Bank House Glos CCL Div Seven
Charfield 165-9
Cirencester II 166-6
TOP-OF-THE-TABLE Cirencester 2nd XI travelled to second-placed Charfield on Saturday with a depleted batting line-up but a strong bowling attack in a game which was a tale of two opening batsmen.

Winning the toss, they asked Charfield to bat and Ciren bowlers James King and Jake Holmes soon found plenty of lift.

The introduction of Fin Thompson and Andy Cox kept the brakes on the scoring rate and the latter took three quick wickets to leave Cirencester well on top.

Charfield opener Tom Godsell attempted to rebuild with the aid of captain Andy Adams. But Adams fell to the impressive leg spin of Thompson and this sparked a further collapse to leave Charfield’s scorecard in a sorry state at 97-8 from 32 overs.

Godsell marshalled the tail well as Cirencester’s intensity fell away slightly, and Charfield added 68 for the last two wickets.

Godsell finished on a superb unbeaten 97 as his team got to 165-9 in their allocation of 45 overs.

Holmes ended with two wickets and there was one apiece for King, Rob Watson and debutant Archie Norrie.

Cirencester’s reply was soon in trouble as they lost Bram Coleman to the skiddy express pace of Mike Colborn, who exploited the variable bounce well and ended with figures of 2-13 from his nine overs.

Jim Woodcock and George Thrussell consolidated and took the score to 50-1 until the latter was caught for 20.

Tom Elsey, Cox, Andy Cooper and Norrie came and went although adding a precious 41 runs between them as Woodcock kept grinding out runs to keep the scoreboard on track.

Watson joined Woodcock at the crease with 35 needed from 11 overs and after a circumspect start he hit the ball cleanly, including a six into a garden, which left Cirencester victors by four wickets with four overs to spare.

Woodcock completed an unbeaten 59.

Colborn apart, Daniel Newman was the pick of the Charfield bowlers – 2-38 from nine overs – with his off spin.