Staplegrove CC 1st XI 197 / 3 (33.4) def. Burnham-on-Sea CC 1st XI 196 / 9 (45)

BURNHAM-on-Sea CC were beaten by seven wickets at the weekend away from home against Staplegrove CC.

The result leaves Burnham in ninth place in the Somerset Cricket Leagues Division One and now facing a relegation battle.

It has been an odd season for Burnham who started the campaign strong, but in recent weeks the team has struggled to regain form.

In the match, Staplegrove won the toss and chose to field first and perhaps made the right call.

Burnham's openers Brad House and Fred Berry got off to mixed starts as Berry was out for 4 runs, while House top scored with 36.

Further down the order there were strong contributions from Peter House (29) and Wesley Kruger (35).

However Burnham had to settle for a total of 196 runs after their 45 overs ran out.

The pick of the Staplegrove bowlers was Thomas Pantling who took three wickets, but it was a Pantling affair as Billy and Joe took two wickets a piece.

In reply, Staplegrove needed just 33.4 overs to chase down the required runs to win the match.

Joe Pantling top scored with 86 runs and his brother Thomas added 39, as did Lee Pope.

The home side lost just three wickets in their run chase as well to earn a convincing win.

Matt Dibble took two wickets for Burnham to finish with the best bowling figures.

Up next for Burnham is an away match against Wedmore CC on Saturday, July 22.

This is a bottom of the table clash, so a win here is vital for Burnham's hopes of staying in this division another season.