Gloucestershire County League Division Two

Cam 1st XI 252-6 beat Thornbury 2nd XI 60 ao by 192 runs

CAM continued their fine start to the season as they comfortably swept aside Thornbury seconds to collect maximum points in what was a brilliant all-round performance.

After being asked to bat, Cam lost opener Pete Hall early on as he was bowled in the third over.

Jake Dolbear was joined by Ben Deakin and the pair batted patiently to begin with as they saw off the new ball before finding the boundary with more regularity as they moved the score on to 58. Dolbear was well caught at mid-wicket for 36 and Deakin departed for 20, but this did not deter Cam as their batsmen continued to find and clear the boundary regularly.

Ben Holloway added a quick-fire 39 before a 113 run partnership between Adam Holloway and Alex Ballard helped accelerate Cam’s total beyond 200. The pair rotated the strike well and struck regular boundaries as they both reached fifty.

Ballard departed for 63 from 51 balls as he attempted another big shot, with Ryan Western falling soon after in similar fashion. Adam Philp partnered Adam Holloway for the final few overs as Cam reached 252-6 with Holloway unbeaten on 65 from 75 balls. James Tunnicliffe gained respectable figures for the visitors as he picked up 2-29.

With an imposing total on the board, Cam’s bowlers knew that building pressure and forcing mistakes would go a long way towards sealing victory. Two early breakthroughs from opening bowler George Dolling saw Cam off to the perfect start as he had Hammond caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Dolbear before bowling the new batsman in his next over to leave Thornbury on 12-2.

Dolling was well supported by Charlie Viney who bowled economically to keep the away side in check as they looked to get off to a fast start.

With the game in the balance at 57-2 in the 14th over, an incredible course of events saw Thornbury lose eight wickets for three runs as Pete Hall and Ben Holloway completely decimated the opposition.

Wicket after wicket fell with the result confirmed with the first ball of the 19th over.

The pair both took brilliant, instinctive one handed catches off their own bowling and, paired with some good outfield catching, they finished the game in a matter of minutes. Hall took three wickets for four runs from 4.1 overs whilst Holloway finished with unbelievable figures of five wickets for three runs from three overs.

Thornbury were bowled out for 60 in an innings which included six ducks with only two men scoring more than five.

Cam will be hoping for more of the same this weekend as they welcome the visit of Hatherley and Reddings secinds.