Ross-on-Wye 1st XI travelled into the middle of a rain-free micro climate on Saturday, just a few miles down the road at Canon Frome which allowed the first and third placed teams in the Marches League Division Two to complete a full game of cricket, that was to ebb and flow throughout the afternoon.

The battle commenced with the hosts unsurprisingly asking Ross to bat first on winning the toss. Openers Masud Ahmed and Harry Friend combined watchful defence with some full bloodied strokes as they got Ross off to a positive start but, after making 14 and 20 respectively they both fell in quick succession. Canon then took the initiative with Boyson (1-29) and Evans (2-15) taking three further wickets to leave Ross floundering at 60-5.

However, the lower order saved the innings as Toby Hiram and Charlie Cole set about adding 99 for the sixth wicket. Cole frustrated the opposition with solid defence allowing Hiram to play an array of graceful cover drives and strong leg-side pulls. Cole fell for 16 and after skipper Jack Donovan fell the very next ball, the tail wagged to support Hiram which enabled Ross to reach a defendable target. Graham Howls, Jim Lewis and Chloe Tingle all chipped in, whilst Hiram eventually fell agonisingly eight runs short of a very well deserved century. This fightback saw the Ross innings close at a very respectable 215-9.

The Canon reply started well as Adam Hope and Andy Lloyd enjoyed some good early fortune against the tight bowling of Ahmed, Tingle and Ben Lander. The longer they batted, the easier run scoring started to become, yet Ross, despite missing a couple of chances, never allowed the hosts to get ahead of the run rate. However, when drinks were taken with the scoreboard still reading no wickets down, the home side were firmly in the ascendancy.

But, just like in the first innings, Ross regrouped and fought their way back into the game through the bowling partnership of Hiram and Donovan. With pace and bounce, Hiram made the breakthrough with the score on 115 as Lloyd (24) could only fend at a short ball and was caught behind by Lewis. Then Donovan clean bowled Hope for 74, and suddenly the pressure was turned onto the incoming batsmen.

With the run rate required quickly increasing this led to a flurry of ill-judged shots from the home batsmen as they tried to hit their way to victory. The Ross out-fielding proved up to the task as excellent catches by Friend (2), Cole and Hiram himself saw a procession of batsmen head back to the pavilion as the Canon reply fell away to finish on 173-9. Donovan finished with four wickets, but the star of the day was undoubtedly Toby Hiram who followed up his 92 runs with the magnificent bowling figures of 7-0-17-5 as Ross completed a 42 run victory, taking 23 points in the process.

With second placed Cleobury Mortimer’s game rained off, Ross have extended their lead at the top of the table to 23 points, with Canon Frome a further 14 points back in third. This weekend sees the firsts return to The Park to take on Colwall as the town’s team, the Hedgehogs, continues to strive for the league title.