WEPL Bristol & North Somerset Division

Winterbourne (259-8) beat Shirehampton (178-8) by 81 runs

BEN Slade struck 95 to send Winterbourne on their way to a first win of the season against Shirehampton.

The hosts were reduced to 30-3 after being put into bat with James Bracey (9), Thomas Carter (9) and Navin Nayak (3) falling, but Slade and Chris Kislingbury repaired the damage with a 147-run partnership.

Slade hit eight fours and two sixes in his 125-ball innings, while Kislingbury scored 64 off 90 deliveries with five fours and two maximums.

George Ford smashed an unbeaten 22 off just 15 balls to set an imposing target for Shirehampton.

Like Winterbourne, the visitors lost three early wickets with Harry Blackwell (2-36) and Glyn Howell (1-29) doing the early damage to leave them reeling on 20-3 before recovering with a big fourth wicket partnership between Chris Gwyther and Martin Bowyer.

They put on 86 before Gwyther was caught by Ford off the bowling of Marcus Purnell (1-36) for 54 and Shirehampton lost their way from there, losing five wickets for 32 runs.

Ford picked up two wickets in successive deliveries and claimed another shortly after to finish with 3-30 off ten overs, while Carter (1-27) also chipped in.

Bowyer stayed at the crease to the end, finishing unbeaten on 71 after an unbroken ninth wicket partnership of 40 with Billy Cook (8*), but Shirehampton came nowhere near reaching their target.