Kingswood Village (141-3) beat Stinchcombe Stragglers (140) by seven wickets

STINCHCOMBE Stragglers were much indebted to a fine innings by Ra Mohammed in the fight against Kingswood's eight-man attack.

Batting first, they struggled to 55-5 off 20 overs, after the rejuvenated veteran bowlers Angus McCubbin and Steve Moran each removed a Stinchcombe opener, conceding no more than 20 in their joint 14 overs.

Sixteen-year-old left arm seamer Mike Barnes (2-18) and spinner Ben Foxwell (1-30) dismissed the middle order with only Steve Gallagher (11) and Adrian Howarth (14) reaching double figures.

Mohammed turned the tide. Marshalling the tail, he hit 53 (40 in boundaries) of the remaining 78 runs until dismissed by Barnes' dad, Steve (2-16), who, with 14-year-old Jacob Symanowski (1-15), and Vince Taylor (2-0), ran through the tail.

Kingswood's innings was soon in trouble. Alex Chopping (2-20) removed Tom Devine and the prized Ken Wood by the fifth over.

Home skipper, Kevin Morgan (42) and vice, Richard Wilding (45*) stopped the rot with a partnership of 91.

Though Morgan was pouched at slip by 69-year-old Chris Chopping off Steve Gallagher, Wilding and the elegant Ben Foxwell (23*) put the game beyond doubt with ten overs to spare.