WALKHAM Valley played host to Mainstone and the two sides delivering a well spirited match. Batting first, Walkham?s openers, Roger Smith and Richard Berry, secured a solid start before Smith was bowled by Carter for ten. In at number three was Simon Stokes, making his debut with the bat, though you would hardly have known it. With a series of confident, destructive shots, Stokes retired not out on 25 having hit two fours and a six, matching Berry?s score and his boundary count. Kevin Baxter made a brief foray into the middle batting at number four before being sent back by Carter who cleared his stumps out for a duck. This only served to bring in James Hills, whose combination of solid defensive strokes and devastating scoring shots saw him retiring not out on 29 having plundered two sixes and three fours. Though the remainder of the batting was muted in comparison ? Lee Gardner bowled Carter for one, Ray Spreadbury bowled Mitchell for two, while Martin Chandler and Graham Vincent were left at the crease for three and five, respectively ? Walkham?s combined performance saw them put on 104 in their twenty overs. Bowling honours went to Carter who served up three wickets, all bowled, for a measly four runs off four overs. By contrast, Mitchell?s one wicket came for ten runs off two overs. Mainstone?s innings got off to a shaky start. Faced by the accuracy of Mark Partington-Smith at one end, they were unwise to discount the apparent innocence of Martin Chandler at the other. While Partington-Smith bowled two overs for five, Chandler took three wickets, Byrne caught by Hills for four, Crane bowled for two and Ashworth bowled for nought. Chandler?s two overs produced figures of three for three. Neither was the elder Smith any relief, taking two wickets in successive balls, Conn caught by Hills for two and Sivorn caught by Smith off his own bowling also for two. Pirret, batting at six, managed to staunch the wounds with a solid 24, aided by resistant batting from Carter, Martin and Mitchell. Carter fell to another Hills catch off the bowling of Spreadbury for eight. Martin was caught by Smith off the otherwise wayward bowling of Gardner for two, while Mitchell was bowled by Vincent for a spirited 18. The last two Mainstone wickets fell to Hills; Pirret caught by Spreadbury, and Edwards caught by Hills himself for one. With this last devastating spell, two wickets for just one wide conceded, Mainstone were all out for 80 off eighteen overs and two balls. Honours once again went to James Hills for his 29 not out with the bat, two wickets with the ball and four catches in total, one off his own bowling.
