West of England Premier League
Somerset Division
Chard 1st XI 198-9 beat Temple Cloud 1st XI 194 by 1 wkt

ALEX Hunt scored the winning runs as Chard edged Temple Cloud by one wicket to climb to seventh spot in the Somerset Division.

Chris Scott had taken four wickets as the hosts were all out for 194, and Chard snuck over the line with two balls to spare.

The visitors won the toss and elected to field, but they had to wait a while for their breakthrough – Simon Curtis making 20 and Courtney Forrest 24 before being removed by Hunt and Scott, respectively.

Chris Scott and Pete Moxom then tore through Cloud’s middle order, with Miles Hackett (24) the only batsmen to show much resistance.

Eighth man in Chris Diaper made a useful 29 and Tom Iles 17, but Jonathan Scott tidied up the hosts’ tail to dismiss them for 194 in 45.1 overs.

Chris Scott finished with 4-30 off 10 overs, Jonathan Scott 3-16 off 5.1 and Moxom 2-40 off 10 for the visitors.

Chard openers Nathan Johnson (46) and Jonathan Scott (20) got the chase off to a very promising start, but Cloud bowlers Simon Curtis and Diaper then set about tilting the balance away from the visitors.

Matthew Micale fell for three, Liam Cleal seven and Chris Scott five as the middle order wobbled, but Moxom crafted 29 before falling to Kevin Curtis.

Tom Balch made 13 and Nathan Warren 10, but when Kevin Curtis saw Joe Draper (9) caught by Hackett, Chard only had one wicket remaining.

They were grateful, therefore, to Hunt, who had worked his way up to 29 not out as wickets fell around him, and with Jonathan Scott (0no) the other unbeaten batsmen, he scored the winning runs off the third-to-last ball of the match to give the visitors a vital victory.

The pick of the Cloud bowlers were Simon Curtis (3-24 off 10) and Kevin Curtis (3-39 off 8.4).

Chard’s 18 points give them a tally of 116 in the Somerset Division standings, 19 points clear of bottom-placed Cloud, with Minehead and Wellington in between.

This coming weekend, Chard host sixth-placed Staplegrove, with only four points between them.

Grove have lost four of their last five games going into Saturday’s match, which starts at 1pm at Chard’s Dening Field.

***

West of England Premier League
Somerset Division
North Perrott 1st XI 202-2 beat Wellington 1st XI 140-8 by 62 runs

TROY Johnson scored a colossal 121 not out off 68 balls as North Perrott warmed up for their table-topping clash with Weston-super-Mare by beating Wellington in a reduced-overs match on Saturday.

The start was delayed by rain, with the match reduced to 20 overs per side.

Visitors Wellington won the toss and chose to field, and home openers Johnson and George Retter reached 33 before the latter fell to Ian Hewson (1-53) for 23.

Perrott captain Gordon Whorlow joined Johnson at the crease, and the pair proceeded to give Wellington a damn good thrashing with the bat.

Johnson motored to 105 and Whorlow 49 (off 43 balls) before the skipper was run out by Luke Desave at 185-2.

There was still time for Johnson to add to his and the team’s tally, as he finished the 20 overs unbeaten on 121.

That total included 16 fours and one 6, coming off a mere 68 balls.

Chard & Ilminster News:

CENTURION: Troy Johnson (blue helmet) in action. Pic: Steve Richardson

Wellington’s reply could not have got off to a worse start, as they lost Arron Campbell to a first-ball duck, caught behind by Alex Eckland off the bowling of Stacy Hawes.

It was 18-2 when Ben Evett (12) was bowled by Joshua Marshall-James, but to be fair to the visitors they did not fold.

Robin Davies scored 34, captain Alex Sparks 25 and Desave 14 as they reached 114-5, but they were way off the required run rate, and Johnson and Whorlow were picking them off at regular intervals.

Despite Kayden Hine’s 33, the visitors tailed away from 133-6 to 140-8 as their overs ran out.

Whorlow was the pick of the Perrott attack, taking 4-26 off four overs, with Johnson adding to his exploits with the bat by claiming 2-36 off four.

The hosts took 18 points to Wellington’s two, but league leaders Weston-super-Mare collected 21 from their win at Staplegrove.

That means there are 11 points between the sides going into this coming Saturday’s match at Weston (1pm start).

Perrott won the reverse fixture on their own turf by 63 runs – Johnson scoring 118 and Whorlow 110 in that match.

They’re likely to need those two to hit top form again this weekend, as Weston – fired by Somerset CCC players Ryan Davies and Peter Trego – have won eight on the trot since.