A weakened Burntwood St Matthews CC side finished the season in disappointing fashion as they lost by eight wickets at home to a strong Pelsall 3rd XI.
Saints, who were missing several key players, batted first but failed to generate any momentum in a batting innings that produced just 138 runs all out.
Opener Luke Dovey (48) was the highest scoring Burntwood batsman, falling just two runs short of his half-century. The rest of the Burntwood batsmen could not match Dovey’s efforts however, with three players bowing out for ducks.
Pelsall’s bowling was largely spearheaded by Samuel Stanton, who finished on 6-34 in a ruthless spell of wicket-taking. Adrian Lewis also did well for Pelsall, ending on bowling figures of 3-21.
Relegation-threatened Pelsall began batting with confidence, knowing they needed just 139 runs to win the match.
They duly reached this target after just 27 overs and with 8 wickets still intact, driven on by the batting of opener Iain Oakley, who finished on 56 runs not out. The other batsmen who helped the visitors reach their win-clinching total were Richard Instone (16), Darren Whitley (29), and Louis Watts (23 not out).
Luke Dovey (1-33) and Tristan Marsh (1-47) were the two wicket takers for the hosts, as they lost by eight wickets.
This loss for Burntwood St Matthews leaves them with a fourth place finish for the 2011 season in the Staffordshire Division 3A.
