ALMONDSBURY got their first win of the season on Saturday, winning by three runs at Redcliffe - and the star of the show was 14-year-old debutant Josh Slade.
Skipper Tom Armfield decided to bat first on what appeared to be a good track but Gary Goodwin (2) and Armfield (4) were out with only six on the board.
Brothers Kyle and Liam rebuilt and took the score onto 47 before Liam was bowled by a well flighted delivery from Waters for 28.
Slade and Kyle Hartigan took the score onto 71 before Hartigan was bowled by Shepherd for 23.
Ross Wakley thrashed 16 off 17 deliveries before hitting a long hop down deep mid-on’s throat.
Luke Whitikker came and went, bowled round his legs by Moore for nine and at 126-6, Almondsbury were struggling.
Abhishek Rai scored runs with some deft touches and Slade opened his shoulders driving over the infield.
Rai eventually fell for 16 and Martin fell next ball lbw to Pocock.
Slade took a quick single to mid-wicket to bring up his maiden league 50, before falling for 51 off 100 balls.
Fraser Pepall (5) was last to fall leaving Steve Braund seven not out.
Almondsbury’s bowlers began well as Wakley bowled James Thrower for eight and then swiftly removed the dangerous Dave Featherstone lbw for 15.
Armfield then bowled Mike Yandell for a duck and Wakley claimed his third wicket, that of Paul Waters lbw for one.
This left Redcliffe in a precarious position at 41-4 after ten overs but Gareth Yandell and the evergreen Jason Loud began to rebuild the innings.
They took the score onto 70 before the introduction of Pepall saw the demise of Loud, well caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Luke Whittiker for 18.
David Haynes (1) soon followed, very well caught by wicket-keeper Paul Martin standing up to the medium pace of Braund.
At 84-6 off 20 overs Almomdsbury appeared to be well in control but Yandell put on 40 with Paul Duval for the seventh wicket before an inspired bowling change by Armfield.
In Rai’s first over, he removed Yandell for 41 with a splendid caught and bowled.
Rai, together with the re-introduction of Armfield, began to turn the screw.
This led to the run out of Duval (16) with a direct hit from Ross Wakley. Seasoned campaigners Pocock and Sheppard took the score onto 163 before Armfield followed up his own bowling throwing down the stumps whilst airborne to remove Pocock for 19.
At 175-9, with only a few balls remaining, Sheppard went for a quick single to retain the strike only for Wakley to throw down the stumps at the bowlers end.
Braund (1-30), Pepall (1-27) and Rai (1-20) all claimed useful wickets but Ross Wakley (11-1-36-3) and Tom Armfield (14.2-1-50-1) did the bulk of the work in restricting the opposition.
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