pace of Ingram and the accuracy of T. Vincent. However, the wheels started to come off after Groves was bowled for 12 in the 9th over. Gabb followed 2 balls later for 0 and Rob Walker the following over for 4. Clements lasted only 2 balls and suddenly Stanley were 30 for 4. Andy brennen tried to hang about but was run out for 7. B.J. Fry was bowled for one and but for a stand of 32 between Oakes and Kinman-Pearmain, it would have been a very embarrassing score. Stanley stuttered to 93 all out with 8 overs still to be bowled. Ingram bowled 12 overs and took 3 for 41 and Hutchings bowled 9 overs and took 3 for 22.

Hawkesbury v Eastcombe (by Eastcombe)

Leaders Eastcombe were well beaten by a strong Hawkesbury Upton outfit on Saturday. Batting first, Hawkesbury made 207 for 9 on their home turf, with Danny Blackwell (70), G.Bailey (36) and Chris Gardner (25) the main contributors to a good total. For the visitors, Tom Morgan took 6 for 56 from his 12 overs, and also held on to a fine running catch. After tea, Hawkesbury's opening bowlers were excellent, and Eastcombe lost wickets at regular intervals. Joe Salt bowled well without any luck, but at the other end Huxford's 12 overs reaped him 4 for 19. Snake Beeley replaced him and took 3 for 11 as Eastcombe were skittled out for 98. Only Simon Ward (27) hung around for any length of time, and, although Eastcombe remain top after this defeat, another one would make things very tight at the top, with Hawkesbury now closing in too.

Frocester IV v Leonard Stanley (by L/S)

Stanley made the short trip to near rivals Frocester on a rare sunny Saturday.Shaun Little of Frocester IV won the toss and decided to bat first on what looked like a superb batting track despite all the rain during the week. Openers Rich Spyvee and Dan Whincup, found the bowling of Rob Walker very difficult to get away, Spyvee was first to fall after receiving and unplayable delivery and was bowled without troubling the scorers. Two overs later, the disappointment with the Readers balls continued, when the new match ball had to be replaced after only 7 overs. Spyvee can count himself very unlucky as the replacement ball didn't swing or move off the seam anything like the original. A. Mukasa came in at no. 3 and played steadily for 20 and after Whincup was caught behind for 10, was part of a good stand with veteran Ian Smith who scored a patient 51. M. Whyard made a useful 21 including some improvised shots a la Dilshan Tilekeratne, Bev Baker played aggressively before being run out for 19. Seb Choudhury forced a quick 11 before being bowled by Nash and with J. Roberets 7n.o. and Paul Wiffen 11 n.o. Frocester reached 171 for 7 after their allotted 40 overs. Special mention must be made of Marcus Collins who, for a part-time bowler, did extreremly well bowling 12 overs 2 maidens 2 for 46. Rob Walker again toiled away without the success he deserved, with figures of 12-3-43-1.
After tea, Stanley started the run chase with ominous clouds building to the west. Gabb and Clements opened this week and got off to a lightening start with 31 on the board after only 5 overs. Unfortunately at this point Gabb decided to leave his off stump open again and was bowled by Choudhury for 29. Clements not yet off the mark. Chris Oakes joined him and put on 44 for the second wicket before Oakes was stumped by the superb Dan Whincup for 20. Rob Walker, complete with new bat and pads, put them to good use putting on 36 with Clements before being nonchalantly caught and bowled by J. Roberts. Andy Brennan was unlucky to be out first ball getting and inside edge onto has pads and eventually on to the stumps. I think he needed somebody to love afterwards. A slight hiccup then at 111 for 4 but B. J. Fry looked at the weather and decided it was time to get on with it and with his hero Jack Russell watching, took the Frocester bowlers to task hitting a rapid 42 before being bowled by Shaun little only 4 runs short of the total. Fittingly it was left to Clements, the anchor of the innings, to score the winning runs ending on 43n.o. with 4 1/2 overs left. J. Roberts the only shining light in the Frocester attack with figures of 7-0-24-2. Stanley won by 5 wickets to keep them second in the table as Eastcombe (top) and Hawksbury (third) both won

