Promotion hopes hit by the weather

Melksham CC 1st XI’s aspirations of promotion from Division 3 suffered a setback as a result of the recent poor weather.

Their recent home match against Chippenham 3s ended in an infuriating 8-wicket defeat on DLS, before their key clash with second placed White Horse fell victim to rain the following week.

The 1st innings during the defeat to Chippenham saw Melksham compile a competitive score of 206-6, with Ben Brown (54 not out) and Joe Veacock (37) emerging as the leading run-scorers.

Unfortunately, Chippenham got their reply off to a quick start; something which in game blighted by weather-enforced interruptions proved to be fatal for Melksham. In the end the away-side claimed victory on DLS with a score of 100-2 off 17 overs.

This setback, along with the cancellation of their crunch-match against fellow promotion hopefuls White Horse, means Melksham are third in the league with seven matches left to play in the season.

The 2nd XI also met with similar weather-related frustrations, narrowly missing out on being able to claim a win against Division 8 high-flyers Allington 2s despite having the better of most of the game.

The 1st innings of the trip to Allington saw the 2s post a respectable 178-4, with opener Ian Doyle leading the way with an unbeaten 85. Melksham then got off to a great start in the 2nd innings thanks to tight spells from opening bowlers Chris Long and Andy Footner, although this was to yield only a single wicket from Long. In the end Allington were able to hold out long enough before the rain came in to finish off the fixture, with Melksham less than 2 overs away from the 20 over cut-off at which they would have been able to claim the win on DLS.

Fortunately, there would ample consolation the following week, with the 2s match against Devizes 3s ending in a thumping 9-wicket victory. Chris Long and Tom Watling utterly annihilated Devizes in the 1st innings, with both men claiming five-wicket hauls on their way to bundling their opponents all out for a meagre 68.

The 2nd innings was unsurprisingly a formality, with Melksham losing just the one wicket during an easy run-chase which saw Adam Mitchell knock up an unbeaten 55.

The 3rd XI meanwhile had a mixed fortnight, beginning with a 7th consecutive defeat during a 17-run defeat away to Chippenham 6s. Thankfully that run was put to an end the following week, with the 3s emerging victorious by the comprehensive margin of 138 during their home clash with Winsley 4s.

Lewie Simmons was the star of the show with a maiden career century, finishing with 119 as Melksham piled on a mammoth total of 271-9, with other key contributions coming from debutants Jon Price (41) and Matthew White (33). Melksham went on to have little difficulty in defending this total during the 2nd innings, with Winsley finishing up well short on 133 all out.