Ellison takes charge - Match reports 13/14 May
14 May 2023
Bath CC 1st XI v Taunton St Andrews 1st XI
After their opening match of the season against Frocester was cancelled due to the rain, Bath CC 1st XI travelled to the Wyvern Club on Saturday to face Taunton St Andrews CC 1st XI in their first Premier One match of the season.
Taunton St Andrews skipper and Somerset and England batter, Tom Banton won the toss and elected to bat first in what seemed to be bowler friendly conditions. Although the Taunton St Andrews openers got off to a steady start, Bath got into their work with opening bowler, James Arney taking the wicket of opener Gabriel Galmann-Findlay for just 5. This brought Tom Banton to the crease, but Arney soon removed fellow-opener Steven Jenkins (16), and then George Axtell got the prized scalp of Banton for 5 leaving Taunton St Andrews 42-3. The Bath bowlers continued to take charge, taking wickets regularly to bowl their opponents out for just 82 in the 28th over. Wickets were shared around – with Paul Muchall taking 2-18, James Arney 2-26, George Axtell 3-9 and skipper, Tim Rouse 2-9.
Chasing a small total on a difficult batting track was always going to prove to be a challenge for the Bath side, and when key opening batter, Brad Porteous was out with only 15 on the board, Bath knew a team batting effort was required. Although regular wickets continued to fall, at 48-5 James Arney joined Harry Ellison, and this crucial partnership took the Bath total up to 75 before Arney was bowled for an important 14. Despite losing Ellison for 17 before the end, the Bath batters got across the line with three wickets in hand to start their title defence with a win.
Bath CC 2nd XI v Frenchay CC 1st XI
Bath 2nds played hosts to Frenchay CC 1st XI at North Parade on Saturday. Bath skipper, Will Arney won the toss and elected to bat, but the Bath side quickly lost a succession of batters to find themselves 42-4, before Campbell McKegg (37) and Will Arney (42) came together to help rebuild the Bath innings. Then an important 44 from number eight, Dave Ford helped take the Bath total up to a defendable 193 when they were bowled out in the penultimate over.
Frenchay looked in the driving seat at 94-2 in the 23rd over, but wickets began to fall and a devastating spell of 4-24 from Dave Ford ripped through the Frenchay line up, and it seemed appropriate that Ford should trap David Burgess (4) in front to take the final wicket of the Frenchay innings and win the match by 22 runs.
Bath CC 3rd XI v Bitton CC 1st XI
Bath CC 3rd XI played hosts to Bitton CC 1st XI at the Brownsword Ground on Saturday. Bitton won the toss and elected to field, and this seemed to prove a good decision when Bath were left 49-5, but contributions of 29 from Ted Roe, and 31* from Mike Roe managed to take the Bath innings up to 155 when they were bowled out in the 32nd over. Bitton’s reply got off to a stuttering start, soon finding themselves 34-3, but even an important 31 from their captain, Josh Wiltshire wasn’t going to be enough as Bath continued to take regular wickets to leave the Frenchay side 123-9 from their 40 overs, still 32 runs adrift from the Bath total. All the Bath bowlers performed well, with Tim Scott (2-10), Sam Barnes (2-30), Freddie Kerr (2-19), and skipper, Thiaan Aspeling taking 3-35.
Bath CC 4th XI v Bristol Sri Lankans CC
Bath CC 4th XI travelled to the Fry Club Cricket Grounds to face Bristol Sri Lankans CC on Saturday. With a very young side, skipper Scott Sandford won the toss and elected to field. Bristol Sri Lankans got off to a strong start before opening bowler, Genevieve Donaldson trapped opener, Lahiru Perera for 20. Bath stuck to their task, but the Bristol Sri Lankans strong batting line up took them up to a commanding 351-6, with opener, Shehan Somaratna undefeated on 156 as the innings closed. Both Evie Dixon and Will Blackmore bowled well to take two wickets a piece. Despite a solid start, the Bath innings never quite got going, losing regular wickets to eventually be bowled out for 116 in the last over of the match. However, there were good contributions from some of the youngest batters in the team – which is a good sign for the rest of the season.
Bath CC 1st XI v Golden Hill CC 1st XI
On Sunday, Bath CC 1st XI kicked off their ECB National Club Championship campaign with a five wicket win over Golden Hill CC 1st XI at North Parade. Golden Hill won the toss and elected to bat, and they quickly found themselves 25-2 thanks to two quick wickets from Ben Chapman. The innings was then rebuilt through skipper, Daaryoush Ahmed (57) and Harry Thomas (63*) but once Ahmed departed wickets continued to fall around Thomas, as the innings closed on a competitive 226-8. In addition to Chapman’s opening spell of 2-32, Will Arney’s off spin was very effective, with figures of 3-35.
The Bath reply got off to a great start, as opener Jack Scrivens smashed a rapid 54 off just 33 balls. But once Scrivens was out, Bath slipped to 73-3 and then needed to rebuild their innings through Sam Young (28) and skipper, Harry Ellison (91*) putting on 72 to take the score up to 145-4 when Young was out. Louis Brown was then bowled for just 6 before James Arney (23*) linked up with Ellison to take the Bath side over the line in their 37th over.
