Defeat for Wiltshire CCC in NCCA Championship against Wales
Wiltshire CCC v Wales @ Panteg CC 24th, 25th, 26th July 2022 NCCA Championship
Wiltshire travelled to Wales hoping to avenge their defeat in the NCCA Trophy game at Landysul in June. Having awoken on the Sunday morning to find it raining and with little prospect of play the players were encouraged by an improvement in the weather. Eventually 70 overs were possible. Wiltshire won the toss and elected to bat. After 3 wickets had fallen Ed Young and Jake Goodwin took over and put on 103 runs before Ed was dismissed just before the close of play for a well-constructed 102. The following morning Jake Goodwin was joined by Jack Mynott 55 not out and together they added 115 runs in an unbroken partnership for the 6th wicket with Jake earning a well-deserved century, 100 not out, with a single from the very last ball of the 90th over.
Wales had several players who made a start without pushing on to a really big score. Brad Wadlan, 77, was the most successful until he eventually perished to a caught and bowled by Joe King. Joe finished with 3 for 75, but the main destroyer was Jake Lintott who took 6 for 67 from 24.2 overs with 5 maidens. Three of his victims were bowled and two lbw. The tenth victim fell to skipper Ed Young as Wales were bowled out for 284 giving Wiltshire a first innings lead of 78.
The second innings saw Wiltshire struggle to build on their lead. Ed Young made a determined 48 until he was stumped looking to put the ball out of the ground. Opener Will Naish made a fine 45, but the best partnership of the innings came when Joe King 15 joined Cameron Harding 44 not out to add a valuable 59 runs for the 9th wicket. The most successful Welsh bowlers were Sam Pearce 3 for 61 and Tegid Phillips 3 for 54.
Wiltshire made a good start to their 2nd innings with the score on 52 for 1 at close of play – a lead of 130
On Day 3 Wiltshire sought to extend their lead and set a suitable target for Wales to chase. Eventually the decision of a declaration was taken out of Wiltshire’s control as Wales dismissed them for 208 with Jack Stearman unable to bat because of an injury in the field the previous day. This left Wales with a target of 287 to get in a reasonable amount of time and overs. Their innings was built around a solid 3rd wicket partnership of 127 between Brown 87 and Smith 71. Wiltshire’s hopes were raised after dismissing those two, but they reckoned without Sam Pearce who seemed to be in T20 mode as he hit a matchwinning 79 not out from just 46 balls with 5 fours and 7 magnificent sixes. His innings helped Wales to achieve their task with plenty of time and overs to spare. Josh Croom was the most successful bowler with 2 for 59.
The Wiltshire contingent enjoyed three days of typical Welsh hospitality so thanks are due to the hard working team at Panteg CC and the Welsh NCCA committee. Next up Cornwall at South Wilts CC after the Showcase game with Gloucestershire at Cheltenham College on Sunday 31st.
Wales beat Wiltshire by 4 wickets
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