Second XI march on
10-05-10
Alex Blythin hit a valuable 49 to help Carmel Second XI claim a 23-run victory over Bodedern in a frustrating North Wales Cricket League Division Four clash at Pen-y-Gelli.
After losing the toss Carmel were put into bat but were in trouble after Derek Johnson (6) was quickly joined in the pavilion by Lee Rowles (6) which left the hosts 19/2.
Skipper Barry McGauty (27) and Blythin held the top half of the innings together with a 56-run stand before for the former was caught.
Blythin began to find the boundary regularly but agonisingly fell one run short of a half-century after he was bowled by a good delivery having shared a fourth-wicket partnership with Timothy Abraham of 32.
Chris Jones (20), Abraham (17) and wicketkeeper James Roberts (17) all chipped in with valuable contributions as Carmel closed their innings on 163/7.
Some superb pressure bowling after tea by Dafydd Timothy (3-12) and Steve Skates (0-28) saw Bodedern crawl to 44/4 off 25 overs with Blythin taking a catch-of-the-season contender before the drinks interval.
A large points victory seemed possible but Carmel were unable to turn the screw as they were frustrated by a combination of sloppy fielding – including a couple of dropped catches - and some gritty batting.
Canny all-rounder Johnson (5-53) scooped the remainder of the wickets as Bodedern closed on 140/8 to give Carmel a 6-4 split of the points which took their tally of points to 16 for the season from three games. Full scorecard here…