League winners Warminster CC 1st XI encountered defeat for the first time this season on Saturday 16th August, against a Burbage & Easton Royal 2nd XI .
The defeat came after being crowned Division 1 champions of the Wiltshire County Cricket League the previous week.
Burbage and Easton Royal batted first and struggled early on in their innings, but a late flurry of runs saw them post a total of 175 runs when they were all out in their last over. All of the Warminster bowlers were economic and the wickets were shared around the team.
In response, Warminster seemed to be in control of the match, at one stage 108 runs for the loss of only three wickets, but a mini collapse saw the team falter and they were finally all out for 150 runs, losing the match by 25 runs.
The Warminster 2nd XI were involved in another exciting match and ultimately recorded a 16 run win over the Allington CC 1st XI.
Batting first Warminster started steadily, but Liam Carpenter’s 57 runs injected acceleration into the innings and with the middle-order batsmen striking some much-needed boundaries, the team manged 213 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
In reply, Allington also began cautiously, but at 173 runs for the loss of four wickets in the 35th over, they appeared to be in command of the match. Saroj Basnet (three wickets for 41 runs) was then reintroduced into the Warminster attack and with Dylan Collier (three wickets for 25 runs) Allington were bowled out for 197 runs in the final over.
A commanding victory for the 3rd XI saw them finish the weekend in third place of Division 8 of the Wiltshire County Cricket League. The Purton CC 3rd XI batted first and were bowled out in 32 overs for 102 runs. Whilst all of the Warminster bowlers were excellent, Toby Pygott (three wickets for seven runs) and Mark Evans (three wickets for 35 runs) were the most successful. The Warminster top-order batsmen chased down the total easily, within 16 overs, recording an eight-wicket victory.
Last weekend saw the Warminster 1st XI, slip to their second defeat of the season against the Royal Wootton Bassett 2nd XI. Royal Wootton Bassett were asked to bat first and lost three quick wickets, but their middle order batsmen batted aggressively and finally posted a total of 223 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their 45 overs. The pick of the Warminster bowlers were Alex Adlam with three wickets for 34 runs and Rory Cullinan, who took three wickets for 31 runs. Whilst the Warminster opening batsmen responded brightly, the team collapsed to 124 runs all out and lost by 99 runs.
The 2nd XI also lost, defeated by a Winsley 2nd XI by 32 runs. Winsley chose to bat and recorded 227 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their innings. Pick of the Warminster bowlers was Dan Smith, who took three wickets for 26 runs off his nine overs.
Evan Collier led the Warminster run chase, finishing with 108 runs not out, but the regular loss of wickets ultimately meant that the team fell short of their target and finished on 195 runs from their overs having lost nine wickets,
The Warminster 3rd XI completed another comprehensive win, their eleventh of the season, to move up to second place in their division. Playing the Avebury 3rd XI, Avebury batted first and scored 127 runs having been bowled out in the 39th over. Callum Widdows recorded excellent bowling figures for Warminster, taking four wickets for 20 runs, but the best bowling return came from Graham Cuthbertson, who took five wickets for 16 runs from his nine overs.
The Warminster batsmen batted positively and quickly accumulated the required runs to record a six-wicket victory.
Pictured: Evan Collier scoring 108 not out for the Warminster 2nd XI
