Champions Somerset Bridge make light work of PHC in Western Counties
White Hill Field (Somerset Bridge won toss): Somerset Bridge beat PHC by eight wickets
Somerset Bridge successfully defended their Western Counties Cup crown, crushing PHC by eight wickets at White Hill Field on Saturday.
Bridge’s guest players Kamau Leverock and Jermal Proctor proved their worth, taking five wickets between them to rip through the challengers’ top order and set the stage for an easy chase to victory.
Leverock was named man of the match after returning bowling figures of three for 12 from seven overs and blasting 44 not out off just 14 balls as Bridge reached the required target of 100 in just 15.3 overs.
Coming in after opener Shawn Riley (19) was caught at backward square leg by Ori Wilson, Leverock wasted little time sorting matters.
Taking an immediate liking to an overmatched Jayden Symons, Leverock punished the off spinner for 28 runs in his lone over as he and Jason Smith (13 retired hurt) put on 36 for the third wicket, before the latter went off with a leg injury.
Captain Adrian Burrows, who came in to accompany Leverock and shepherd his club past the required target, was thankful for the contributions of his guest players.
“Jermal’s an exceptional young player who’s trying to make his mark on the game,” said Burrows of the promising Proctor.
“He bowled fabulously and batted well, giving us a decent start, and what can be said about Kamau that hasn’t already been said.
“He gave a deserved MVP performance today and we’re grateful for what he brought to the team.”
After Leverock accounted for openers Chris Douglas (two) and Gavin Manders (two), Proctor continued the carnage by taking a return catch to send back Wilson (two) and trapping Kevin Lambe (zero) leg before.
At seven for four, the die was cast and even as Darrien Gibbons (29 not out) and captain Davin Dill (21) offered valiant late-order resistance with a 33-run seventh-wicket partnership, 99 runs proved too little to defend.
“We just didn’t apply ourselves the correct way today,” said Dill.
“A lot of our early-order batsmen got out for low scores and those are the guys we depend on to make runs. That being the case we were unable to put up a total we could realistically defend.”
Proctor ended with figures of two for 12, while burgeoning leg spinner Callum MacIntosh chipped in with two for 15, as he mopped up the tail.
It was the first defence of the cup by Bridge after they seized the title by defeating Willow Cuts in the final last year.
PHC
C Douglas lbw b Leverock 2
Gavin Manders lbw b Leverock 2
O Wilson c and b Proctor 2
K Lambe lbw b Proctor 0
Taurean Manders c and b Woods 7
†K Sunga b Leverock 3
D Gibbons not out 29
*D Dill c S Hollis b Charles 21
D Dowling b McIntosh 13
J Symons c Proctor b McIntosh 0
K Durrant b Riley 5
Extras (lb 4, nb 2, w 9) 15
Total (35.3 overs) 99
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-7, 3-7, 4-7, 5-20, 6-21, 7-54, 8-83, 9-83.
Bowling: Leverock 7-2-12-3; Proctor 7-2-12-2; Woods 4-1-9-1; Charles 4-0-17-1; McIntosh 7-1-15-2; Hollis 2-0-7-0; Riley 4.3-0-23-1.
Somerset Bridge
J Proctor c Durrant b Gibbons 12
S Riley c Wilson b Douglas 19
J Smith retired hurt 13
K Leverock not out 44
†R S Burrows not out 0
Extras (lb 2, nb 1, w 9)12
Total (3 wkts; 15.3 overs) 100
C McIntosh, D Charles, C Trott, N Woods, K Hollis and S Hollis did not bat
Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-50, 3-86.
Bowling: Gibbons 7-1-29-1; Dowling 6.3-0-37-0; Douglas 1-0-3-1; Symons 1-0-29-0.
Umpires: J McKirdy and M McCormack.
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