Chepstow 2nds lose out at Miskin (From Free Press Series)

Chepstow 2nds lose out at Miskin

The picturesque setting of Miskin Manor was the venue for Chepstow Seconds on Saturday, and hopes were high after a convincing victory over Cardiff last weekend.

After losing the toss, Chepstow took the field, and after a week of heavy rain the Miskin Manor strip no longer looked the batting track it had been in recent weeks, and Rob Jones eagerly takes the first over.

Miskin struggled to score runs, both Jones and Leon Thomas prove difficult to score off, and on 27 Miskin lose their first wicket with James Hobbs taking a straight forward catch to remove opener C. Pritchard for 11 off the bowling of Jones. Jones finishes with 2 wickets for just 17 runs off 10 overs, Thomas goes for just 16 runs off his first spell of 8 overs.

K Treharne arrived in the 7th over didn't depart until the 44th, top scoring with 57 valuable runs.

Left arm seamer Lee Brooks also bowled well for Chepstow with no reward for his efforts, 10-32-0 for his spell.

The rest of the Chepstow players also performed well in the field, as indicated by 5 of the wickets to fall being catches.

J. Cosgrove for Miskin was the only other batsman to offer real resistance, off 46 deliveries he made 28 scoring shots for his not out 52.

James Hobbs for Chepstow took 2 for 37-10, impressing all with his pace and bounce. The experienced Rob Hopkins, one of Chepstow's top off spinners takes 2 wickets for 47-10.

A note must be made of James Croft, one of Chepstow's junior players who showed his enormous potential for the future as he kept wicket for the first time in the second eleven, impressing all senior players with his ability and determination and for his contribution to the game.

Miskin finished on 195 for 7, a small total to defend perhaps.

In reply, Chepstow also found it hard to score runs, as some aggressive bowling by Miskin's J. Cosgrove, and some accurate bowling by R. Smythe tied Chepstow openers Kevin Hitchcott and Alex Winter down, and a disastrous run out saw the demise of Winter with just 4 runs on the board.

Rob Moore (Jnr) fended off Cosgrove, but could not keep out the probing bowling of Smythe - just 26 runs for Moore.

Smythe also removed Hitchcott for just 11 runs. The bordermen were now fighting a rearguard action and could not stem the collapse of wickets.

One of the highlights that could be found was the young James croft hooking a bouncer from Cosgrove for 2 runs, impressive with both the gloves behind the wicket and the bat out in the middle.

The tail wagged yet again for Chepstow as Leon Thomas, the No 9 batsman top scored with 36 runs before being caught by M Najmi in the 48th over.

Another Junior, David Wynn finished on 10 not out at the end of the innings, Chepstow only managing 164 all out by reply.

Miskin Manor proving the better team on the day with a victory of 31 runs.