Cricket v Monmouth

The 1st XI bowlers made the most of an unpredictable pitch, and soon had Monmouth in trouble at 30 for 5, recovering to 162 all out, Nathan Smith and Craig Meschede taking four wickets each. A superb partnership between Craig Meschede (72) and Nick Evans (33) set us up for a comfortable six-wicket victory, a very special way to end for Jos Buttler in his last game as captain of the 1st XI, before he joins the England Under 19 squad to face Bangladesh. The 2nds restricted Monmouth to 112, thanks to excellent bowling by Dominic Bracher, Jamie Grantham and Taylor Buller. William Hardwick hit a quickfire 43, but the star of the show was Olly Dent who took three wickets and scored a brilliant 30.

The Junior Colts were three down in the first six overs, but recovered well to finish on 162, James Jennings top-scoring with 43, assisted by Ivo Gavin (30) and Richard Turner (26 not out). Monmouth were cruising at 80 without loss, but a superb run out by Dan Benson started the fall of wickets, James Dent finishing with 5 for 23 and two wickets apiece for Archie Rose and Hayden Tyler as Monmouth were bowled out for 132. Lewis Morris scored a superb century for the Bs as we amassed 172 for 5 in a rain-restricted 20 overs. Charles Marshall took four wickets and Lewis Morris three, with great catches from Harry Heal and Josh Lambert, as we bowled out Monmouth for 29 to win by 143 runs.

After a poor start with the ball, the Under 14s recovered to restrict Monmouth to 135 for 8 in their 30 overs. After losing early wickets, James Winsey steadied the ship with 27, and Ben Shapland batted very well to launch a comeback, but we ended on 104 all out. Jake Fleming's rapid 42 gave the Bs a good chance of chasing down 152, but unfortunately he ran out of support, and we were bowled out for 135 to lose by 17 runs.