Melksham outplayed by Chippenham

Sat. 19th Sept. WCCL Div. 46, Chippenham 3rd XI 245/9 (45) Melksham CC 104/AO (29.5) Chippenham won by 141 runs

Melksham Cricket Club’s stuttering conclusion to the season continued away to Chippenham 3s, being thoroughly outplayed in a match which saw them succumb to a 141-run defeat. 

With Melksham put into field first after the home-side won the toss, the contest began with the hosts in the ascendency as Chippenham gradually but assuredly picked up early runs. By the 13th over the score stood at a healthy 51, with this being the over which opener Liam Merrett finally made the breakthrough. This sadly would not prove to be a sign of better things to come for Melksham, with Chippenham’s 2nd wicket partnership pushing onwards to an impressive total of 136-1 come the 25th over. 

The visitors got some joy later in the innings with regards to wickets; Mark Mullis persevered to pick up 2 wickets, after enduring a difficult opening to his spell. Chippenham maintained their healthy scoring rate, but Chris Singh then stepped up with 4 wickets inside 2 overs to leave the hosts on 195-7; providing some hope that Melksham may be able to restrict their opponents to a chaseable total. Unfortunately, a late collapse of the tail was not forthcoming, with Chippenham finishing the innings strong– despite 2 late wickets from Freddie Honeybone – with a total of 245-9 off 45 overs. 

Melksham’s response got off to a flimsy start with the early dismissals of Daniel Carpenter and Ross Holbrook, effectively killing off any chance the visitors had of chasing down their massive target. A few notable small partnerships of note did occur. Freddie Honeybone (9) and Russ Collins (20), did manage to steer their side to 51-2 off 12 before Honeybone’s dismissal. Chris Singh (26) and Matt Hunt (15) also provided a rare highlight with a partnership 32, but these small contributions were nowhere near enough to see Melksham to a respectable total, falling for a disappointing 104 all-out inside 30 overs. 

Melksham 2s did provide some good news for the club though, managing to secure a rare win at home to Spye Park 2s. A solid bowling display saw Luke Neale’s side bowl their opponents all out for just 126, with Andy Footner the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-15 off 9 overs including 4 maidens. The Melksham reply was built around opener Ian Doyle, who remained at the crease the whole innings with a steady 49 not out. Other contributions from Gary and Steve Burns, who scored 15 and 23 respectively to help steer the team home to a comfortable 6-wicket victory with 10 overs to spare.