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DESPITE a spirited effort, Avoncroft CC were narrowly beaten in their Crusader Worcestershire League Division Two opener at Bewdley.

Having lost the toss, Croft were asked to bat first on a slow wicket, but they got off to a good start thanks to some intelligent batting from Matt Hare and Spencer Cox.

The pair took no chances early on, but still managed to punish the occasional bad ball.

Some good running between the wicket kept the scoreboard ticking over and, at drinks, Croft were sitting pretty at 71-0 from 25 overs.

However, Bewdley introduced spinners Mark Venross and Jack Mills at the halfway point of the innings and Croft struggled.

They were asked to force the pace against some probing bowling, and wickets began to fall as the batsmen tried to hit themselves out of trouble.

Hare (47) fell short of what would have been a well-crafted half century, and when Cox was dismissed in the next over, Croft began to wobble.

The middle order looked reasonably comfortable without ever managing to exert any authority, and each time a big shot was attempted, a wicket fell.

Only Alex Groucott (12) and Jon Bird (14) managed to reach double figures as Venross (7-28) ripped through the remaining batsmen, bowling Croft out for 143 in the final over.

Bewdley soon began to realize that the run chase would not be straightforward, as Paul Athey picked up a wicket with just the second ball of their reply.

After 10 overs, the hosts had crawled to 8-1, with Dave James (2-63) easing into the start of a productive spell.

On a slow wicket, runs were proving hard to come by, and the pressure was maintained by youngsters Will Sach (0-15) and Adam Rodway (2-26).

Bewdley continued to edge towards their target, but with nine overs to go, they still required 52 runs with only five wickets remaining.

The game was decided by an impressive cameo from the experienced Simon Smith who, coming in at number seven, was the only batsmen to come to terms with the conditions straight away.

Smith stroked the ball around with ease and Bewdley edged home with seven balls remaining.

Croft host Romsley and Hunnington this Saturday (1.30pm).

5:10pm Tuesday 29th April 2008

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