Westbury entertained Marshfield in the last home game of the West of England Wiltshire Division 2015 season hoping to do the double over their opponents Marshfield, having beaten them away earlier in the season. With a win they will seal the runners-up spot.
Westbury, naming an unchanged side for the second match running won the toss and decided to bat.
They opened with the regular openers Mills and MacDonald and they made a bad start when, with the total at 23, Marshfield dismissed Mills for 5.
MacDonald was then joined by Gibbons and they took the total to 30 when Gibbons was run out by a direct throw for 3. MacDonald was then joined by the Westbury captain Senneck and after some good bowling by the Marshfield opening attack of Cox and Clist, they gradually got on top of the bowling. When the change bowlers came on, they increased the scoring rate and the 100 came up in the 33rd over.
When the total reached 120 Marshfield struck for the third time when MacDonald was dismissed for a gutsy 43 off 98 balls. Shortly afterwards the Marshfield slow bowlers gradually got on top of the Westbury middle order and the total subsided from 120 for 3 to 175 for 8 wickets off their allotted 50 overs.
Tom Bright had the best figures of 4 for 22 off his 10 overs.
When Marshfield batted they made a reasonable start and when the total reached 33, Westbury struck when Pascall was caught behind off Senneck for 21. Shortly afterwards Westbury hit back with three wickets for 15 runs. Then the Marshfield captain Williams started to play his shots but with the total at 85, he was dismissed for a rapid 26. Then Lodge with the help of the lower order almost took Marshfield to a win, but eventually the Westbury bowlers stuck to their task and eventually bowled Marshfield out for 169, leaving Westbury winners by 6 runs.
This was a very disciplined performance with the bat and ball and with Trowbridge winning today and also winning the league it means that Westbury finish as runners-up. Westbury have only one more match against struggling Great Bedwyn next week; the 2015 cricket season ends then for another year.
