Claverham skipper Hooper won the toss and stuck the home side in on a wet track. That decision looked a bad one as Hambrook moved steadily to 57 without loss. The introduction of July player of the month Paul Bird changed the whole context of the innings though as he quickly removed Mark Wheeler (33), Snell & Jater (for a duck). With Roger Hooper settling in at the other end and bowling an uncompromising 10 overs to finish with figures of 3 for 27 the league leaders hauled themselves into a strong position and finished Hambrook off with a quickfire spell from Cheeseright 2 for 21 and Miles 1 for 10. Even given the difficult track 108 never looked enough to trouble Claverham.

In reply Claverham lost run machine Rich Horton for only 1 and for a while the pressure was on. A steady partnership then developed however between Bird (30) and Atul (48 no) which guided the innings along sensibly and although there was a mini collapse towards the end Claverham got home with 5 wickets and 10 overs to spare. Atul in particular showing patience and plenty of guts as he steered the away side home in some fashion.

With 4 games to go Claverham are in a position of some strength at the top of the Bristol & North Somerset league table. This week they have the opportunity to consolidate it further when they entertain promotion rivals Winsley at Henley lane, in what promises to be an exciting match up. Match starts at 2 pm Bar will be open from 4 pm for refreshments.