WEPL Premier One

Clevedon 280 beat Taunton St Andrew’s 182 by 98 runs

A MIDDLE order collapse threw away a winning position for the Saints at Clevedon on Saturday.

The home side batted first and Lloyd Alley made early inroads into the innings taking two early wickets.

But this brought together Jacob Lintott and Chris Jones who put together what turned out to be a winning stand.

They put on 156 for the fourth wicket with Lintott going for 84 and Jones 92, both the victims of James Hayman.

A late burst from Will Plummer (24) saw Clevedon to a challenging total of 280.

Alley ended with 4-34, while there were two wickets apiece for Hayman and Luke Poole.

In reply, Saints lost Deven Bell with the score on 17, but teenager Ed Byrom was joined by James Regan.

Together, they pushed the score on to 104 before Regan was out for 41.

Byrom continued until, on 77, he was out to a fine diving catch by Clevedon skipper John Bachelor.

Thereafter, the Saints’ middle order collapsed and only Lloyd Alley and Hayman offered any resistance, putting on 30.

The last three wickets were a hat-trick for Jake Rowe and it was all over in a rush with the Saints 98 runs adrift.

There were also three wickets for Lintott and Masoor Khan.

On Saturday, the Saints 1st XI entertain bottom club Ilminster (start 12.30pm) and will be looking for a victory which will mathematically confirm their Premier One status for next season.

Saints’ 2nd XI travel to Old Bristolians.