West Somerset League Division 5
Trull 161-5 beat Mark 160 by five wickets

MARK slipped to a five-wicket defeat at the hands of Trull in Saturday’s Somerset Cricket League Division Five clash.

Sam Tinklin was the anchor of the Mark innings with a well crafted 54, but he lacked any real support from the top order, with only Tim Cattermole (21) chipping in, as they were all out for 160.

Defending a small total, Lee Tinklin (2-42) and Sam Mason (1-22) made early breakthroughs for Mark, but Trull’s middle-order fired and number six Dan Parsons kept his cool to guide his side home with five overs to spare.

Sam Tinklin (1-21) and Tim Moxey (1-36) also chipped in with a wicket apiece, but it wasn’t enough for the hosts.

Mark captain Stuart Blake was disappointed to finish on the losing side, but pleased to see his side’s youngsters taking leading roles.

He said: “We probably were a bit short with the bat and lost our momentum in the middle overs.

“But for me, it was great to see our younger lads coming through and playing so well.

“We opened the bowling with a 16 and 17 year-old, so it’s good to see and bodes well for the future.

“Also, a thank you to Trull for being such great opponents – they play the game in the right way and never go too far, it’s a pleasure to play against them.”

Trull captain Wayne Parsons praised the efforts of both sides and hailed Dan Parsons’ return to form.

He said: “We survived a couple of close scares but Dan Parsons finally found some form with the bat as he hit some booming shots. An enjoyable game against a fun, sporting Mark side, games like this are what makes Saturday league cricket what it should be.”

Ollerenshaw was the first man to go for Mark when he lobbed a catch to a grateful Wayne Parsons at mid off, before Moxey was clean bowled for 11.

Thowferk was a run out just eight to leave the score on 87-4 – and from here Mark collapsed from 100-8 giving Trull hopes of chasing a low total on what was looking like an awkward batting track.

But Mark introduced the rear guard of Bev Gowan (2) who hung around to support a now free swinging Tinklin and the pair allowed Mark to race to 128-9.

Tinklin continued to swing though and a few more lusty blows carried Mark to competitive 160.

Nat Slack’s superb opening spell reduced Trull to 29-3, but Jonty Hedges and Graham Miller set about rebuilding the early damage.

The pair took the score to 93-3 before both fell in quick succession – but Parsons was in no mood to panic and a sterling display with the bat saw Trull cruise to their target.