CRICKET: Burnham-on-Sea beaten by Long Sutton

BURNHAM failed to recover from a top order collapse and were well beaten at Long Sutton on Saturday.

Opting to bat first, Burnham were immediately in trouble with openers Dave Worthington and Brad House going early on.

Pete Harris steadied the ship, despite wickets falling around him as Ed Sparrow and Aidan Burt made regular inroads.

He finally found a reliable partner in skipper Jim Bloodworth at No 8 and, together, they did a sterling job at repairing much of the damage.

Harris eventually went just two short of a half-century but Bloodworth continued to stick around, determined to at least see the overs out.

Together with No 10 Fred Berry, he achieved that goal, taking the Burnham total to 168-8 off their 45 overs.

Bloodworth was unbeaten on 38 and Berry on 19, leaving their attack something to bowl at.

Burt was the pick of the Sutton bowlers, taking 4-25 off 9.

The Sutton openers damped any thoughts of a turnaround, putting on 60 for the first wicket.

Harris struck first, removing Pete Andrews for 39, but each top order Sutton batsman made useful contributions to frustrate the Burnham attack.

Ollie Farnham picked up two wickets in a tight seven-over spell and Harris ended with the fine figures of 2-25 off 9.

However, there were never enough runs on the board as Sparrow came in to steady the Sutton middle order and guide them over the line with five wickets remaining.

Only a miracle can save Burnham from relegation now; this Saturday, they entertain Bridgwater 3rds.

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LYMPSHAM & Belvedere 1st XI continued their title charge with a comprehensive victory over Division 3 bottom club Uphill Castle 2nds.

Batting first, the Lympsham openers laid the foundation for a challenging total, with Nathan Hancock (21) and Dave Luff (41) in fine form.

Gabriel Counsell carried on the good work, hitting a brisk 42 and he received support from Tom Gooding.

Gooding (43no), Neil Chadwick (24) and Sam McCrea (37) all made vital contributions as Lympsham closed on 233-5 off their 45 overs. Mark Biggs was the pick of the Uphill bowlers, taking 2-38 off 9.

When Uphill replied, they found Andy Taylor in destructive form.

He removed the top six, with only skipper Luke Bliss offering any resistance with a stubborn 40.

Jack Biggs added a late 23 but it was Taylor’s day, ending with 6-28 off 9. George Nuttycombe chipped in with 2-11 and two catches.

As a result, Uphill were all out for 116.

In Division 5, Wedmore’s promotion push took a knock as they fell 10 runs short of victory at Hardington & West Coker.

Put in to bat, the home side made slow progress against Bob Burgess (0-13 off 9) and Ian Harris (0-18 off 9) but Wedmore struggled to take wickets as Hardington posted 162-6.

D. Trapnell top scored with 54 as Adam Peters bowled to take 4-38.

When Wedmore replied, opener and skipper Billy Halford could only watch from the other end as wickets fell at regular intervals.

He eventually received support from Pip Patch (38), who gave them hope of victory. However, once Halford had gone for 58, it was all downhill as William Brooks took 3-31 to finish off a long tail.