Outstanding victory for Warminster Cricket Club over Swindon

The Warminster 1st XI recorded a wonderful seven wicket victory over the Swindon CC 1st XI.   

Swindon batted first and made excellent progress, seemingly on target for a match-winning total, but with consistent pressure from the Warminster bowlers, wickets started to fall and Warminster edged back into the match, bowling out the opposition for 267 runs.  Brad Small was the pick of the Warminster bowlers, taking five wickets for 55 runs.

In response, Warminster lost a couple of early wickets and this brought Joe Breet and Paul Braithwaite together when the total was on 76 runs.  Warminster didn’t lose another wicket and with this well-timed and hard-hitting partnership of 193 runs, Warminster powered to the win.  Joe Breet finished on 120 runs not out and Paul Braithwaite on 79 runs not out.

First defeat

The 2nd XI suffered their first league defeat of the season in a keenly contested match against a Swindon Super Strikers 2nd XI.   

Batting first, the Warminster batsmen started brightly with a 50 partnership but soon started to lose wickets.  The team ended up with 176 runs for the loss of nine wickets off their allotted overs.   

The Warminster bowlers found it difficult to make the initial breakthrough and Swindon Super Strikers played themselves into a strong position.  A late flurry of wickets, including three wickets for 39 runs for Jude Cierpicki, saw the opposition stumble over the winning line and a two-wicket loss for Warminster.

Superb victory

The Warminster 3rd XI achieved a superb victory over the Box CC 2nd XI in dramatic style, winning by one wicket.  Fielding first, the Warminster bowlers were excellent, bowling economically and taking wickets at regular intervals.  The Box 2nd XI innings closed on 216 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their 45 overs, with Mark Ambler returning the best bowling figures of three wickets for 22 runs.   

In reply, Warminster lost three quick wickets, but gradually got themselves back into the game, in part, down to a superb 57 runs from Ricky Corbin.  The lower order batsmen kept the team in contention and in a nail biting last over, won off the last ball.

On Saturday 25th July, the Warminster 3rd XI continued their excellent form with a dominant seven-wicket win over the Devizes CC 2nd XI.  The Warminster bowlers quickly asserted themselves over the opposition batsmen and managed to bowl Devizes out for 84 runs in the 37th over.  Prakash Rai was superb, finishing with figures of three wickets for nine runs off his nine overs.   

The Warminster top order batsmen fell quickly, but a middle order revival saw the team reach their target in the 17th over and move up to fourth in Division 7 of the Wiltshire County Cricket league.

Back to winning ways

The Warminster 2nd XI returned to their winning ways with a hard-fought 51 run victory over local rivals, the Heytesbury & Sutton Veny CC 1st XI.   

Batting first, Warminster started strongly, but the accurate bowling of the opposition saw Warminster restricted to 208 runs off their 45 overs.  Jude Cierpicki top scored with 84 runs, maintaining his position of leading run scorer in Division 4.   

In reply, the Warminster bowlers bowled incredibly well as a unit, finally dismissing HSVCC for 157 runs.  Dylan Collier returned the best bowling figures, taking three wickets for 18 runs.

Loss to table toppers

The 1st XI were unable to match their victory from the previous week, succumbing to the table topping Chippenham CC 1st XI.  Batting first, Warminster posted a total of 231 runs from their 50 overs, with Anre Schutte scoring 79 runs and Paul Braithwaite making 75 runs.  Unfortunately, the Chippenham batsmen were in excellent form, reaching their target in 38 overs, resulting in an eight-wicket defeat for Warminster.

Report: Russell Collier