Somerset Cricket League Division Seven

Burnham-on-Sea II 186-4 beat Uphill Castle Cavaliers 183-9 by six wickets

BURNHAM II recorded their first victory of the season by comfortably defeating Uphill Castle in this local derby.

After losing the toss and being put in to bat, Uphill initially struggled against Burnham's opening bowlers.

Andy Birkett had both Kuht and Newman bowled for single-figures - whilst Liam Smith was very economical at the other end.

With Ed Tasker dismissing Biggs with his very first delivery, Uphill were in deep trouble at 33-3.

Burnham made another breakthrough in the 24th over as Phil White caught Williams of the bowling of Jake Harding. However, the hosts failed to press home their advantage, with Tasker and Castle throwing caution to the wind during an 80-run stand.

Even Birkett was not immune to this assault as the ball flew to the boundary with increasing frequency.

Inevitably, when the fifth wicket finally fell, a collapse ensued, and Caine Harding and Birkett were able to pick up a further two wickets apiece.

The final wicket eluded Burnham, however, as the visitors closed on 183 for 9, having hit 91 runs in the last 12 overs.

In reply, Burnham got off to a good start thanks to some woeful bowling from Uphill.

Moore was particularly erratic, being forcibly removed from the attack after two successive deliveries sailed over the batsman's head without bouncing.

Because of this, Burnham were able to keep up with the run rate thanks largely to extras.

However, they suffered a setback in the eighth over, when Pete Gaylard played all around a straight delivery.

Thankfully for Burnham, the partnership of White and Adam Martin proved to be a fruitful one, as they guided Burnham past the 100 mark and established a platform for the lower-order batsmen to build upon.

White reached fifty shortly after Martin fell, so although Harding fell cheaply, with 11 overs remaining victory was in sight with less than 50 runs required.

The persistent Bickell then claimed his third wicket by having White caught for 61.

This was to be Uphill's last moment of success, as Ed Tasker and Lee Coles batted with great maturity as they saw Burnham home with some thre e overs to spare.