Burnham 120-8 beat Uphill Castle 119 by 2 wkts (From Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News)

Burnham 120-8 beat Uphill Castle 119 by 2 wkts

8:00am Thursday 6th September 2012 in Sport

Somerset League Division 3

Burnham 120-8 beat Uphill Castle 119 by 2 wkts

BURNHAM missed out on promotion despite defeating Uphill in this thrilling encounter, and a fantastic all-round performance from Darren Aston.

Having won the toss, Burnham captain Pete Harris put the visitors into bat, and his decision looked to have been vindicated when Taylor was dismissed for one in the fifth over.

Burnham had Uphill on the ropes at 27-4 as Aston, Ed Booth and Andy Smith shared the wickets but they failed to capitalise on the situation, as a 50 partnership between Llewellyn (40) and Owen (25) restored respectability to Uphill’s innings.

Aston made the crucial breakthrough, having Llewellyn caught by Harris, but useful contributions down the order helped Uphill to 119 in the 40th over.

Burnham’s reply got off to a good start, with Brad House (18) striking three fours in the first six overs.

However, his dismissal really opened the floodgates, as Burnham lost eight wickets for 36 runs.

Andy Ashfold was the only other batsman dismissed for double figures, and Burnham were staring down the barrel at 59-8.

But, Booth (16 not out) provided some much-needed stability at the other end as Aston put Burnham’s recognised batsmen to shame, striking a six off his second ball and proceeding to hit Uphill’s bowlers to all parts.

Aston (41 not out) scored the winning runs by striking another boundary but the team will be disappointed to miss out on promotion.