John Powell claims 400th wicket in Warminster victory

The highlight of the round of fixtures played on 5th July came from Warminster Cricket Club opening bowler, John Powell, taking his 400th wicket for the 1st XI team.

The Warminster 1st XI played the Chippenham 2nd XI at the Sambourne Road ground and recorded a six-wicket victory.  Batting first, Chippenham batted solidly, but the tight Warminster bowling meant that their final total of 189 runs for the loss of eight wickets was always going to be achievable for the home team.   

The wickets were shared around the bowlers, but John Powell’s milestone of 400 wickets stood out.   

In reply, the Warminster batsmen lacked a little of the fluidity they have shown during their other matches this season, reaching their target with only eight balls to spare.  Key contributions came from Kevin Monaghan (67 runs) and Anre Schutte (62 runs).

With the 3rd XI match abandoned due to heavy rain, the 2nd XI travelled to the home of the Swindon NALGO team, looking for a much-needed victory.  The Warminster 2nd XI batted first and started strongly, but a batting collapse saw the team dismissed for 123 runs in the 36th over.   

In response Swindon NALGO took the decision to try and score the required runs as quickly as possible and although they lost five wickets, they reached their goal in the 23rd over.

The weekend of the 12th July saw all three Warminster teams return to action. The 1st XI recorded their tenth win of the season and still remain unbeaten in Division 1.   

Calne CC batted first and struggled against the probing accuracy of the Warminster bowlers. The pick of the Warminster bowlers was Alex Adlam who took six wickets for 33 runs off his eight overs, helping to restrict Calne CC to 85 runs all out.  Although Warminster lost three wickets in the run chase, another comfortable victory was completed.

The Warminster 2nd XI faced a Swindon Titans team; however they were unable to score enough runs to set the visitors a challenging total.  Batting first, the 2nd XI scored 124, with Joe Dufosee top scoring with a hard-hitting 66 off only 51 balls.   

In reply, the Swindon Titans scored the winning runs in the 22nd over for the loss of four wickets.  Best bowling figures for a Warminster bowler were achieved by Dylan Collier who took three wickets for 28 runs.

The 3rd XI won a close game against Swindon Royal Challengers, their sixth victory of the season.  Bowling first, the Warminster spin bowlers took all of the wickets.  Whilst Mark Evans dismissed four batsmen for 28 runs, Alex Grace produced remarkable bowling figures of six wickets for 22 runs, resulting in Swindon Royal Challengers being bowled out for 118 runs.   

Warminster started confidently, but the regular loss of wickets saw the team stumble towards the required total.  The win means they remain second in Division 8 of the Wiltshire Cricket League.

Pictured: John Powell bowling for Warminster