WEPL Premier Two

Cheltenham 331-5; Lechlade 177 all out

LECHLADE took a wicket with the first ball of the match but from that point on it was largely downhill for the home side as they lost to Cheltenham by 154 runs.

Captain Luke Sellers lost the toss and for the first time this season Lechlade found themselves in the field first.

Tristan Hawkes (3-46) gave Lechlade the perfect start, dismissing Michael Kelly for a duck, but the usual mixture of wides and no-balls enabled Cheltenham to prosper.

A wicket for Joe Breet and a smart caught and bowled for Freddie Martin did reduce Cheltenham to 73-3 in the 14th over.

Keiran Smith (104) and Pete Woodland (134*) then set about building a tremendous match-winning partnership of 179 runs off 182 balls.

Miles Hammond gave the hosts some control but in general the Lechlade attack lacked penetration and again the old adage that ‘catches win matches’ was not taken on board as several half-chances were spilled.

In the final eight overs Cheltenham scored 81 runs to post an impressive 331-5 from their 50 overs.

The Lechlade innings got off to a disastrous start and, when overseas star Brad Dial was run out backing up when the bowler touched a fierce drive from Benny Ellis on to the stumps, it was clearly not going to be their day.

With Dial, Higgins, Breet and Hammond back in the pavilion for only 24 it was left to youngsters Freddie Martin and Benny Ellis (67) to post a respectable total.

On a rather bleak day for the home side, a 122-run partnership between the two in only 51 minutes showed great promise for the future but when Martin (43) finally holed out just before drinks the rest of the Lechlade batting fell away and they could manage only a total of 177 and defeat by 154 runs.

As Lechlade go into the second half of the season it is clear that their attack has its limitations but they will hope to at least develop greater discipline during the rest of the season.

The batting has been inconsistent and weaknesses have been papered over by the brilliant form of Brad Dial, but at least there have been encouraging performances from some of the younger players which bodes well for the future.

Next week’s visit to top of the table Potterne will provide another stern test for the Manor Ground squad.

The 2nd XI returned to form with a three-wicket win over Marshfield, thanks to 81 from 15-year-old Jacob David-Ward, and they remain second in the table.