Somerset Cricket League Division Seven

Burnham 2s 188-3 beat Taunton Deane Crusaders 185-8 by seven wickets

GAVIN Clifton and Phil White both struck half-centuries for Burnham 2s as they made it three wins on the bounce with a seven-wicket triumph at Taunton Deane Crusaders.

Clifton (52) and White (53no) guided Burnham home with eight overs to spare, while Lee Coles (30no) also chipped in with vital runs to complete a comprehensive win.

Earlier, S Green (3-32), Jake Harding (2-32) and Luke Gowan (2-18) combined to help restrict Deane to 185-8 from their 45 overs – and despite a shaky start to their reply, Burnham recovered thanks to the efforts of the middle-order trio to continue their unbeaten start to the season.

Burnham got off to flying start with Green removing Arscott early on, but a solid third-wicket partnership between J Eamer (53) and R Hoddinott (62) swung the game in Deane’s favour.

But when the pair departed, it triggered a flurry of wickets – as Harding and Gowan got themselves on the board with two wickets apiece.

Darren Aston also chipped in with a wicket, to help keep Deane below the 200 mark.

Burnham suffered a huge setback early in their reply, losing stalwart openers Ashfold (7) and Gaylard (14) to the bowling of Kingdom and Loker.

But Clifton and White’s rebuilding mission was a successful one and the pair edged the score into triple figures.

Clifton was dismissed by Ponte shortly after reaching fifty, but Coles joined White to finish the job for Burnham inside 37 overs.