CHIPPING Sodbury dug in to produce their best bowling display of the campaign and grab a superb 16-run win at Stroud in the Gloucester Division of the West of England Premier League.
The home side, who deserve enormous credit for going the extra mile to make sure this game went ahead despite inclement conditions, had no hesitation in bowling after winning the toss.
And Sodbury were made to battle all the way before reaching 154-5 from a weather-restricted 33 overs.
The total owed a tremendous amount to Jamie Rendell who finished unbeaten on 75, receiving vital support from former skipper Craig Scully who contributed 26.
Chris Dutton bagged 2-17 from seven overs and Leighton Collins had 2-37 for Stroud who, in reply, made up for losing an early wicket to take firm control thanks to the efforts of former Bristol rugby player Alistair Bell and opener Keith Daniels, who has been in sparkling form this season for Gloucestershire over 60s.
The pair put Stroud firmly in control at 119-1. But both men perished to Jon Toghill, Daniels being caught by Rob Mozelewski while Bell, who had blitzed his way to 78, was held behind by wicketkeeper John Rendell.
Those wickets gave Sodbury a sniff, and the visitors needed no second invitation to take advantage, exerting so much pressure that Stroud were reined back to 137-9, no other player able to reach double figures.
Toghill finished with 2-21 while there were also crucial spells from fellow seamers Mason Poole (3-48) and Mozelewski (0-27) before spin twins Rendell and Nick Wake turned the screw, both finishing with 1-21 from seven.
The win was Sodbury’s third in a row, a remarkable transformation after losing their opening four matches.
And a combination of points earned from this game and the fact that three other matches in this division fell foul of the weather meant that Bryan Jater’s side moved up to a season’s high of fifth.
That is a great improvement after a poor start to the campaign which saw Chipping Sodbury go down to Woodmancote by five wickets on the first weekend of the season.
Sodbury lost at home to Cheltenham Civil Service the following weekend, Painswick on May 16 and Hatherley and Reddings.
However, since then, the club have pulled themselves together and rolled up their sleeves to record wins at Gloucester Sports, home to Dumbleton and have now added Stroud’s scalp to the season.
Next for the men from the Ridings is a home date on Saturday against Bourton Vale who are second bottom with a record of two wins from seven outings.