Melksham 1st XI 311-5 v Bradford-on-Avon 1st XI 142 all out. Melksham won by 169 runs.
Melksham Cricket Club thrashed Bradford-on-Avon at home by 169 runs to claim just their third win of the season.
Batting first, the hosts turned in their best performance of the season by far, with a colossal first-inning total of 311-5.
Adam Mitchell and Russ Collins laid a super early foundation, with both top-order bats scoring 47 to send Melksham on the path to ascendancy. However, it would be Chay Forester and Joe Veacock who would later go on to truly put the gloss on their side’s efforts; the former smashed his second hundred, finishing on a score of 108, whilst the latter hammered his way to 70.
Having reached such a dominant position, it was unlikely that Melksham were to come under any significant pressure during the second innings, and this most definitely proved to be the case thanks to an efficient bowling display which condemned Bradford-on-Avon to a measly score of 142.
Wickets were shared equally amongst the bowlers, with Chris Singh, Liam Merrett, Paul Merrett and Adam Mitchell all claiming two wickets each, in the process taking their side out of the Division 2 relegation zone ahead of a massive match next week against fellow strugglers Box.
Unfortunately, both the 2nd and 3rd XIs were unable to come through with wins of their own. The 2s suffered a disappointing five-wicket defeat on the road against the Malmesbury 2s. Despite only losing five wickets during the first innings, the visitors were only able to muster a modest score of 163, which, despite the best efforts of the bowlers, proved to be too little a total to defend, with the homeside knocking off the target with just under five overs to spare. The 3s meanwhile lost to league leaders Bathford 2s by 37 runs, although they did well to manage to at least get close to Bathford’s healthy first innings total of 218-8, with Tony Reeves (67) and Dan Keal (55) scoring the lion’s share of the runs as Melksham reached a score of 181-9 during their 40 overs.
Daniel Carpenter, Melksham Cricket Club secretary
