Tewkesbury won a nail-biter against Goatacre in Premier 2 Glos/Wilts of the West of England Premier League, getting home by one wicket with just two balls to spare.
And it was all the more tense for Tewkesbury, who won the toss, because they had held the upper hand for much of the game. They reduced Goatacre to 94-8 before the visitors recovered to 211 despite Archie Freeth taking 4-31.
In reply, they were cruising at 161-1 before opener Josh Richards fell two short of his century. They then lost another seven wickets for 34 runs before number 11 Tom Morris got them over the line.
Worcestershire and former Gloucestershire wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick compiled an unbeaten 104 from 113 balls as Cheltenham overhauled Chipping Sodbury’s 264-8 with four wickets and more than four overs remaining. The opener shared in a third-wicket partnership of 117 with skipper James Boyle, who made a quickfire 70 from 57 balls.
Earlier, Rohan Wijeratne (89) and Henry Rendell (55) had put on 110 for Chipping Sodbury’s first wicket.
Unbeaten Hatherley and Reddings are the new leaders after their 26-run win over Purton. Their 258 was built around another excellent knock by Vihanga Kottawasinghage (84 from 84 balls) before spinner Joel Price picked up 4-55 as Purton were bowled out in the final over.
Thornbury cemented their position in third spot in Premier One with a three-wicket win over Bath, with Josh Riggs (59) and Chris Gibson (58) providing the platform for their successful run chase, putting on 146 for the first wicket in their side’s 280-7. They got home with nine balls remaining.
Australian Tom Kelly, in his first league game of the season, made 140 from just 89 balls – 15 fours and five sixes – but Dumbleton’s wait for their first win in the top tier goes on despite posting 333-7 against Midsomer Norton. Opener Dan Holland made 72, but Midsomer Norton reached their target with five wickets and two overs in hand.
Ryan Kilmister (3-31), Will Naish (3-34) and Ed Middleton (3-44) played leading roles as Frocester dismissed Bristol for 189, and although they slipped to 97-6 in reply, Ben Johnstone (52) and Zain Syed (43 not out) ensured they got home with three wickets and more than seven overs to spare.
Ollie Meadows made 98, Max Tryfonos 83, and James Matravers 59 in Bedminster’s 345-9, which was 19 too many for Potterne. Matravers took 4-64 and Joe Millard 3-41.
Opening bowler Ishmael Peters ripped out Weston-super-Mare’s top order as they were dismissed for 109 in 20.2 overs in Premier 2 Bristol/Somerset. He took 7-33 in 8.1 overs before Downend knocked off the runs in 16.1 overs for the loss of two wickets.
Ahmed Syed claimed 6-34 in 10 overs as Golden Hill secured a narrow eight-run win over Taunton St Andrews. Golden Hill had earlier been bowled out for 154 with opener Sam Brooks top-scoring with 47.
Skipper Parikshith Shetty made 89 at the top of the order, but Twyford House were dismissed for 232, which saw them lose by 46 runs to Taunton Deane.
Table-topping Bourton Vale piled on the runs against Gloucester in the Gloucestershire Division, scoring 332-6 as they eased to a 106-run victory.
Opener Mark Whitney led the way with 118 while Lysander Tarrant made 76. Saad Awan picked up 4-74 for Gloucester.
Lafras Van Vuuren was unbeaten with 100, and Abhishekh Chidambaran made a run-a-ball 58 as Gloucester lost six wickets in their reply.
The in-form Matt Andrews made 88 for Chipping Campden, but his side were still dismissed for 179 by Charlton Kings. Tawanda Maposa, who came on as second change, took 5-22 in his nine overs before Charles Watkins (54) and James Williams (54 not out) helped their side to a five-wicket win.
Stroud clinched their first win of the campaign, racing to a seven-wicket success over Cheltenham 2nds after they had bowled them out for 176. Nimesh Ilukwatte claimed 5-32 and Angus Gegg 3-35 before Stroud knocked off the runs in 27 overs with opener Ronnie Newbery hitting an unbeaten 104 from 81 balls.
Kudzai Maunze made 91 from 72 balls and George Bailey 60 in Hawkesbury’s 255-4, which was 101 too many for Aston Ingham, thanks in large part to Gavin Huxford (5-24) and Maunze (3-30).
