FBC Manby Bowdler Shropshire League Division One
Newtown 160 for 9 beat Cound 148 all
out by 4 runs (rain adjusted target of 152)
NEWTOWN bounced back from their derby disappointment with a four run, rain affected, win over Cound.
Stand-in skipper Tom Foulkes saw his opposite number Matt Jones win the toss and decide to put Newtown into bat.
The visitors then struck early with Craig Kinsey running Newtown opener Steve Davies out for four.
However, Dave Laird and Ricky Davies knuckled down and ground out a superb partnership, which moved the hosts into a commanding position and frustrated the Cound bowlers.
Laird eventually fell for 34, from 97 balls, while Davies managed 20 from 75 before being caught off the bowling of Kevin Hamer.
Tom Goodman (24) and Foulkes then looked to continue the good work, but both were dismissed when well set.
The skipper was bowled for 14 and his exit sparked a dramatic slide from 120 for four to 124 for eight.
It was left to the ninth wicket partnership of Richard Smout and John Anthony to push Newtown towards a competitive score.
Anthony proved particularly frustrating for Cound as he hit a rapid 20, while well supported by Smout who added an equally important seven.
Anthony finished on 20 not out as Newtown reached a testing 160 for nine from their 50 overs.
Cound’s reply was affected by on-off showers, and the Shropshire side were set the revised target of 152 off 47 overs.
Newtown’s attack produced a superb performance to keep their hosts at bay, as they stuck at regular intervals to prevent Cound building up any momentum.
Only Jack Case (41) and James Owen (31) managed to get to grips with the bowling but they lacked vital support.
Case had looked in good form as Cound advanced to 91 for three, but John Anthony followed up his batting performance with the crucial wicket to break a vital 60 run partnership with James Owen.
A dogged performance from Newtown ensured Cound fell four runs short of their target, with Dave Anthony returning fantastic figures of five for 22 off 12.5 overs, however, Foulkes, was quick to praise his entire attack.
He said: “Dave and Ollie were great but everyone chipped in and we just kept going. I was really pleased with the way they did that. They were getting away a bit but we dug in and our heads didn’t drop.
“Ricky and Dave batted well early on and stuck together and, after a middle order collapse, John and Dickie helped push the score on. We’ve struggled the last couple of games so it was nice to get the win under our belts and we’ll take that into next weekend.”