THE 1st XI came out on top during a rain affected low scoring thriller away to Christian Malford, in the process moving to the top of the Division 4 table as the season reaches its halfway stage.
With rain before and during the match reducing the contest to just 29 overs a side, Melksham skittled their opponents out for just 91 during the 1st innings, with the inform Chris Long leading the charge with figures of 3-6 off 7. The run-chase was not without its nervy moments, but in the end the visitors got over the line by a margin of 6 wickets, with Lewie Simmons top scoring with an unbeaten 24.
Melksham once again made a ferocious start with the ball. Rich Hemmings made the initial breakthrough in the 3rd over, with him and Long then striking five times between them to reduce Malford to a paltry 18-5 off 7. Although neither bowler would go onto claim another wicket, both continued to apply the pressure brilliantly – with Long being particularly impressive with 5 maidens from his 7 overs – to restrict the hosts to just 40-5 off 14.
Malford’s 6th wicket pairing did have more joy, pushing their side to 71 by the 19th over. However, in their desperation to claim late runs, the homeside gave away 3 runouts in what would go on to be a tail-end collapse. These blunders, along with a wicket-a-piece from spinners Mark Mullis and Chris Singh, ensured that Melksham would be chasing a target of below three-figures.
Quite quickly the run-chase proved not to be straight forward however. Openers Adam Mitchell (8) and Simon Turner (5) were both dismissed inside the first 4 overs, giving a fire-up Malford every reason to believe that they were still in with a chance. Melksham’s 3rd wicket partnership of Mark Wiltshire and Joe Veacock were on hand to steady the ship though, and by the 19th over the duo had steered the side to 61-2 off 19.
The drama wasn’t quite done yet though, with both men dismissed soon after to once again give Malford a glimmer of hope. Fortunately, middle-order batsmen Simmons and Matt Hunt were able to hold their nerve though guiding their side home with less than 4 overs to spare, claiming a seventh win in succession and in the process dethroning Malford at the top of the table.
