Goatacre 263-8, Bredon 194-9 (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Goatacre 263-8, Bredon 194-9

Glos/Wilts One - Goatacre captain Sam Parish praised unsung hero Rhan Heer as he helped his side retain their position at the top of the division with a 69-run victory at home to Bredon.

Heer bowled tightly and took four wickets as Goatacre scored an imposing 263 in their 50 overs on Saturday.

Heer's bowling insured Bredon were always behind the run rate and ended up well short of the required total.

Parish said: "To be honest it was unusual because everyone chipped in and everyone played their part.

"Rhan bowled absolutely brilliantly. When we were not taking wickets we needed to keep it tight and that is what he has done.

"He has taken nearly 30 wickets for us this season and is always steady. The only disappointing thing was to see Trowbridge and Swindon won."

After winning the toss and batting, Goatacre were given a superb start by Steve Lines (31) and Steve Gee (50) who put on 85 for the first wicket in just 18 overs.

The good start allowed the remainder of the side to play freely and they maintained a run rate of around five an over throughout the innings.

Scott Curwood, playing possibly his last game for the club due to holiday commitments, scored a useful 31 and Peter Turner, playing only his fourth league game of the season, scored a quick-fire 48, which looked like it could push the score over 300.

Unfortunately wickets fell at regular intervals and the final six overs were played very cautiously to ensure no overs were passed onto the opposition's innings.

Adam Iles and Heer batted very sensibly to get through to the last two overs where they could attack again, scoring 20 off the last ten balls.

Goatacre took to the field keen to make an early breakthrough to ensure that the pressure was on Bredon straight away.

This came through an excellent piece of fielding from Kevin Iles who swiftly picked up the ball and threw down the stumps from square leg to run out Bredon's captain for zero.

The Goatacre bowling attack continued to bowl with good accuracy and although further wickets did not come quickly the scoring rate was well below what was required.

As the pressure of trying to score at a quicker rate started to grow on Bredon's batsmen wickets began to fall.

Heer bowled an extremely good spell in the middle of the innings (15-4-38-4), with Jif Wilkins also chipping in with two wickets.

With Goatacre looking for wickets to gain more points from the game attacking fields were set and Bredon probably scored 20 or 30 more than they should have done, but it worked as Goatacre picked up four of the maximum five bowling points.

Goatacre face a long trip to Colwall on Saturday with availability a problem as normal.

They are looking for another victory to maintain their push for the title. Parish said it was a pleasure captaining his side.

"It is still hard work but we know if we play well in a match we will win.

"I get a lot of help from more senior players in the team and it has helped me that youngsters, like Jif Wilkins, have come of age during this season."