NO BALLS UP AT BALDOCK

And so to Baldock , or more precisely , the ground known as Weston on a damp , overcast afternoon . Captain Tim Ellis wasn't overly upset at losing the toss and being asked to field first and although the wet ball didn't help the bowlers , the green topped pitch certainly did.

Making his seasonal reappearance, Jack Phillips opened the bowling with an excellent spell that somehow ended wicket less . Manny Smith at the other end also wasn't having much luck but two dropped catches contributed towards that . With the first change came the breakthrough, Richard Grice trapping the batsman LBW . Ellis made himself second change and it wasn't long before that decision was vindicated with Shaun Harris taking the catch high above his head at second slip . That catch was good but the next was excellent with Ellis at full stretch diving low to his left to take his next wicket C&B .

Shuffling his bowlers well and including the always interesting Andy Silvey , Captain Ellis kept the opposition thinking with wickets coming at regular intervals throughout the home sides innings . The three to fall before the overs ran out were taken by Ellis again , Smith and Scott De La Fuente , all of them clean bowled . De La Fuentes spell being possibly his best for the club . Baldock had done well to achieve a final score of 147 . Could PB go and beat it ?

Following a good tea , with some very nice multicoloured sandwiches , the sun came out and started to smile on the PB batsmen . Harris and Sanjay Thangiah walked to the middle short of confidence after a poor start to the season but began to find some form in the early overs . However it didn't last with Harris caught behind for 9 . His replacement , De La Fuente , also looked out of sorts and didn't get off the mark before being caught .

This brought one of the youngsters in to bat but Dylan Grice played like an old hand , taking each ball on its merits . His scoring shots were mixed nicely with the play-and-miss shots which kept everybody on their toes . Thangiah had moved comfortably on to 23 when an itchy trigger finger led him to be caught at mid wicket . Another of our young fraternity was in next but it wasn't to be Max Halls day , out for a second ball duck having been caught out by a delivery that reared up at him . In came Phillips for a cameo innings , dancing around the crease and swinging the willow at anything that moved until caught at square leg for 23 . Richard Grice then joined his son in the middle and this family affair saw the team to victory with 4 overs to spare . Grice senior finishing on 24 not out but Grice junior playing the innings of the day , ending on 42 not out.

So well done PB 4s , a well earned victory more than a month before their first win last season . Progress indeed !