Belstone v Spreyton

Fine Belstone bowling edges out Spreyton in low-scoring Buckley

Belstone’s first 20-over midweek evening game of the season in the Buckley Cup was a closely fought low-scoring affair where the ball dominated the bat with only four boundaries and one six hit out of the total 120 runs scored. Belstone started reasonably with openers Ryan Dennis (11) and Richard Drake (17) helping the score to 37 for two in the eighth over but after that no-one else reached double figures, except for the top-scoring extras with 22 wides. Spreyton’s bowlers put such a brake on proceedings that just eight runs came from the final eight overs, James Sharman (3-2-1-2), Ben Hancock (4-0-15-2) and Jake Griffith (2-0-2-1) being most effective. The final total of 68 for eight looked hard to defend but within five overs of the Spreyton reply they were struggling at 9 for 4 thanks to a hostile opening spell from Dennis who clean bowled three while conceding just eight runs. Opener Richie Wilkinson held firm at one end, eventually carrying his bat for 23 not out, but wickets continued to fall at the other end with Alex Jopling taking two in his only over and Arden Frew-Smith (3.2-0-13-3) rounding things off by bowling last man Charles Hedley-Dent to give Belstone a 16-run win.