Westbury suffer costly defeat

Westbury’s hopes of avoiding relegation suffered another major blow on Saturday as Hinton Charterhouse chased down a target of 240 with seven wickets and 26 balls to spare at Leighton Sports Centre. 

With just three matches of the season remaining, Westbury now find themselves on the brink of relegation and know that nothing less than three victories from their remaining games is likely to be enough to preserve their place in the West of England Premier Cricket League Wiltshire Division. 

Having lost the toss and been asked to bat, Westbury got off to a difficult start, with both opening batters out before the score reached 30 and finding it difficult to score runs against some tight bowling. 

A 93-run partnership between Adam Alger and Matthew Greatley got Westbury back on track with Alger producing another important innings, making 55 from 94 balls and striking eight boundaries, while Greatley added 44 from 46 balls. 

The tide then turned back to Hinton as Westbury lost five wickets for just 38 runs. From here Javon Grosvenor led the way with an impressive 64 from 48 balls, including seven fours and three sixes. With Henry White hitting 32 runs from just 23 balls including two sixes as Westbury recovered from 136-6 to post a competitive looking 240-9 from their 50 overs. 

With the pitch offering little assistance, Westbury needed early wickets, but Hinton’s reply quickly put them on the back foot. Khalid Arabzai was trapped lbw by Richard Oakley for 19 while Henry Allen made 27 before being dismissed by Alger. 

But from there, Hinton took control. Toby Davies smashed an unbeaten 86 from 106 balls, while Adam Mapstone remained unbeaten on 80 from just 83 deliveries, the pair putting together a match winning partnership of 134. 

Westbury did manage to take three wickets, with Richard Oakley, Adam Alger and Daniel Gill taking one apiece, but the home side were unable to break the partnership and Hinton reached 243-3 from 45.4 overs. 

For Westbury, it was another frustrating afternoon. A total of 240 had looked capable of giving them something to defend, but the visitors’ third wicket partnership ultimately proved decisive. 

The defeat leaves Westbury third from bottom of the league table with a mountain to climb in the final three games of the campaign. Due to the unique nature of the league structure and with the teams occupying the relegation places in the leagues above, it means three teams will be relegated from our division this year rather than the usual two, meaning every remaining fixture has effectively become a must win encounter. 

With the season entering its final stages, Westbury will need to regroup quickly and produce three big performances if they are to complete a dramatic escape from relegation. 

Report: Jon Wills 

Picture: Javon Grosvenor 

Upcoming Home Fixtures  

Sat 15th August – Westbury 2nd XI vs Royal Wootton Bassett 3rd XI 

Sat 22nd August – Westbury 1st XI vs Potterne 2nd XI 

Sat 29th August – Westbury 2nd XI vs Swindon Nalgo 2nd XI