Bristol Aces were shot out for 124 in the Fourth Division of the Bristol League, and Blagdon were 97-4 in the 25th over in reply, but they still managed to find a way to win what turned out to be a thriller by two runs.
Gopalakrishnan Sunilkumar was their hero, taking 5-13 in 5.5 overs as Blagdon’s last wicket fell in the 35th over. Bristol Aces, who are third in the table, had won the toss but were dismissed inside 29 overs, despite being 107-3 at one stage, with Martyn Mail taking 3-3 despite only bowling five balls.
Backwell Flax Bourton rushed to an eight-wicket win after skittling Chilcompton Sports for 68, with Ben Hobbs (3-11) and Nathan Mullings (3-13) the pick of the bowlers. Backwell Flax Bourton knocked off the runs inside 12 overs.
An opening partnership of 150 between skipper Alfie Lewis (94) and Nic Tindall (84) helped Stapleton to 251-9 in the Senior Division. Neil Pollard took 4-50, but Stapleton’s score was 18 too many for Bristol, who were dismissed in the 43rd over. Babar Pervaiz claimed 4-33 for Stapleton and Tindall 3-42.
Umair Javed, batting at six, smashed an unbeaten 106 from 92 balls in Pak Bristolians’ 218-6 before Coalpit Heath were restricted to 150-9, with Waqas Ahmed taking 3-24.
Sam Bracey made an unbeaten 95 from 97 balls – six fours and eight sixes – as Winterbourne recovered from 98-5 to make 197-6. That was too many for Midsomer Norton, who were dismissed for 109 in 25.3 overs with Corey Kislingbury grabbing 4-23.
Shirehampton defeated Timsbury by 30 runs in a low-scoring game in the First Division. Shirehampton were dismissed for 138 with Lewis Mason their top scorer with 51, while Martin Richards (3-22) and Liam Hosford (3-32) were the most successful of the Timsbury bowlers. Timsbury, who have yet to win a league this season, were dismissed in 33.1 overs with Lewis Palmer taking 3-24 and Charlie Weare 3-25.
Alex Williams claimed 4-37 as Twyford House were defeated by three wickets by Bohemians in the Second Division. Twyford House were bowled out for 165, but Bohemians needed Jordan Rogers’ 56 to help get them over the line with 15 balls to spare. Ben Smith took 4-30 for Twyford House.
Bristol West Indian Phoenix went down by one wicket to Knowle after posting 199-6 with Shawn Bennett (86) and Raj Chudasama (71) their leading run-getters. Knowle clinched victory from the final ball of the penultimate over.
Leaders Hambrook were too strong for Old Down, beating them by eight wickets after bowling them out for 132. Giles Smith made 56 for Old Down, but Richard Dyer picked up 4-25 before Gagandeep Singh made an unbeaten 55 for Hambrook.
Frenchay 2nds have gone a point clear at the top of the Third Division after thumping Bristol Sri Lankans by nine wickets. Lahiru Perera top-scored with 53 for Bristol Sri Lankans in their all-out total of 184, with Reece Bevan the most successful of the bowlers with 3-44. Skipper Joe Moss (79 not out) and Will Stabb (67) then put on 163 for Frenchay’s first wicket.
Bradley Stoke & Almondsbury 2nds recovered from 107-5 to make 262-9 against Old Bristolians Westbury 2nds, with Srinath Gandhi making 66 and Ash Baber 50. Baber then picked up 4-29 as Old Bristolians were dismissed for 108. Earlier, Lewis Campbell had taken 5-46 for Old Bristolians.
Suba Subramaniyam made 76 at almost a run-a-ball as Bristol Lions got past Congresbury’s 256-3 with five wickets and eight balls to spare in the Fifth Division.
Meanwhile, leaders Bristol United Banks overcame Keynsham 3rds’ 188-3 for the loss of four wickets with skipper Bilal Raja leading the way with an unbeaten 60.
Second-placed Stoke Bishop are three points behind them after beating University of Bristol Staff by 26 runs. They made 200-5 thanks mainly to Simon Morris (83) and Henry Britton (55) before the University of Bristol Staff’s innings ended with them nine wickets down. Tim Wong was their top scorer with 67.
An eighth-wicket partnership of 92 between Vineeth Raghavan (56 not out) and Kapil Sharma (51) helped Sixth Division leaders Bristol New Eleven recover from 64-7 to make 200 against Stapleton 2nds, with Ben Hatts taking 5-29. Sharma then took 3-25 as Stapleton were dismissed for 181.
Second-placed Bristol Eagles inflicted a first defeat on Golden Hill 4ths, beating them by 21 runs. They also jumped one place ahead of them in the table after bowling them out for 140, with Vipendeep Singh picking up 3-34. Earlier, opener Aravind Sundar made 68 of Bristol Eagles’ 161-9 with Tom Woodworth collecting 3-35 for Golden Hill.
Joe Black ran out top scorer Narendar Thatikonda and then took Frampton Cotterell 2nds’ final wicket with the penultimate ball of the game to clinch a nail-biting two-run win for Stoke Gifford in the Eighth Division North. Thatikonda, batting at seven, made 62 from 57 balls before his side were dismissed for 150. Joe Black finished with 2-32 while Rich Stadden took 4-38 and Jamie Black 3-13. Earlier, Alex Macdonald claimed 4-48 for Frampton Cotterell.