Minch v Bisley (Minch)

Minchinhampton played hosts to Bisley at Stuart Playing Fields and embarked on a very similar game to the previous weeks win against Whitminster. Put into bat, Minch faced some hostile bowling from opener Jez Fern from Bisley. Fern almost had a wicket in just his 2nd over as Tom Horrell top edged one to fine leg, only to be dropped on the boundary. This proved to be costly. Fern did remove Warren Cresswell (5) well caught in the slips but this early wicket proved the only wicket for some time. Captain Alex Waring and Tom Horrell built a strong partnership and reached 75 for 1 at the halfway stage. They carried on there target of keeping wickets in hand for the last 10, before Waring fell for 39 caught in the covers with the score on 130, a great hundred partnership between the two. This however led to a mini collapse. Horrell once again played very well for his 80 and his 2nd fifty in as many weeks. But Horrell then fell, soon followed by Paul Winder and Rupert Wakefield. With Minch eyeing a score of 200 plus this looked difficult with 2 new batsmen at the crease, but Pete Wand and Jaime Waring built a mini partnership with quick running at the death. Wand (15n.o) and Waring (14n.o) made a quick fire 30 runs and boosted Minchs score to 199 for 5 at the end of the 40 overs. Whitfield, with 2 for 20, was the pick of the Bisley bowling.

In reply Bisley started slowly. Minch openers Pete Wallis (3 for 32) and John Turton (1 for 39) were bowling well in tandem and kept the run rate down. Wallis finally made the breakthrough after 11 overs removing Baker for 11. J. Hemming tried to hit his way out of trouble and again Wallis removed him clean bowled for 23. Paul Hemming and Will Gegg provided some resistance for Bisley and Gegg in particular stroked some well hit boundaries in trying to get Bisley back up to the run rate. However a moment of in-decision left Hemming run out as the Waring brothers combined in the field. Jaime Waring (3 for 32) then entered the bowling attack and took a wicket in his 1st over, removing Nick Green for a duck LBW. Gegg hit one big shot too many and then holed out off Warings bowling for 18. With the rain now steadily coming down Bisley tried to press on. Ollie Smith and Dan Wallington attacked the Minch attack and with a slippery ball Minch struggled. However Tom Horrell ( 3 for 40) was brought into the attack and did his usual job of mopping up the tail. Wallington (31) and Smith (21) fell in quick succession and Minch rapped up the tail, Bisley all out for 146. Another good win for Minch as they look to push on in the final few weeks of the season.

Woodchester v Hardwicke (by H/W)

Driving from Hardwicke to Woodchester through heavy rain we were expecting the call to cancel the game at any time.However, the rain stopped, the pitch looked wet but playable so game on….Woodchester won the toss and not surprisingly put Hardwicke into bat. Jordan Rouse and Alex Lane making the slow low wicket look a lot easier than expected to bat on playing some fine attacking shots and taking the score to 41 for 0 wicket from 10 overs. Patel and Carter both bowling well.Rouse bowled by Carter for 36 runs and Lane soon to follow. Hardwicke 55 for 2 from 15 overs. The new batsmen found the scoring had now stopped and very few runs were conceded with only 78 runs from 25 overs. Patel finishing with 2 for 32 from 12 and Carter 2 for 38 from 12. Curtis Watts joined at the crease and hit some fluid shots to the boundary and ran well to get the score moving along finishing with an excellent knock of 24 bringing Chris Hutcho in who also ran well between the wicket…..too well for James van rental who was run out and well annoyed. Hutcho continued to find the boundary and keep the score moving along from 100 runs upwards. Johnson was now bowling at 1 end and finding plenty of seam and movement and unlucky not to take a wicket, and Skien bowling at the other end also bowling well and taking regular wickets to finish with an excellent 5 for 21 from 8 overs. Hardwicke struggling.on the wet wicket and finishing with 137 all out. Hutcho proving a big bonus with 33 not out at the end to give the bowlers something to aim at.

