West of England Premier League Prem 2 Glos/Wilts

Rockhampton 158-5 beat Lechlade 157 ao by five wickets

ROCKHAMPTON made a welcome return to winning ways on Saturday with a hard fought West of England Premier League Prem 2 Glos/Wilts win against Lechlade.

Having been asked to bat by the hosts, Lechlade made a solid start to their innings before Rockhampton’s Sam Jukes (1-27) made the breakthrough in the eighth over.

The visitors continued in positive fashion and were well placed at 55-1 off 10 overs.

However, when off spinner Guy Brothwood removed the dangerous Bradley Dial LBW for four, and Chris Willoughby (2-13) picked up two wickets of his own, both caught behind by Spence, the momentum of the game shifted towards the home side.

Jamie Wakefield (1-19) and Sam Nichols (1-37) both picked up well deserved wickets as batsmen continued to fall. Brothwood (2-25) then returned to the attack, and along with fellow spinner James Hancox (3-24) made short work of the Lechlade lower order as the visitors were bowled out in the final over of the innings for 157.

The Rockhampton chase got off to a disastrous start when Will Tyler was run out in the first over of the innings.

In the face of some tight bowling by the Lechlade attack, runs were hard to come by for the batsmen, with only Brothwood looking fluent at the crease.

Apart from Matt Tyler (13), Brothwood struggled to find a willing partner as wickets fell regularly and the Rams found themselves precariously placed at 77-5.

However, an eighty-run partnership between Brothwood (83 not out) and Willoughby (42 not out) quickly took the game away from Lechlade.

Willoughby took the attack to the visiting bowlers, whilst the elegant Brothwood continued to rotate the strike and punish any lose deliveries.

Their excellent partnership guided Rockhampton to victory in the 42nd over, giving the Rams a much- needed 19 point win.

Rockhampton travel to Corsham this weekend looking for another win as they seek to move on from a disappointing start to the season.