Uninspired batting leaves Melksham trailing

Sat. 5th Sept. WCCL Division 46 Winsley 2s 159 all out Melksham 91 all out

Melksham Cricket Club suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season with a 67-run defeat at home to Winsley 2s, in a performance which saw a decent display with the ball undermined by some uninspired batting.  

The contest got off to a slow start after the visitors won the toss and opted to bat first. Without scoring rapidly, the Winsley openers were able to accumulate runs at a steady rate whilst successfully defending their wickets, reaching a solid total of 41-0 after 11 overs. Only after, did opening bowler Matt Lee finally make a break-through, with his partner-in-crime Gary Ings claiming a scalp for himself shortly after. 

Now the game situation quickly turned in Melksham’s favour. First change bowlers Liam Merrett and Mark Mullis both claimed a wicket early on their spells, leaving Winsley in trouble on 76-4 after 20 overs. The pressure did not ease on the batting side in the following overs thanks to the bowling of Mullis, who subsequently embarked on a wicket-taking spree. He would go on to finish with an impressive five-wicket haul; thanks in no small part to the fielding of Gary Ings, who claimed 3 sharp catches off Mullis’s bowling.

Unfortunately, the home-side were unable to fully capitalize on their strong position, with Winsley making good use of the final overs to claim some valuable late runs. In the end, they finished on 159 all-out with just 1 ball in the innings remaining, with Liam Merrett and Joe Veacock claiming the final 2 wickets late on.    

Melksham got their reply off to a shaky start when opener Tom Wallis fell early on for just 6. Incoming batsman Ross Holbrook looked to accelerate the run-rate, batting in a more aggressive manner to complement the more cautious approach of remaining opener, Daniel Carpenter. The pair did manage to get Melksham to a satisfactory position after 10 overs: just keeping up with the required run-rate on 36-1. 

Things quickly fell apart when Holbrook was dismissed for 15, followed by the departure of Joe Veacock for a duck. The 4th wicket partnership of Carpenter and Russ Collins were unable to get the scoring moving quickly enough, and eventually the pressure told when both batsmen were dismissed for 16 and 7 respectively, leaving Melksham stranded on a perilous total of 53-5. Bar a brief flourish for Chris Singh, whose score of 14 included 2 sixes, the Melksham innings effectively grinded to halt, with the team limping to a total 92 all out.