So no more rain in the afternoon and out came Woodchester with Hutcho and Ingram opening the bowling and only giving 6 runs away for 4 overs. A wicket in over 5 and another in over 6 and the game was really on. Hutcho and Ingram bowling 20 overs for 38 runs, both regularly taking wickets to leave the Woodsmen 5 wickets down at drinks. Sam Hill excellent behind the stumps taking 1 great running catch.
Chris Smith and Paul Carter at the crease were both capable of winning the game and set about putting on a 25 run partnership before Hutcho got rid of Smith LBW bowling through for a deserved 4 for 22.
M. Chapple joined the attack to keep the scoring down and Curtis Watts bowling 4 for 18. Chapple bowled Carter for 15 and Woodchester were struggling at 99 for 8, Patel and Johnson continued to score runs and keep the game tight requiring 47 runs required from 5 overs. Chapple bowled at 1 end and brought back Ingram at the other end who saw off Patel for 21 and then saw off Skien to see Woodchester finish on 121 all out with 1 ball of the game remaining. A closer game than expected with Woodchester 45 for 6 at 1 point. Lee Ingram finishing with a well deserved 4 for 23 from his 12 overs.

The Woodsman felled by Hardwicke who picked up 18 valuable points with few other games likely to have been played. Well done to Woodchester for playing the game in a very good spirit, playing the game to start with, and staying out in the rain when many teams would probably have abandoned

Hardwicke v Whitminster

Whitminster won the toss and put Hardwicke in which looked a good call with Jordan Rouse quickly gone followed by Curtis Watts and Chris Hutchings to leave Hardwicke 3 down.This brought the Taylor brothers to the crease who picked the score up with quick running and brutal hitting, Adam out for 28 with 2 fours and 2 sixes, Jason falling for 21 including 2 fours and 1 six.Hardwicke now 71 for 5 and struggling. Rob Helliwell bowling his usual good line and length and N. Williams also bowling well at the other end.Mark Chapple looked to hang around and frustrate the bowlers while Lee Ingram took the bowling on for a good knock of 23 including 3 fours and 1 six. G. Toms bowled particularly well to frustrate the batsmen, Bill Rouse now at the crease finding Toms difficult to get the measure of, however, Bill Rouse got hold of the other bowlers with a superb innings of 59 with 8 fours and 1 six, a frustrating 12 not out from James Van Nijkerk ensured Hardwicke reached their seasons best total of 204 all out after Bill was caught on the boundary.Whitminster battled well with fine bowling in spells.

Hardwicke knew 204 was a challenging total for any team in the league and set about Whitminster with a changed bowling attack, Van Nijkerk wasted no time finding bounce to have Helliwell caught behind. Jim Hyland dug in and hit some cracking cover drives for his 14 runs bowled by Nijkerk, Toms 8 runs undone by Curtis Watts, Chandler played a good innings for 29 runs to keep the score moving along but Whit were never up with the rate. Nijkerk finishing with a deserved 3 for 28 from 7 overs, Curtis Watts 1 for 25 from 7.The old campaigner Hutcho joined the attack to screw the batsmen bowling his usual line and length for 1 wicket joined by Rupert Herniman bowling 4 overs for 1 wicket. Lee Ingram was brought into the attack to finish the game off and his pace proving too much for Whit, Lee finishing with 3 for 9 from 4 overs, Bill Rouse taking a stunning catch in the slips at low level that went like lightning (There is no one better in that position for taking the reaction catches). L. Cook also a good 20 runs before caught behind off Ingram. Jordan Rouse came on and finished the innings with a wicket from his 1st ball. Whitminster all out for 117 (7 points) against a very strong Hardwicke team (20 points) that worked well together on the day. A great team effort from all to win the game and give Hardwicke their best finish in the League too date. Sam Hill taking another 2 catches behind to round off a great 1st season behind the stumps for the 1sts. Good luck to Whitminster for next year in a new League and Hardwicke wish you well and hope you return quickly to the Premiere League.

