Melksham Cricket: fight back falls just short

14/08/21. Melksham 

146-9  Wanborough 

148-7. Melksham 

lost by 3-wickets 

MELKSHAM 1st XI suffered a heart-breaking 3-wicket defeat away to Wanborough at the weekend, despite pushing their much-fancied opponents all the way.   

Put into bat first on a pitch which they have notoriously struggled on in years gone by, the opening overs proved to be ominously familiar for Melksham. The dismissals of Daniel Carpenter (7) and Ross Holbrook (1) immediately placed the away side on the back foot, before the further dismissal of skipper Joe Veacock (9) left Melksham 35-3 and staring down the barrel of humiliation.  

Fortunately, the 4th wicket duo of Simon Turner and Seb Sailes were on hand to repair the early damage. Over the next 15 overs the pair steadily steered Melksham towards a more respectable total of 88, before Sailes was then dismissed for 25. Turner, now joined by Liam Merrett, continued to fight on for his side. His eventful stay at the crease was eventually ended in the 35th over when he was caught on 41.  

Wanborough then went back on the front foot during the remaining overs, with only Merrett making a major contribution with a handy 19. Matt Hunt (9) and Freddie Honeybone (10*) were able to squeeze in a couple of handy cameos, but in the end, Melksham were restricted to a below par – but not undefendable – 146-9.    

Merrett was handed the ball to begin the defence of Melksham’s total and almost immediately snatched an early wicket for his side. Further wickets weren’t immediately forthcoming though and, with Wanborough looking comfortable on 40-1 off 10, it looked as if the home side would ease to an expected victory.   

This would change dramatically over the next few overs. 2 wickets each from Merrett and Chris Singh turned the game on its head, with Wanborough now reeling on 70-5 and running out of potential match winning batsman. Gary Ings then added to the host’s woes with a wicket for himself immediately upon enter the attack, a wicket which seemed to turn the contest in Melksham’s favour.   

Sadly, Melksham could not get the crucial 7th wicket which would have perhaps powered them onto victory, not aided by several dropped catches in the field. Not until the 35th over did captain Veacock finally get another wicket, but by then Wanborough’s 7th wicket partnership had rebuilt the innings to set up for the win. In the end the hosts got over the line in the 41st over with 3 wickets to spare.   

Melksham 2nd XI finished a more comfortable second best, being on the end of a 175-run thrashing at home to Calne 2s. Fielding first, Melksham were never given a foothold in the match, with Steve Burns and Finn Evans the only wicket takers as Calne racked up a mammoth total of 300-3. Melksham’s reply proved to be nothing more than a whimper, with the hosts finishing on 128 all out in an innings that saw no batsman make more than 20.