WBCA: Bridgetown defeats Northcliffe by 165 runs

Northcliffe hosted Bridgetown at the weekend and needed to make early breakthroughs to stand a chance against an experienced top order. But Northcliffe they were unable to make inroads as openers Tom Clynch (50) and Hugh Mitchell (117) put on a century opening stand. Dan Bayman (1-40 off seven overs) bowled well without luck early on but it was the day of Bridgetown batsmen who were punishing any and all loose deliveries. In a glimpse into the future for the Northcliffe cricket it was two youngsters — Killian Belton with the catch and Jaymon MacDonald tidy bowling combining to remove Clynch shortly after making his 50. Bayman shortly after had Allan (15) removed lbw for 15 but celebrations were short as this brought Brendan White (135) to the crease to join Mitchell for another 100 partnership. White was brutal to start his innings as he punished all bowlers. Both batsmen showed their experience against a developing bowling unit and both brought up well deserved hundreds before Mitchell was dismissed by Ash Gunning. There was no respite as White and Tom Wilson (45) continued the run feast enjoying an 88-run partnership and pushing the total towards 350 with five overs to go. Levi Thomas in his first game for the club got the wicket of White caught by his father Phil Thomas at deep mid on. The end of 45 overs saw Bridgetown amass a huge 392 for Northcliffe to chase. Northcliffe openers Wayne Smeathers (13) and Jason Treasure (73) needed to start well to have any chance, but it was always going to be a tough task. The opening stand was broken early with Smeathers trapped lbw by White (1-32 off five overs). This brought Bayman (49) together with Treasure and they shared a 104-run partnership at better than a run a ball. Treasure and Bayman, like their Bridgetown counterparts, punished loose deliveries as they tried to stay in touch with the run rate. It was undone by a low-down catch by Matthew Reynolds at point off the bowling of Wilson (1-35) as Treasure failed to keep the ball along the ground. Bayman carried on but was caught by White in the deep one short of his 50 and it was then up to the Northcliffe lower order to salvage what they could from the contest. Gunning (45 not out) showed some fight with his highest score for the club and joined Belton (3) in a 40-run partnership to take the score past 200. Scott Rolley was the pick of the bowlers with 4-22 off 8.1 overs Northcliffe were ultimately dismissed for 227 and the fast-paced nature of the Northcliffe ground produced more than 600 runs on a day that belonged to centurions White and Mitchell.