WEPL
By Steve Hill
FROCESTER beat the weather and Goatacre to return to the top of WEPL Premier Two Glos/Wilts, new skipper Will Naish making an impact with ball and then bat.
Goatacre piled up 306 after losing the toss, opener Jack Haines hammering 118 off 67 before becoming one of Naish’s three victims while there were also three wickets apiece for Devlin Webb and Nathan Rose Innes.
In reply, Frocester were well ahead of the required run rate at 205-3 in the 28th over when the rain had the last word, Naish unbeaten on 93 from 50 (seven fours, eight sixes).
Marshfield, who started the day in pole position, banked only nine points from their abandoned home date against Cheltenham.
But a result was possible at Stroud who saw off Warminster by six wickets, brothers Louis (4-63) and Ewan Gegg (3-31) playing key roles before Amogh Bhatkal thumped an unbeaten 78 from just 35 (eight fours, five sixes) in a rain-reduced chase.
GCCL
OLDLANDS had plenty to celebrate after holding off Cranham by 80 runs for their first win in the AMS Gloucestershire County League since August 2019!
Captain Ash Walker top scored on 66 and Jacob Waite hit 32 in a 30-over total of 183-8 after losing the toss in this Division Four encounter, Jeremy Strickland taking 3-32 from six.
In reply, Cranham were well set at 62-0 before Ryan Neal (5-23) and Waite (3-28, both from six) made inroads and reduced the visitors to 103-8 from 24 when the rain rolled in.
Oldlands were relegated from Division Two in 2019, and lost all seven matches arranged in the shortened covid season of 2020 before they also went win-less last summer in Division Three, dropping down again.
Two other results were possible in this division, Dymock seeing off Sheepscombe by 45 runs with Andy Bevan, Matt Barratt and Isaac Lawrence all taking three wickets apiece, while Isaac Havard’s 6-15 from four and an unbeaten 61 from Craig Scully steered Chipping Sodbury 2nds to an eight wicket victory in a 20-over contest at Frocester 3rds.
In Division Six, Dave Leith’s unbeaten 104 off 76 (14 fours and a six) was in vain for Chalford who slipped to a six-wicket setback at Painswick 2nds.
