A game dominated by the two captains saw nigh-on 400 runs scored for only 13 wickets over the 80 overs of this CDCA Division 1 match at the Northleach Arena, with Northleach hosting a resurgent Crudwell. The home side ran out winners thanks to Glen Crompton winning the toss and electing to “chase” on a superb batting track.

The Crudwell batting started well against loose early bowling from Wellman, with the ball flying through the fast outfield to the boundary. Openers Williams and Gilchrist moved the visitors’ score along rapidly, with Crudwell reaching 100 from their first 20 overs. The introduction of Larner (3 for 40) and Hemming (1 for 34) into the attack stemmed the flow of runs, and wickets soon began to fall, particularly to the clever spin of Larner. Hemming was especially effective against Williams, restricting him to singles rather than boundaries.

By the time Blundell and young Ben Whitworth (playing his first game of the season for the Rams) were recalled into the attack, the away batsmen were 5 wickets down with only Captain Gareth Williams making good progress. Indeed, he was seeing the ball well enough to hit two massive sixes into the tennis courts in the latter stages of the innings. Crudwell must have been scenting victory with a total of 198 from their 40 overs.

The home reply got off to an indifferent start, with wickets falling at regular intervals against a good bowling attack. Captain Glen Crompton made a strong start to his innings, coming in at No. 4, but when Blundell fell without troubling the scorers things looked black for the home side. Goodall was dismissed in short time, bringing Hemming to the crease, with the aim of staying with his captain and gaining some momentum to the innings.

The Northleach score at 20 overs reached the 60 mark, and the experienced pair began to force the game, scoring wilfully against tiring bowlers. Hemming made his way to a fine 37, but Crompton really took the initiative and was devastating in his bludgeoning of the attack as he moved to his second century of the season. He scored more than 20 runs of each of two overs in a display of great footwork and shot selection, before being declared leg before to Price, the latter using his height and the low sun to deceive the batsman.

With the rate now at only 4 runs per over Tony Gardner stepped into the limelight with several classy shots and peppered the boundary to grab the win, with nearly two overs to spare. This was a superb game of cricket, and all of the players and supporters applauded the efforts of both teams.

This was another home victory for the "Rams", who entertain Adlestrop next Saturday. Let’s hope that Phil Webb can prepare another batting track as good as this one!

Glen Crompton was named as Northleach Man of the Match for his outstanding batting.