Eastcombe v Minchinhampton

On Saturday, Eastcombe retained the Stroud Premier League title with a 6 wicket win over Minchinhampton. Eastcombe have now won the title 4 times in a row, thus equalling the record set by 'Cotswolds CC' in the 1970's. This latest championship was secured with one game to go. Eastcombe skipper Anth Perrins won the toss (once again !!) and put Minchinhampton into bat. Tom Horrell threatened to put the visitors in control with a couple of early crisp boundaries before he lofted a drive off of Kev Pring to long on where Dave Morss took a fine catch. Minch then lost further wickets to Pring, who finished with 12 overs 3 for 28. A cool run out by youngster Scott Westbury continued the visitors' demise, but Alex Waring then steadied the ship with a well organised 61. Dave Morss was again in the wickets for Eastcombe with 3 for 48, and Jer Ward took 2 wickets to go with an excellent catch as Minch posted 178 for 9. Eastcombe always looked in control after tea, particularly as Jer Ward gave them a good start with 44. When he fell to J.Turton, who bowled very well to earn 2 for 36, Tim Philips took over as Eastcombe cruised towards their target. Phillips had already made 7 fifties this season but surprisingly had not made a century. However with Eastcombe on 178 for 4, needing one run to win, and Phillips on 97, he crashed another six to bring up his ton, and take Eastcombe home with 22 points. So another championship season for Eastcombe, although they didn't run away with it by any means. Captain Anth Perrins struggled with numbers of players at times, his mobile phone proving valuable, as well over 20 different batsman were used over the course of the season, - all contributing to the huge number of batting points that Eastcombe amassed. Hawkesbury Upton and Leonard Stanley pushed Eastcombe all the way, and whether Eastcombe can break the record next season remains to be seen. For now, though, Eastcombe will enjoy their 'Champions' status, with the season having been played in fine spirit throughout, - and that goes for all opposition teams too. Well done all.

Hawkesbury v Leonard Stanley

For the final game of the season, a depleted Stanley travelled to Hawkesbury, themselves struggling for a side, to decide who would finish runners-up to Eastcombe.
Stanley won the toss and invited the home team to bat first. Nash and Kinman-Pearmain kept the bowling very tight and Hawkesbury found it hard to score and at drinks were 62 for 3. Though a low scoring game looked on the cards, the gaps seem a lot bigger in the last ten overs when there are only 8 fielders and Hawkesbury managed to make their way to 157 for 7. Ed Nash was the pick of the Stanley bowlers, bowling 12 overs 2 maidens and taking 3 for 20.
Stanley set about trying to reach their total with Fry and Oakes opening the batting. Oakes fell first for 8 brining captain Gabb to the crease. Fry was next to go caught behind off Kryton for 5 to bring in Kinman-Pearmain. Kryton bowled K-P for 9 and had Brennen caught next ball for his second primary of the season. Things were not looking good at 35 for 4 in the 10th over, although Gabb and Nash did their best to put up some resistance, until Gabb was bowled by Beeley for 20. The end was now only a matter of time. Collins was bowled by Beeley for 1 and Paul Walker was bowled b y Vaughan for 0. Nash's resistance finally gave in when he became Kryton's fifth wicket for a hard fought 29. When Veteren Carr was bowled by Gardiner for 9 Jaime walker was left high and dry on 0 and Stanley were all out for 87.
Congratulations to Hawkesbury on finishing runners-up and good luck in whatever they decide to do next season. As for Leonard Stanley, a relatively successful season given that the last time we were in the premier league, we went straight back to Div 1, having only won one game. If we had been told in May that we would finish third I'm sure we all would have been very happy with that.