26th /28th May 2007 - Match reports.
BGCC 2nd XI vs Worcester	Barnards Green 1st XI vs Old Swinford 1st XI
Barnards Green entertained local rivals Worcester on very cold grey day with rain looking threatening for most of the day.Worcester won the toss and inserted the home side, they lost their first wicket at 13 when James Scullion was well caught down the leg side by Robinson, Paul Drinkwater and Tim Clarke eased the score along to 54 before Drinkwater was caught in the covers for 21, Mark Hopper returning from injury joined Clarke briefly until Clarke was bowled by Franklin for a stylish 40, Mark Hooper looked good considering his lack of match practice until he also was caught in the covers off another of Franklin's longhops,the inform Metcalfe perished in the same way top edging another poor ball without troubling the scorer, Lewis Hooper and Spencer snr eased the score along to 129 when Hooper was bowled for 15 becoming Rich Franklin's fifth victim, Matt Brookes joined his captain at the crease only to lose his partner to a poorly judged charge down the wicket having been deceived in the flight by the wily old campaigner Brian Clarke.Then followed the biggest partnership of the innings between Matt Brookes and Scullion snr, they added 60 in 11 overs until Scullion was caught on the boundary for 15, leaving Brookes to boost the Greens total by smashing three sixes in the final over ending up 47notout ,the final score was 236 for nine.Brookes top scored for the green and Franklin took 5 for 41 for worcester. Robinson and Ohren added 49 for the first wicket until Scullion made the breakthrough bowling Ohren for 12 and having Robinson smartly caught in the slips by Metcalfe for 27, with the ball now swinging for Scullion he bowled Peppiat for 7,leaving Worcester 63 for 3, Franklin began to hit out, but when the ball was UNABLE to be found by the Worcester search party, it appeared that the replacement ball would not react to the conditions and Scullion dangerous movement had been negated.Lewis Hooper dismissed the dangerous Franklin for a well struck 37, and Scullion finished his spell with 3 for 33 off 13 overs,this left Worcester on 113 for 5 after 33 overs. The green were holding the upper hand but by dropping four catches they were unable to force the win,Metcalfe and Spencer jnr took further wickets to leave Worcester 215 for 8 at the end off their allotted overs.For Worcester youngsters Brown 45,Waters 25 and Walters 28no did a fine job in denying the green maximum points. With a little bit more luck with decisions and holding their catches the green should of won the game comfortably.The Green gained 15 points and Worcester 10. Many thanks to match day sponsor "DAVID WHYMAN MAP SALES" Mondays away fixture against Astwood Bank was called off with out a ball being bowled	Entering the bank holiday weekend just 3 points behind leaders Lye the Green were hoping for a weekend of good weather and more importantly good cricket. This wish was almost granted with 2 positive results on a Worcester weekend wrecked with woeful weather. First up was Saturday’s trip to Old Swinford who had been defeated in the evening cup by Barnards Green the night before thanks to some heavy hitting from Phil Harris. After losing the toss the visitors found themselves in the field and tight opening spells from Hoogstraten 1-21 and then Williams 2-33 stemmed the early flow of runs. Unfortunately for the away side wickets did not come easily with the new ball although the scoring rate was low. Captain Smedley introduced the spin of Ford at an early stage to rectify this and the former Alfrick star did not disappoint. Asa Robinson mixed solid defense with some gorgeous cricket strokes on his way to an innings top score of 74 and he was supported by his namesake Asa Nicolls with 24. Lamentably for Old Swinford Ford ripped through the rest of the line up finishing with the fantastic figures of 7-70 off 15 overs and limiting the home side to a score of 184, one that at tea they were confident of defending citing valuable home pitch knowledge as their evidence. The Green’s reply got off to a terror start as both openers Golder and Williams were dismissed off their first balls faced leaving the visitors in severe trouble at 0-2. Captain Smedley entered the fray to join Liam Paddock and they set about rebuilding the innings at its foundations. Both accumulated runs well until the former went into overdrive finding the boundary several times on his way to a well made 55. Smedley and Harris then both perished to the bowling of Hand, 2-46 and it was left for Paddock with a superb 95 not out and Adam Binks 16 not out to see the Green home with 8 overs to spare. OSCC 184 all out- Robinson 74, Ford 7-70. 4 points BGCC 188-4- Paddock 95 not out, Smedley 55. 24 points Barnards Green 1st XI  vs Coombswood 1st XI North End lane hosted Black Country opposition Coombswood on bank holiday Monday 27th May and despite horrific weather the game started on time with the visitors batting. On a day perfect for seam and swing bowling Hoogstraten and Williams again started well both picking up early scalps and bowling tight lines and lengths. Hoogstraten was replaced by Saturday’s bowling hero Andrew Ford and he and Williams combined magnificently to curb the visitors scoring. Only Jones with 22 and Boswell who was lucky to gain a reprieve courtesy of a dropped catch who made 24 showing any resistance. The Green needed 3 rain interrupted session to dismiss Coombswood for a total of 99, Ford again starring with 5-28 and Williams grabbing 4 wickets for 51 and were confident of a victory until persistent rain looked set to ruin the party. With only 8 overs left in the game Golder and Willaims took the field chasing 99 for an unlikely victory. Things didn’t go to plan with Golder departing for his 2nd duck of the weekend and it took the partnership of Paddock and Harris to get the score moving. The two were up with the asking rate of 13 per over courtesy of some clean hitting by Harris who was bowled by Burgoyne for a fantastic 45. Unfortunately for the home side his dismissal curtailed the rate and the Green were left needing 24 from the final over. Despite falling short however the home side managed to salvage useful points on a day where only one other fixture was completed in the division bagging 12 points to the visitors 3. A well deserved winning draw. The Green are now top by 8 points and face Feckenham away on Saturday. Coombswood 99 all out- Ford 5-28, Williams 4-51. 12 points BGCC 82-4- Harris 45. 3 points