Wiltshire begin NCCA Championship campaign with fantastic victory over Shropshire
Wiltshire CCC v Shropshire CCC @ Corsham CC 3rd/4th/5th July 2022 NCCA Championship
Day 1
Wiltshire 223 all out (Jake Goodwin 97) Shropshire 147 for 5
Wiltshire began their Championship campaign with a home fixture against Shropshire at Corsham CC. Having won the toss they opted to bat first, but things did not go according to plan as wickets fell regularly with only Oliver Meadows 33 and Ed Young 28 showing much resistance. The in-form Jake Goodwin performed an amazing rescue act as he nursed the lower order while gradually accumulating his own score. The best partnership of the innings came when number 11 Keron Bennett-Thomas, 12, joined Jake at the crease. Together they put on 63 runs to take the total to 223 with Jake last man out, caught behind by Ben Lees for 97 denying him what would have been a well-deserved century.
Shropshire didn’t fare much better with Chris Aubrey 3 for 43 and Joe King 3 for 87 making early inroads with Shropshire 89 for 5 with the experienced Graham Wagg back in the pavilion. David Laird and Ben Lees moved the score on to 147 for 5 at close of play
Day 2
Shropshire 253 all out Wiltshire 269 for 7 (Tom Morton 75*)
Laird 55 and Lees 42 were later supported by Sam Ellis 39 and the injured Andrew Harrison who bludgeoned 25 from 21 balls until he broke his ground forgetting that he had a runner and being run out as the Shropshire reply reached 253 and a first innings lead of 30 runs. Skipper Ed Young taking 3 for 54 at the close.
Wiltshire looked to recover the deficit and build a lead to take into the third day. Oliver Meadows 36 and Jack Mynott 17 put on 47 for the first wicket. Jack Stearman 28 and Jake Goodwin 58 moved the score on with Wiltshire eventually finishing the day on 269 for 7 with Tom Morton still there on 75 not out having lost partner Chris Aubrey 20 just before the close of play
Day 3
Wiltshire 402 for 8 declared (Tom Morton 150* Jake Goodwin 58) Shropshire 203 all out (Andre Bradford 75 not out, Keren Bennett-Thomas 4 for 37, Ed Young 4 for 25
On the third day Wiltshire knew they needed to build a commanding lead. Team manager Tom Morton was only playing because his wicketkeeper Ben Draper had been stranded in Venice when his flight home was cancelled at short notice. Tom took full responsibility and had a superb partnership of 116 with overnight partner Cameron Harding 48 lending full support. Joe King joined Wadworth Man of the Match Tom Morton for the final overs which saw Tom take his individual score to 150 not out and Wiltshire to an imposing 402 for 8 declared.
Shropshire faced a daunting challenge of needing 373 for victory. They started positively with Luke Miles 23 and David Exall 39 putting on 51 for the first wicket. Andre Bradford, 75 not out, then held the Shropshire response together, but had to watch as wickets tumbled around him. Keron Bennett-Thomas with 4 for 37 and Ed Young 4 for 25 led the way with Joe King 2 for 25 completing the task. There were beaming smiles all around as Wiltshire captain Ed Young bowled the final victim to seal an impressive Wiltshire victory which had contributions from all members of the team
Wiltshire beat Shropshire by 173 runs
*Click on the videos tab to view match highlights
