Ross needed a solid platform to stand any chance of chasing down the total and openers, McIntyre and Mair, made a steady start adding 26 before Mair was caught for 15 in the 10th over. Jim Lewis joined McIntyre who began moving through the gears with sumptuous drives and aggressive pulls, and the pair had added 77 in 12 overs before Lewis fell to an excellent diving catch by the Builth captain, Sam Williams. Charlie Cole kept McIntyre company as a further 85 were added before he perished for 31 as the run rate began to creep up.

At 188-3 Ross needed 90 from the last 10 overs with the big hitters to come in, but none could play a big enough innings as Howls fell for a duck and Mike Jeffryes, Adam Davies and Andrew Tingle all scored quick-fire 10’s before being caught in the deep hitting out.

At the other end Angus McIntyre deservedly reached an excellent century and kept Ross in with an outside chance, but when he was eighth out, caught on the boundary for a brilliant 114, with the score on 238 the remaining Ross batsmen had just too much to do. Further lusty hitting from Keith Flitton 11* and Alex Davies 5* took the final score to 254-9 as Ross finally ended 23 runs short.

The Hedgehogs return to The Park for the final fixture against Kington this weekend, aiming to finish the season on a winning note.See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here