Wiltshire CCL Div Two

Bear Flat 177 all out; Swindon United Churches 176-5

SWINDON United Churches made the long trip to Bath and returned victorious thanks to two outstanding individual performances and a well-timed run chase.

Bear Flat were top of the Wiltshire League Division Two before this game but two wins over the weekend saw Churches leapfrog them in the table.

Bear Flat won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat first on an overcast day. Their decision seemed to be vindicated, despite some lively opening bowling from Churches, as they comfortably moved along to 103-2 in the 27th over.

Leg-spinner Ravi Dhayalan then removed opening batsman Bence, LBW for 56, and this sparked a rapid decline for the hosts.

Richard Martin returned for his second spell and claimed excellent overall figures of 5-28.

Dhayalan claimed another wicket and two run-outs to cap a fine display as Bear Flat succumbed to 177 all out in the final over of the innings.

Several spells of rain post-tea meant that the Churches chase would be reduced to 174 from 44 overs.

Churches made a circumspect start and Bear Flat had cause for celebration early on as Morris removed Jimmy Mann for just 16. Fellow opener Keith Coatsworth (19 from 46 balls) and number three batsman Danny Hunt (79* from 88 balls) consolidated the situation with a calm partnership of 40 for the second wicket.

The introduction of Chris Gilchrist (25 off 24 balls) and Liam Brooks (15) provided some middle-order impetus as Hunt continued to accumulate at the other end.

The removal of Brooks, followed quickly by Dean Tomlin (0) threatened a Bear Flat comeback in the gloom. Matt Shadwick (8*) joined Hunt at the crease though, and a composed stand of 32 saw Churches home with 16 balls to spare.

Wiltshire CCL Div Two

Keevil 185 all out; Swindon United Churches 189-2

CHURCHES bowled first for the second time at the weekend as bottom-of-the-league Keevil recovered from 52-4 and then 98-6 to post a challenging 185 all out on Sunday afternoon.

Opening batsman Hallett (49) played the anchor-man role but it was the late-order hitting of number nine Hamblin (45*) that got Keevil up to a competitive score.

Churches had harboured hopes of keeping their hosts to under 150 through some disciplined bowling from Rich Martin (2-37), Danny Hunt (3-33) and Jimmy Mann (3-42). Captain Richard Martin has now moved on to 37 Wiltshire League wickets in the 2015 season, a fine achievement already.

A potentially tricky chase was made to look simple by the outstanding Jimmy Mann (113* from 102 balls) as he racked up his fourth league century of the season. He received excellent support from number three Matt Runkel (51) in a mammoth partnership of 145. The returning Duncan Mead (4*) had the privilege of smacking the winning runs as Churches won by eight wickets in 32.4 overs.

Churches have a weekend off before returning to league action on the weekend of August 15/16 in another double header against Collingbourne and in-form Swindon NALGO.