Bristol and District League Division Nine

Thornbury 3rds 204 ao beat Churchways 95ao by 109 runs

JACK Summerfield took 5-29 as Thornbury thirds overcame their title rivals in a 109 run triumph against Churchways.

Winning the toss new skipper Tom Moore decided to bat on a very dry and firm wicket.

Under 13s captain Rhys Price was delighted in being asked to open the batting with experienced Simon Weeks.

The pair played watchfully to start with. After a few overs, Weeks began to assert his power and hit some lovely boundaries including a straight six.

With a change of bowling, the tall leg spinner Asif got good turn and bounce and induced an edge from the unlucky Weeks, falling for 39.

Rich Hughes joined Price but had a ‘shooter’ and was bowled for eight.

Price began to find the boundaries and with Jason Riggs hitting ten from his first two balls, a big score looked likely.

However, Riggs played one shot too many and was caught. Then followed a flurry of wickets as Rhys Price departed for a determined 24, with Alex Riggs and Jack Summerfield both departing for six.

At 115-6, it needed a partnership to get Thorns to respectability at around two hundred with still 13 overs left.

Enter the veterans Matt Scarborough and Rich Hawkins.

The pair rolled back the years as they ran everything and dispatched loose deliveries.

Within nine overs, they had taken to the total to 176 when first Scarborough fell for 21 and shortly after Hawkins for 31.

Graham Mcwhinnie and Tom Moore took the same approach as Thorns posted 204 all out with Mcwhinnie finishing on a handy twenty not out.

Following tea, all rounder Rhys Price and Josh Lintern took the new ball and bowled with great accuracy.

In the fifth over, Price had the dangerous looking Ahmed trapped lbw playing a slog sweep and 2 balls later bowled Scott for a duck.

Lintern bowled through and was unlucky not to pick up more wickets as he finished with 1-16.

With the pitch dry and dusty, skipper Moore introduced Jack Summerfield who bowled five good balls.

This worked perfectly as the Churchways batsman needed to attack to keep in the game but found themselves walking back.

Mcwhinne and Alex Riggs supported Summerfield and Thorns fielding was outstanding as young Alex Riggs took two excellent catches the second of which, off his own bowling nearly removed.

The match was wrapped up in the 29th over as Summerfield took his fifth wicket for a ‘five for’, but the victory was set up by all the bowlers and the fielders in a superb performance.

Thornbury’s third team now march on to Timsbury on Saturday who are now their nearest challengers.