THE HEAT took its toll on Himbleton’s bowling attack as an Ivan Burgess century steered Alvechurch and Hopwood to an impressive victory in the sun last Saturday.
Burgess looked in superb form as he made 111, while Adam Markham-Jones contributed with 72 as the hosts made 306 from their allotted 50 overs.
Alastair Pretty (66) and Jamie Alford (62) put together a strong partnership, but once they were removed Alvechurch eased to a 97-run win in Division Three of the Worcestershire County League.
With the hot conditions suiting the batting side, the coin toss was likely to play a big factor in the outcome of the match and so it proved as Alvechurch opted to bat first.
The hosts raced to 51 before Alford found the edge of Hayward (34) as Stu Dickinson took a brilliant effort low to his left. Alford continued to look dangerous but struggled with consistency as Alvechurch took advantage of the short boundaries with Jones reaching his half century in a lavish fashion.
With the score on 89, the Meadows picked up two quick wickets as George Clifton’s direct hit ran out an overly keen Ryan Spinks for only four runs before Sean Jenkins ball of the day was too good for Edd Rogers.
Burgess joined his captain Jones at the crease and he rode his luck at the start of his innings but soon found the pace of the game to score a match-defining innings of 110 to push his side towards a competitive total.
When Jem Rose took three quick wickets, Himbleton did look like they were clawing their way back into the contest. But a poor finish from the bowling side enabled Alvechurch to reach three figures.
Himbleton’s reply got off to a dismal start as Jenkins went without scoring as he was trapped LBW to the bowling of Battely before he claimed his second wicket of the day as Dickinson was caught at first slip.
Pretty and Alford rebuilt the innings and put on a stand of 133 for the third wicket. This gave Himbleton a platform to work with before Pretty was harshly adjusted LBW, with Alford soon following his mentor to put Alvechurch very much in the driving seat at 154–4 from 34 overs.
Ricky Pretty’s dreadful luck continued as he played on for eight before Mike Rogers was given out caught behind for only five to leave the tail with too much to do.
Rose looked good in his little cameo of 17 but six wickets falling for 54 runs saw Himbleton crumble to a heavy defeat.
