14th May - Whitminster v Minchinhampton

Minchinhampton II made their season opening on Saturday away to Whitminster II and ran out comfortable victors by 24 runs.

Having lost the toss , Minch were placed into bat and soon found themselves in trouble , losing 2 quick wickets for only 1 run.This brought together the mix of young and old to steady things down.Joint skipper P.Winder changed style for the occasion and helped 15 yr old Tyler Stevens bring some respect to the scoreboard , before eventually Winder fell for 13.

The fall of this wicket brought J.Creedon to the crease , this further helped the batting sides cause , as he and Stevens helped push the score past the 100 mark.

Creedon eventually fell for 24 , with further cameos from B.Couling 10 , J.Cartledge 12 and Tom Stevens 11 N/O gave the scorecard some respectability.The mainstay of Minch`s innings was Tyler Stevens who passed his maiden 50 with ease before eventually falling for 55 , shortly before the innings ended on 164-9.

For Whitminster , S.Carrington claimed 3-41 , M.Woodward 2-23 , Weaver 2-43 and Birch & Jeffreys 1 wicket apiece.

In reply , the scoring rate was steady but posed no major concerns for Minch with senior members G.Winder and S.Hooper plugging away gamely , until Winder gained the important breakthrough dismissing C.Bidell for 17.At this point Tom Stevens was introduced into the attack causing wickets to steadily fall and the run rate creeping ever upwards.

Opener J.Merret was leading the rear guard on his way to a knock of 42 , but only found any real assistance from M.Woodward 17 and Jeffreys 19 , as the visiting Minch team closed in on victory.With the last over of the day completed , Whitminster closed their innings on 140-9 , leaving Minch victors by 24 runs.

For Minch , bowling was tight and figures were posted as follows , G.Winder 1-20 , S.Hooper 1-40 , Tom Stevens 3-26 , B.Couling 3-25.

Minchinhampton II`s first fixture in the league proving to be a successful one with the points 17-6.