ROSS entertained Old Vigornians CC of Worcester last Saturday in spectacular August weather at The Park. With the ground looking superb it was to no one’s surprise that Old Vigornians decided to bat upon winning the toss.

Ross made a strong start with opening bowlers Josh Element (0-28) and Dan Barnard (2-44) restricting the opening batsman with sustained spells of accurate bowling. This pressure led to an early breakthrough as Ben Element ran out Cook with a sharp piece of fielding.

Old Vigornians made a strong recovery through Bader (51) and Fiaz (40) before their progress was checked in the middle overs by B.Element (1-36) and Dave Long (2-46). Ross fielded well throughout with Jack Evans and Ed Cinderey also picking up a run out apiece. Late order hitting propelled Old Vigornians to a challenging 267 before Allan Harris (1-56) polished off the innings with a deserved wicket.

The Ross reply got off to the worst possible start as the top order were blown away by the pace and skill of the OV’s opening bowlers. After being left reeling at 43-5 Calum McIntosh (91) and Dan Barnard (77) batted with great skill and increasing confidence as they rebuilt the Ross innings in a partnership of 155 before McIntosh selflessly holed out trying to hit yet another boundary.

At this point Ross still required 70 runs with only 5 overs left. Barnard then proceeded to hit 3 sixes in the subsequent over as Ross refused to give up their chase, but ultimately the task proved too great as they were eventually bowled out for 230.

Ross can again take heart from some strong individual performances but wins remain elusive and the team know that they need to produce more consistency in the last six matches of the season.