CORSHAM suffered a first defeat of the season when they lost by six wickets away at Bridgwater.

Ashur Morrison’s men have been in fine form so far but were below their best out in west Somerset.

Batting first, opening batsmen Steve Bullen (31) and Tom Abbott shared a useful stand of 40 but when the former fell, Corsham soon slumped to 53-3.

Andy Davis (33) and top-scorer Michael Coles (62) came together and set about rebuilding the innings. They shared a crucial half-century stand before Davis became the first victim of Daniel van der Berg, who claimed 4-40.

Coles, supported by Simon Crampton, continued to bat fluently and took Corsham to 170 before van der Berg made further inroads.

Two late run outs then hampered Corsham further as they limped to a final score of 191-9.

Bridgwater openers Merv Hallaran (44) and Chris Gange (38) set the tone for the home side’s reply and had reached 81 before Coles finally broke the partnership.

However, wickets were few and far between for Corsham as Mitchell Windsor (38no), Steve Davis (26) and van der Berg (27) helped steady the ship as Bridgwater passed their target in the 40th over on 195-4.

Crampton was the pick of the Corsham bowlers as he claimed 2-27.

Despitedefeat, Corsham remain top of the table ahead of this weekend’s derby at home to Bath, although three teams are level on 46 points.