GOOD TEAM PERFORMANCE SEES SECOND WIN

Bar made it successive home league wins for the 2018 season with a convincing win over Bishop's Stortford at the weekend.

The visitors who had lost a good few players over the winter had a good win last week over North Mymms and won the toss and batted on a slow and dry surface and got off to a good start. Joe Burslem and Eddie Ballard started circumspectly and saw off the new ball and after 10 overs had accumulated just 25. However Eddie Ballard started to find the boundary with greater regularity and the visitors were off to a good start.

The 50 partnership arrived in the 15th over, however in the same over 16 year old Teddy Duke, got the the breakthrough as Ballard got a looping thick edge and it ballooned up to midwicket and Zawar Hussain for 31. Still the strong Stortford top order batted nicely but Bar backed up their bowlers with good fielding and a tight encounter ensued.

Burslem was the second to go as Luke Chapman defeated the batter in the flight and was stumped for 36. 86 for 2 was soon 95 for 3 as Steve Gale caught Reece Hussain for 14. New skipper Dom Chatfield and Joe Hawkins put on 40 but overs started to trickle away and the 4th wicket fell with just 13 overs remaining as Jigar Mehta claimed Chatfield's wicket. Bar got the 5th of the day as Thilan Walallawita had Hawkins caught at long on to leave the hosts 149 for 5 with just 8.1 overs remaining.

The visitors then lost 3 wickets for 16 as time ebbed away and a sprightly partnership of 20 in the last 20 balls saw them up to 190. The pitch was a bit slow but they would have to bowl really well to deny Bar as second league win on the spin.

Bar got off to a trademark start with Steve Gale and James Scott batting nicely. To be fair the hosts dried Steve Gale up with some clever field settings, but skipper Scott was playing well and scoring a tad quicker. The pair put on their third successive 50 partnership in 64 balls as the hosts looked in control.

Stortford had other ideas as Steve Gale was bowled trying to pull one that kept a touch low for 23 and when James Scott was leg before for the same sore, Bar were being kept honest at 53 for 2. In strode Kamran Younas and in 41 balls he took the game away from the visitors. Hot struck 7 boundaries, put on 61 with Harrison Palmer before he was adjudged stumped for 46.

Harrison Palmer went 14 balls later for 13 as Bar were back in trouble at 124 for 4 still needing 70 for the win and the visitors tails were rightly up. For Bar however Zawar Hussain (24*) and Thilan Walallawita (47*) batted positively and a 70 run partnership in 65 balls was enough to see Bar take 25 points and rise to fourth in the table.

Next week sees the return of the time cricket and a home game with North Mymms aiming to keep their good run of wins which now stands at 5 straight wins in league and cup.