CASTLE village side Goodrich gave a towering performance as they beat Marches One derby hosts Ross-on-Wye CC by 297 runs on Saturday, May 27.   

Harry Porter hit a superb 229 not out as the villagers piled up a huge 451-2 off 45 overs.

There was no sign of what was to come when Phil Davies ran out Goodrich opener Sean Weller for one.

But new man Porter and Sam Griffiths then made hay in the sunshine, the latter firing 100 before being run out by Chloe Tingle when Andrew Brown arrived  to weigh in with an unbeaten whirlwind 72.

Facing such a mountainous target Ross were never in the hunt, but did well to battle to 154 all out in 36.4 overs, Paul Franklin scoring 39 and Alexander Springer 37.

Anthony James cracked 65 not out as Aston Ingham CC 1st XI recovered from 14-3 to secure a close-run three-wicket home win over Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire Division One. 

He and James Wagstaff had earlier taken three wickets apiece as Chipping were dismissed for 182 in 36.1 overs.

And his arrival at the crease turned the game Aston’s way, James Hamilton with 38 and Jack Carpenter with 37 also contributing, as they reached 183-7 in 32.3 overs despite two late ducks.

The 2nds compiled a decent 199-7 off 40 overs in reply away to Hatherly and Reddings 3rd XI in Division 7, but still fell 100 runs short of the 299-8 target.

Max Evans took three wickets and Shafiq Khan two in the field for the visitors, who then lost both openers for ducks, Will Green run out first ball.

Tom Parsons with 39 and skipper Dave Lacey with 20 steadied the ship, and Clyde Breetzke then scored a combative 73 not out off 67 balls, including nine fours and a six, to help Aston earn eight losing bonus points.

But the 3rds were winners by 137 runs at home to Newent 3rds in Cheltenham/Gloucester/Forest Two West, skittling them out for a paltry 44 after setting a target of 181 all out off 40 overs. Johan Nieuwoudt top-scored with 56, backed by Ethan Drew-White with 27, before Charlie O’Neill destroyed the Newent top-order, dismissing an opener and the next three batsmen for ducks, with Philip Leighton, Henry Woolcock and Lucia Carini finishing the job with two wickets apiece.

But the boot was firmly on the other foot for the 4th XI away to Witcombe 2nds in CGF Two East, with the hosts winning by 158 runs after setting a target of 236-6, Aston all out in reply for 78 after 21 overs.

Australian newcomer Brad Ryder scored 67 for Newent 1st XI away to Thornbury 2nds in Gloucestershire Two, and Richard Henry an unbeaten 72.

Openers Jack Cowles with 22 and Paddy Thompson with 31 also chipped in as the visitors compiled 218-4 off their 45 overs.

But it wasn’t enough, as Thornbury reached 220-4 with 4.3 overs to spare, Thompson taking two of the wickets.

Newent at least had the consolation of winning in midweek at Dymock in the Gloucester T20 Evening League, chasing down the hosts’ 130-8 by scoring 131-5 in 15 overs, Thompson hitting 40, Lee Roberts 28 and Ryder 23 after Joseph Campbell had taken four wickets.

But the Lions lost a derby nailbiter at home to Redmarley 2nds in CGF One West on Saturday, the visitors grabbing a three-wicket victory on the penultimate ball of their 40 over innings.

Jack Griffiths cracked 82 for the hosts, backed by 44s for both George Bennion and Wayne Phillips, and an unbeaten 26 from Ollie Corston as Newent set a target of 256-5.

But 62 from James Holland, 58 from Ollie Norman, 39 from Oliver Anston and 32 from Stewart Hudd saw Redmarley home to 260-7, Alex Thomson with an unbeaten 22 hitting the winning runs.

Redmarley’s 1st XI also won a tight match by 22 runs at home to Great Rissington in Gloucestershire Two, Jack Bartlett top-scoring with 41 in their 186 all out in 41.3 overs, backed by Sam Aston with 30 and Ronnie Newbury with 28.

Craig Stow then steamed in to take six wickets for just 17 runs off 7.3 overs, supported by Paul Newbury with two, as the visitors were dismissed for 164 with 2.3 overs left to play.  

Fownhope Strollers 1st XI lost out by five wickets at home to Welsh side Builth Wells in Marches One, setting a respectable 209-7 in their 45 overs only for the visitors to reach 211-5 with five overs to spare.

But the 2nds won by just 10 runs away to Herefordians 1st XI in Marches Three after scoring 225 all out in 39.4 overs, Mark Powell hittixng 74, backed by Frankie Allen with 23, Chris Ling with 22, and Andrew Gardner and James Powell with 21s.

Nikhil Lali scored 103 for the hosts, but James Powell with four wickets and Chris Ward with two, plus three catches and a stumping from wicketkeeper Mark Powell restricted them to 215-9 in reply.

Andrew Tanner and Dom Larkin both scored 41s for Woolhope 1st XI away to Canon Frome 1sts in Marches One as they reached 151 all out in 31 overs.

The hosts had too much firepower though and responded with 157-5 in 29.4 overs, Ben Park the main wicket-taker with three victims.

In the corresponding Division Two 2nds match at Woolhope, Seb Slocombe hit 54, Matt Slocombe 28 and Tony Webb 27 as the hosts reached 178-9 off their 40 overs. But Canon again prevailed, reaching 179-3 with six overs to spare.

Dymock 1st XI struggled to 123 all out in 39.3 overs at home to a restrictive Ullenwood Bharat attack in Gloucestershire Three, including three ducks on the scorecard, and only opener Brandon Caffull making his mark with 41.

And the visitors needed just 16 overs to dash off 124-3 to take a seven-wicket win. 

The 2nds enjoyed a 57-run win away to Alvington & Woolaston 1sts though, Tom Churchill firing 38 in their 121 all out before skittling the hosts for 64, Jacob Wise, Andrew Kingaby and Thomas Streeter taking two wickets apiece.