SHROTON 112 (2pts) lost to MARTINSTOWN 113-3 (20pts) by seven wickets

SKIPPER Ed Nichols expressed his delight as Martinstown secured their first league victory of the campaign in emphatic fashion, having comfortably seen off Shroton at Lower Ashton Farm.

The Villagers did the damage bowling first to claim a seven-wicket victory with relative ease, in what was their first home league encounter of the campaign.

Nichols said: “Obviously they have come up from the league below and it’s important that we could show the depth that we have. It shows the importance of us staying up this year and continuing to build.

“I think part of it is setting a standard and showing we belong in this league.

“We do belong at this level, that’s what we firmly believe.”

Having lost the toss, Martinstown were asked to bowl first and soon had newly-promoted Shroton struggling at 17-2.

Despite a partnership of 43 between Shroton skipper Marc Doble (17) and opener Matthew Hewitt (36) then taking the score to 63, wickets then tumbled at regular intervals for the visitors as they saw themselves skittled out for just 112 in 38 overs.

Wickets were shared around the Martinstown attack with Fraser Hill (3-26) and Mike Kennedy-Barnard (3-28) claiming three each.

Matt Camp (2-26), Nathan McNab (1-16) and Sam Kershaw (1-12) also struck as every bowler used by the home side claimed a victim.

In reply with the bat, Martinstown never really seemed too troubled and reached their target of 113 with more than half their allotted overs remaining.

Skipper Nichols (30) and fellow opener Sean Williams (27) set a solid platform with an opening stand of 43 and, despite losing Jack Kane without scoring, it was left to Lee House (27no) and John Stewart (12no) to guide Martinstown home.

Nichols added: “We came out with the ball and hit our areas right away – the bowling performance was absolutely spot on.

“It’s nice having a day when all five of our bowling options were right on the money.

“They bowled as a unit. Before drinks there was a period where we really squeezed. I think they came out under a bit of pressure, played a few loose shots, so it was good for us to see the reward that building pressure brings.”

He continued: “I think we could have extended our innings into a 250-plus score if we weren’t chasing.

“It was definitely a good platform to build on. If we did bat first.”