Having been asked to bat on a damp wicket, Beanacre/Melksham Cricket Club (BMCC) lost a couple of quick wickets, but Steve Rendell and AJ Hobbs gradually repaired the damage until Hobbs departed for 13 with the score on 45.
After another quick wicket Dean Wallington joined Rendell & immediately took a liking to the short boundaries. The 5th wicket partnership had reached 46 when Rendell played on for 29.
Wallington was 7th man out for an aggressive 73 to a stunning catch in the deep. It was left to Gary Ings (16*) and veteran Rich Bryant (11*) to get the score to 182/9 off 45 overs.
Beckington wasted no time in setting about the bowling and the pitch dried. They were on 31 in the 5th over as Harfield was dismissed by a sharp stumping from Bryant. The run rate didn’t drop much over the next few overs, but wickets did start to fall and at 110/5 at drinks, the game was evenly placed.
However the 6th wicket partnership of Strand and Guliford had other ideas and with a mixture of aggression and sensible running saw the home team to their target with 9 overs to spare.
Strand finished 46 not out, while Guliford finished on 35.
Thanks to Autotech for sponsoring the match.
