Bath Cricket Club recovered from 58-4 to post 258-8 against Potterne on Saturday 12th July – but the Wiltshire club eased home by six wickets.
Bath recovered from 58-4 to post a decent total against Potterne
Asked to bat at The Grove in the West of England Premier League Premier One clash, Bath slipped to 25-2 with the losses of Jack Scrivens (13) and Kester Moseley (2).
And the situation worsened as the visitors found themselves 58-4 after 15.1 overs, Sam Young (3) and Brad Porteous back in the hutch. South African Porteous hit a six and five fours in his 43-ball 32.
Ben Church and captain Harry Ellison set about rebuilding the innings but they were separated when the former was run out for 10 to leave Bath 88-5.
And the travellers’ hopes suffered a big blow when Ellison was bowled by Tahir Afridi for 32 to make it 106-6 with 25.4 overs gone. Ellison faced 31 deliveries and hit a six and five boundaries.
Any hopes that Potterne had of running through the rest of the Bath line-up with few problems were soon shattered.
Will Hope and Spencer Gammon put on 77 for the seventh wicket. Gammon fell for 37 – including three sixes and four boundaries – from 35 balls.
Hope departed three runs later, having cracked a six and five fours in his 36 from 59 deliveries.
That saw Bath 186-8. But Potterne had reckoned without Louis Brown and Matthew Cadywould, who shared an unbroken ninth-wicket stand worth 72 in 10.3 overs.
Brown finished with 33 not out from 44 balls, and Cadywould was 28 not out, off 31 deliveries, at the close.
Most successful members of the Potterne attack were Morlon Simon (3-77 from 10 overs) and the outstanding Afridi (2-29 off 10 overs).
Potterne openers Jake Goodwin and Basil Akram made a flying start in reply, putting on 78 for the first wicket off 8.3 overs.
They were parted when Akram was caught by Hope off Gammon for a whirlwind 45 off 20 balls, his knock featuring five sixes and three fours.
Skipper Goodwin was then joined by Jack Mynott and they crafted a second-wicket stand worth 64. Goodwin was the man to go – having struck 57, with three sixes and seven fours, off 73 deliveries – when he offered a return catch to Brown.
Bath made another breakthrough 2.5 overs later when Josh Kelly was ousted for 2 to leave Potterne 150-3.
And that became 187-4 when Michael Burgess was caught by Porteous off Joe Heywood for 29.
But Bath could not displace Mynott – and he went onto smash an unbeaten ton to steer the hosts to victory at 262-4 in just 39.3 overs.
Mynott, previously with ECB Southern Premier League outfit South Wilts, faced 91 balls for his 105 not out which included four sixes and 15 boundaries.
Heywood bagged 2-74 from 10 overs.
Potterne’s success meant they cut the gap between them and Bath in the table to nine points.
Fourth-placed Bath travel to basement side Taunton St Andrews this Saturday (19th July).
