CRICKET: Burnham defeated by Taunton in Somerset League Division Two

BURNHAM suffered their first defeat of the league season at home to Taunton 2nds on Saturday.

Batting first, Burnham’s openers set off in confident mood, but Pete Harris was the first to go for 15.

When Dave Worthington was out for 28 it signalled the beginning of a collapse as Rob Driver (4) and Bradley House (0) went in quick succession.

The rot continued as Taunton’s bowlers remained on top and only Jim Bloodworth offered some resistance with 13 as the tail end was blown away.

As a result, Burnham were all out for 78.

Scourge of the Burnham line-up were Max Toohey, who took 3-21 off nine overs, and Lee Hart 3-3 off six.

There were also wickets for James Dakin and Seb Horler.

For Burnham’s bowlers, the quest was to salvage points.

Godfrey and Jack Cooper resisted the new ball for Taunton, with the latter going on to top score with 30.

There was some success for M. Winton, who bowled well to take 1-22 off nine overs, and Mike Green (1-21 off 4) but there were never enough runs on the board.

Rob Driver had the best return of the day for Burnham, taking 2-17 off 4.4 overs.

However, Hofmeister (18) and Wetherall (14no) saw Taunton cruise home with six wickets remaining and 35 points in the bag.

This is going to be a tough division with Taunton, Weston 2nds, Chard 2nds and Shapwick & Polden 2nds in the mix and Burnham have done well to make a reasonable start.

On Saturday, they travel to Chard 2nds.

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Somerset League Division 6N
East Huntspill 1st XI 114-8 beat Burnham 2nd XI 113 by two wickets

EAST Huntspill just edged this low-scoring derby which was dominated by the bowlers.

Batting first, Burnham’s top order failed to cope with Matt Mitchell, who took 4-27 off his six overs.

Only opener Peter Gaylard looked in control as the wickets fell.

When he was dismissed for a fine 38, Ben Adams (10) was the only other Burnham batsman in double figures.

As a result, they were all out for 113.

There were two wickets apiece for I. Phillips and P. Bagg, while N. Harding and the frugal Rob Pomeroy (1-12 off 8) kept the lid on the runs.

Kevin Butt was the mainstay of East Huntspill’s reply as the wickets fell at regular intervals.

He and Ned Harding (24) produced the biggest stand of the day, while Andy Chedzey hit 16 vital runs.

Butt was still there on 35 as he guided his side to a two-wicket victory.

Andy Birkett caused late panic in the East Huntspill ranks, taking 3-7 off his four overs, and there were two wickets for D. Aston and Tom McCollum, and one for A. Smith.

On Saturday, East Huntspill travel to early leaders Leigh on Mendip, while Burnham 2nds entertain Weston-super-Mare 3rds.

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HUNTSPILL & District slipped to their second defeat of the Somerset League Division 4 season at bottom club Wellington on Saturday.

Batting first, they failed to recover from losing their top three batsmen early on.

Only M. Cavill (28) and Matt Counsell (12) reached double figures as they limped to 100 all out.

The main wicket-taker was Jake Nichol, who had fine figures of 4-28 off nine overs, with Lewis Sparks and Macauley Campbell taking two apiece.

In reply, Wellington got off to a steady start, despite a fine eight-over spell from Matt Counsell, who took 3-27.

Opener Kevin Crout set up the victory, hitting 22, but Ben Evett came in to end all doubt as he hit a crisp 42, which included four 6s.

Wellington reached their target with six wickets remaining.

In Division 6N, Wedmore picked up their first victory with a convincing performance against Glastonbury 2nds.

A big opening stand from J. Burgess and Lloyd Patch 51 set up a decent total.

Although wickets fell cheaply thereafter, Burgess remained unbeaten as Wedmore reached 188-6 after their 40 overs.

In reply, openers Ross Chapman (12) and W. Hall (13) looked in confident mood but once they were dismissed only Steve Wade, with 21, made any real impact on the score.

As the innings fell away, S. Blackburn took 3-22 off seven, while Bob Burgess gave little away, his eight overs yielding 1-5.

Glastonbury were all out for 80, leaving Wedmore with 34 valuable points.

Huntspill & District 2nds were outgunned by unbeaten Spaxton in Division 7 N.

Spaxton posted 213-6 as J. Venton (30), B. Rich (66) and D. Pople (44) all made contributions.

In reply, six batsmen reached double figures but only Dave Tippetts went on to a sizeable innings, notching 45 as Huntspill could only muster 132-9 off their overs.

Mark were never in with a chance after their top order were rolled over after Butleigh 2nds posted 248-5.

There was 92 for Jack Tucker, while C. Burrough added a half-century as Mark’s bowling attack toiled away.

T. Lewis was the pick of the bowlers, taking 1-26 off eight, while there were also useful wickets for L. Tinklin, L. Neilson and M. Corrick.

When Mark replied, they were heading for a low score before T. Lewis hit a fine, unbeaten 46.

Nick Ollerenshaw added 33 and S. Tinklin 28 to take the score to 162-8 when the overs ran out.

In Division 8N, Lympsham & Belvedere 2nds continued their strong start with a 139-run win over Weston 4ths.

Batting first, Lympsham made a poor start to the innings but Kev Crockett came to the rescue, hitting a fine 64.

He was joined late on by Tom Gooding, who was unbeaten on 54 as Lympsham posted a challenging 209-8.

Weston’s opener were out early on and only T. Bailey (32) salvaged the innings as Gooding added 4-4 off five overs to his record to complete a match-winning performance.

Wedmore 2nds never recovered from a poor start and lost by nine wickets to Purnells 2nds.

Alfie Lavender top scored with 28 for Wedmore as they were all out for 74, B. Snook taking 3-4 off 1.3 overs and F. Leniham 4-31 off eight.

Openers A. Young (31) and J. Robinson (35no) put on 65 for Purnells’ first wicket and it was all over.