ROSS CC 1st XI made the long trip to Kidderminster to face Brintons Chainwire on Saturday in the Worcestershire County Cricket League Division 4 South. Looking to improve on last weeks' performance, stand-in captain Andrew Bevan lost the toss and was surprised to be asked to bat first.
Openers James Tiffen (26) and Jack Evans (38) dug in deep against some hostile opening bowling and put on 50 for the first wicket. This provided the cornerstone for what turned out to be an innings dominated by a superb 124 from Bevan which included 16 fours and 5 sixes. The only other Ross batsman to reach double figures was David Skyrme (18) as medium pace bowler Ian Waldron returned impressive figures of 8-64 from 12 overs. In an innings lasting 46 overs and well over the 3 hours normally allocated for 50 overs, Ross posted a final total of 233 all out.
At tea it was difficult to predict the outcome as Brintons had taken league leaders Old Vigornians the full distance the previous week before losing off the very last ball. However, there was quickly cause for optimism as Bevan (14-3-49-4) removed both openers in quick succession and when Anthony Giampalma (17-1-58-3) joined the party, backed up by some sharp catching and fielding, the home team were in trouble at 86-7 off 25 overs. In a last ditch effort to salvage something from the game Lee Waldron (43) started to attack with some purpose hitting 2 fours and 5 sixes before the introduction of Tom Parsons ended a slightly nervy period for the young Ross team. Parsons finished with figures of 2-2-0-2 as he took the ninth wicket. Andy Waldis (0.3-0-4-1) snapped up the final wicket as Ross emerged victorious by 88 runs picking up a valuable 24 points in the process.
This was an excellent team performance with man-of-the-match Bevan in particularly fine form. Having now completed half of their league fixtures and with 5 of their last 9 matches at home, Ross can look ahead with some confidence as they work hard to become a more consistent unit.