North Petherton 1st XI boost promotion hopes but 2nd XI lose (From This is The West Country)

North Petherton 1st XI boost promotion hopes but 2nd XI lose

7:00am Wednesday 8th August 2012 in Sport

Somerset League Division 1

North Petherton 202-9 beat Kilmington & Stourton 181 by 21 runs

AFTER a lengthy journey, North Petherton were asked to bat by home side Kilmington.

Seemingly short of batsmen, visiting skipper Tim Gibbs opted to take a gamble and pair tail-ender Ali Bunce with regular opener Lewis Irish and it was to be a gamble that paid off. They saw off the pace of home team skipper Barton and the accuracy and swing of Akhtar, reaching 48 before Bunce was dismissed for a well-constructed 25.

Irish was joined at the crease by the free-scoring Dan Tottle and the rate started to accelerate as Irish, in particular, began to find his timing before being bowled for a well-made 71. After Tottle was bowled for a nicely-made 44, Petherton were sat on 131-3 with 16 overs remaining but they were put in a spin by 17-year-old Dorset player Fred Barton who bowled a mesmerising spell to peg Petherton back to 202-9.

In reply, Petherton started poorly and were flat in the field with Kilmington reaching 52 from the first nine overs. The introduction of Ian Hucker (3-38) and the ever-reliable Bunce (4-42) helped to compile seven wickets for just 80 runs as their accuracy was backed up by some good catches from Dan Tottle and Lewis Irish. Ian Hucker took a wonder catch off his own bowling, sending Australian Hansen back to the pavilion, but it was Tom Williams who stole the limelight with a superb catch on the ropes after covering the best part of 30 metres to take a match-winning diving catch.

News that Wellington lost to Ashbrittle increases Petherton’s promotion prospects as they host Temple Cloud this weekend.

Somerset Division 8S
Deane Crusaders 157-4 beat North Petherton 2nds 64 by 93 runs
 

NORTH Petherton suffered an embarrassing home defeat on Saturday at the hands of Taunton Deane Crusaders to dent their promotion prospects.
Bowling first, Petherton opened up with some tight bowling with only 19 runs coming off the first 15 overs.
 

But the Deane moved the score on to a total of 157-4 off 45 overs, with Petherton struggling to make any inroads into the visitors’ batting line-up.
 

In response, Petherton never applied themselves, playing wild and loose shots with the top six batsmen all bowled to fall for a dismal 64 all out, despite A. Jones top scoring with 24 runs.