Bedminster CC hosted the Somerset Cricket Board National Club County Finals on Sunday 29th June.
With both the ground and pitches in fantastic condition and warm sunshine, the spectators were treated to a wonderful afternoon of youth cricket.
All of the local leagues in Somerset had held their internal competitions to determine the county finalists with the following clubs competing to become the county champions:
Under 13 Bristol CC v Glastonbury CC
Under 15 Wembdon CC v Bristol CC
The Under 13 final was played out on the second pitch at Bedminster CC with Bristol CC batting first and posting a challenging total of 126 for 8 from their 20 overs.
All of the Bristol top order contributed to the total with J Thompson and M Brewer retiring on 32 and H Moorland the pick of the Glastonbury bowlers taking 2 for 11 from his 4 overs.
Although playing on an excellent batting track with a quick outfield, the score was always going to be a difficult task for the Glastonbury batsman against a strong Bristol team.
Glastonbury finished their innings on 59 all out from 13.4 overs, with W Smeed dominating the scorecard finishing retired for an excellent 30 runs. A tremendous all round bowling and fielding performance from Bristol secured the victory with the star performance coming from J Pople with 5 for 8 from his 4 overs.
Over on the main pitch the Under 15 final again saw Bristol batting first and again posting a commanding total. In scoring 161 for 2 from their 20 overs they ensured that Wembdon would have to bat extremely well to overhaul their total.
The main contributors in the Bristol innings were Shaw, retiring on 50, and Trenouth with 43, a real feature of the innings being the shot placement and the team’s running between the wickets. All of the Wembdon bowlers made great efforts to keep the total to a manageable level with Hold being the pick taking 1 for 26 from his 4 overs.
In reply Wembdon made a solid start and put themselves in with a fighting chance of chasing down the total. At the top of the order J Prior made 43 and L Hawkins 20 against a strong Bristol bowling attack. With wickets then falling at regular intervals the Bristol bowlers gradually gained the upper hand with Wembdon finishing on 107 for 6 from their 20 overs.
A fine all round bowling performance, backed up by excellent fielding, saw Bristol home with C Chadwick the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 9 from 3 overs.
A feature of the day was the high standard of cricket displayed by all the teams with the matches played in a competitive but excellent spirit.
Well done to all of the teams who entered the U13 and U15 competitions and in particular the 4 county finalists for providing a wonderful afternoon of cricket.
A presentation was held immediately after the completion of the matches with medals for the runners-up and winners, plus trophies for the 2 winning teams.
The Somerset Cricket Board would like to thank all the club managers, coaches, scorers and parents from Bristol, Glastonbury and Wembdon cricket clubs for their participation on the day.
In addition the matches were conducted in an excellent and professional manner by the 4 ACO umpires on duty for the day and our thanks go to Ray Parker, Ben Peverall, Dick Whittington and Nigel Stoneman.
Finally a major thank you to our hosts for the day, Bedminster CC. The 2 grounds were presented in great condition with 2 wonderful batting tracks for the teams. In addition the clubs hospitality in providing food and refreshments, the clubhouse facilities, presentation area and tea and coffee for the spectators made the day a great success.
The Somerset Cricket Board would like to wish Bristol U13s and U15s every success in the next stage of their respective competitions.
