For the second home game running rain again proved to be the winner as Ross cricketers were denied the opportunity of a run chase against Abergavenny/Crickhowell at The Park last weekend.

The game started on time with Jim Lewis electing to bowl after Crick lost the toss. Opening bowlers, Adam Davies and Chloe Tingle, put the visitors under pressure from the off with their accuracy causing the openers to attempt a crazy run during the 4th over and Davies’ throw from point into keeper Lewis brought about a run out.

The same pair combined shortly afterwards in the more conventional style as Davies found the outside edge to give Lewis a straightforward catch behind. So accurate were the opening attack that Davies didn’t concede a run until his 6th over, and with Tingle also miserly Crick reached just 22-2 in the first 12 overs of the innings.

Change bowlers, Paul Morris and Andrew Tingle, took up the challenge, but the next success for Ross came from another run out as Keith Flitton showed great presence of mind to throw back to A Tingle after dropping a catch a split second earlier. Tingle then deservedly took his wicket thanks to a neat slip catch by Morris, and at the drinks break Ross had restricted the visitors to 71-4.

The break however seemed to galvanise Crick and their skipper Nick Francis led the recovery, playing the major role in a partnership of 74 with Sussex (23) before Adam Davies removed the latter with the first ball of his second spell. Davies took his third wicket in his final over when he clean bowled Price (21) to finish with the magnificent figures of 10-5-22-3.

Francis eventually holed out to Angus McIntyre off the bowling of Morris for 85 before some lusty blows in the final few overs took Crick past 225 for full batting points, and the innings closed on 240-9 after Charlie Cole picked up a couple of wickets in the final over.

The rain began to fall at 4pm just as the weather forecast had predicted, and despite everyone enjoying a more leisurely tea, courtesy of Lindsay Cole, it quickly became apparent that the rain was not going to relent making the decision to abandon the game an easy one for the umpires and captains.

Ross took 9 points from the game and now head to Builth Wells for the penultimate fixture needing to win to have any chance of climbing out of the bottom two in the league standings. See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here