Burntwood St Matthews beat a Shugborough Friendly XI by 72 runs in a 40 over friendly match at The Riddings.
The hosts finished on 246 all out, a total which owed much to the batting of Matt Crossfield. The Saints batsman ended his spell at the crease having contributed 127 runs not out – a personal total that included 18 fours and six sixes.
Other notable performances with the bat for Burntwood were opener Luke Dovey (36) and Oliver Stainton (21).
The pick of the Shugborough bowling were P. Turnock and C. Caffrey, who ended with figures of 3-37 and 2-24, respectively.
Shugborough then took their turn to bat, needing a massive performance from their batsmen.
However, the Shugborough batting was to be hindered by a lack of overall ruthlessness throughout the innings.
The best performances from the Shugborough batting included C. Meredith (30), P. Brewer (27), and an unknown batsman who hit 41 runs.
Although they lost just six wickets over the 40 overs, the visitors could only manage 174 runs at the close of play meaning Burntwood won by a huge 72 runs.
The best performers from the Burntwood bowlers were Matthew Neal (3-24), and Matt Crossfield who finished with figures of 1-4 – a spell that included four maiden overs.
This result provides the perfect preparation for the Saints’ final league game of the 2011 season, which is at home to Pelsall 3rd XI on September 10.
