The last two rounds of fixtures have highlighted the maddening extremes of a cricket season in England.
The three fixtures on the weekend of 6th June were all abandoned without a ball being bowled, whilst Saturday 13th June saw the first Warminster Cricket Club ‘Green Sweep’ of the season, where all three teams won.
The Warminster 1st XI travelled to Avebury for their fixture in the Wiltshire West of England Premier League. Warminster won the toss and elected to field, but the Avebury 1st XI started brightly and had scored 80 runs for the loss of only one wicket in their first 14 overs.
However, the Warminster bowling attack were excellent, achieving timely breakthroughs and steadily building pressure on the Avebury batsmen. Avebury were finally bowled out for 199 runs and whilst the wickets were shared amongst the bowlers, Anre Schutte returned the best bowling figures taking five wickets for 38 runs.
In response, the Warminster top order batsmen did what was required of them, marshalled by Joe Breet who top scored with a ‘run-a-ball’ 92 runs and victory was achieved with five overs to spare.
The 2nd XI played at home at the Sambourne Road ground against the Wilcot CC 1st XI. Batting first, Warminster steadily accumulated a total of 221 runs from their 45 overs for the loss of eight wickets.
All of the top seven batsmen chipped in with valuable runs, although they were slightly overshadowed by a superb 90 runs from Jude Cierpicki, taking his total to 376 runs from his first four innings of the season.
The Wilcot batsmen never really got to terms with the required run rate and some excellent bowling by Warminster saw Wilcot dismissed for 181 runs. Dan Smith’s opening bowling spell was the highlight, with him finally ending with three wickets for 26 runs from his nine overs.
The Warminster 3rd XI completed the winning weekend with a hard-fought victory over the visiting Bonded Brothers Cricket Club. Choosing to bat first, the Bonded Brothers 1st XI compiled runs at a steady rate, but were unable to achieve a match-winning total due to the ability of the Warminster bowlers to take wickets at key moments. The visitors were finally bowled out for 163 runs in the 41st over, with Mark Evans taking four wickets for 26 runs off his nine overs.
The Warminster response began shakily, losing three wickets for 27 runs, but a resolute 52 runs from Graham Cuthbertson helped hold the innings together. With19 runs required off the last five overs, the Warminster batsmen held their nerve, hitting the winning runs in the penultimate over.
Pictured: Joe Breet who scored 92 runs for the 1st XI at the weekend
