Cam 1st XI 78-3 beat Aston Ingham 1st XI 76-10 by 7 wickets

Cam crowned their stellar season with a thumping victory over Aston Ingham as they finished the season unbeaten with 15 wins and no defeats in Gloucestershire County League Division 2, writes George Dolling.

Cam captain Ryan Malpass opted to field first and his decision reaped immediate rewards as Aston Ingham fell to 10-3 in just the fourth over. Pete Hall accounted for the prolific Jonathan Waspe in the first over as he forced a false stroke with both Ben Holloway and Chris Wilcox converging under the catch before Wilcox made no mistake and sent the opener on his way for a duck. George Dolling then settled under a skied shot off his own bowling to dismiss Shafiq Khan, before the same bowler trapped Josh Loade LBW in his next over as Cam made the perfect start to the game.

A partnership of 40 between Tim Dulson (22) and Ollie Henson (20) helped restore some parity before Hall trapped the former LBW before Charlie Viney followed suit to dismiss the latter in the same manner shortly after. Viney (3-8) then struck a double blow straight after drinks as he bowled Jack Carpenter with a terrific delivery before a simple catch by Dolling at first slip gave Viney his third.

With Aston Ingham in real peril, Will Payne ensure there would be no recovery as he dismissed Ollie O’Neill thanks to a sharp catch by Pete Hall, who had donned the keeping gloves at the completion of his earlier bowling spell. Some sharp work by Payne at point allowed him to run out Dan Smith following a mix-up, before the young seamer clean bowled the last man in the next over as the away side’s innings ended in the 27th over with the score a sub-standard 76.

Jim Seal began Cam’s reply in typical aggressive fashion as he raced onto 10 before he was trapped LBW early on. An array of boundaries from Malpass took the sting out of the Aston Ingham attack but Ed Paddock could not add to his recent good form as a mistimed shot saw him depart without scoring.

Alex Ballard joined Malpass as they took the score onto 42 before the former chipped a simple catch to mid-on to depart for 5 and give Waspe his third wicket of the afternoon. There was to be no more joy for the away side however as Adam Holloway (12*) helped steady the ship before Malpass (40*) struck the winning blow with a crunching six as Cam raced to victory in just the 16th over.

Cam will know sterner tests await them in Division 1 next season but can take confidence in the way they have overcome their opponents during what has been a brilliant season for the side.