West of England Premier League
Covid Group D
Taunton St Andrews II 204 beat Chard 129 by 75 runs

CHARD looked in a decent position upon bowling hosts Taunton St Andrews 2nd XI out for 204 on Saturday - only for them to succumb for 129 themselves.

The home side opted to bat and reached 61 without loss, but then openers Jake Harnett (21) and Jordan Lee (33) fell in quick succession, to Chris Scott (1-16) and Reid Mawdsley (2-42), respectively.

Those dismissals brought in Toby Williams-Thomas, who would go on to make the innings of the day.

His 63, from 41 balls, hauled Saints up to 181, at which point he was trapped lbw by Benjamin Riley (3-40).

Jonathan Scott chipped in with 3-27 as the hosts were dismissed in 35 overs, but quickfire scores from Henry Graydon (21), Joshua Couch (18) and Ollie Heard (15*) took them up past 200.

Mawdsley (11) and Harvey Dening (22) made a decent start to the reply, only for Ben Walford (3-24) to reduce them to 44-3.

Nathan Johnson (48*) attempted to hold things together, but no-one else managed double figures as 56-3 became 87-8 and, ultimately, 129 all out in 30.5 overs.

Williams-Thomas continued his fine day with bat and ball by taking care of Chard’s tail, claiming 4-13.

***

North Perrott 166-7 beat Ilminster 122 by 44 runs

ILMINSTER, too, fell short of chasing down a reasonable total, as fellow South Somerset side North Perrott shot them out for 122.

The visitors won the toss, elected to bat, and their top three of Gordon Whorlow (27), George Retter (23) and Joseph Eckland (49) put them in a decent position.

Wickets started to fall around Eckland, with Harry Montacute claiming 2-22 and Ian Masters effecting two run-outs, and Perrott slipped from 109-3 to 140-7.

But Nick Taylor (23*) and Alfie Ogborne (12*) put on late runs that would prove crucial in the final reckoning.

Ilminster got early runs on the board, too, with George Hayward (13), Michael McNee (25) and Josh Lee (21) pushing them on to 79-3.

But only Sam Spurway (20) was able to add another double-figure score for the home side, as 114-5 became 122 all out in 34.3 overs - handing Perrott victory by 44 runs.

Whorlow took 3-14 off five overs for the visitors, with Ogborne contributing 2-14, Retter 2-25 and Krishnan Subramanian 2-28.

This coming Saturday sees Chard host Bridgwater 2nds - who have won three from three so far - while Ilminster visit Street and North Perrott entertain Taunton St Andrews 2nds.