BROADSTONE II 297-6 (19pts) beat PORTLAND RT 296-8 (8pts) by four wickets

PORTLAND Red Triangle were overturned by Broadstone Seconds at Delph Woods as the hosts edged a high-scoring encounter in County Division One by four wickets.

Portland captain Matt Randell won the toss and elected to bat first, but the visitors lost Ray Emery (3) early on, before Callan Laws (30) and Randell (30) rebuilt.

However, when Laws was ousted by Elliott Leadbeater (2-57), Simon Proffitt (56) helped accelerate the innings with Randell until Charlie Groves (1-37) snared the Triangle skipper.

Broadstone made further progress when captain Rich Poole (4-43) picked up the scalps of Proffitt and Ollie Whisker (13) to leave Triangle on 165-5.

But Kiwi all-rounder Kyle Sloane scored a rapid 66 to boost Triangle’s total to 296-8, with the help of a whopping 66 extras.

In reply, Broadstone started strongly as Simon Leadbeater (78) proved the thorn in Portland’s side.

Triangle did eat into the home order as Poole (36) Joe Manley (25) and Iain Griffiths (3) succumbed, with Simon Barrett (2-33) the pick of the away bowlers.

Rob Wallis (47) shared a 74-run stand with Leadbeater, before Elliott Leadbeater (45no) unleashed a flurry of runs to help the hosts home with 11 balls to spare.

Speaking to Echosport after the clash, Randell felt the middle overs had been where Portland lost the game.

He said: “It’s really disappointing. I thought we played the perfect innings with the bat. It was a little bit tricky but we dug in and made sure we had wickets in hand.

“But not being able to defend 296 with a bowling attack like we’ve got was really disappointing.

“We didn’t have that control in the middle overs – the middle over bowlers didn’t produce what they did last year.

“I think we had a few three-over spells where players were going for up to 40 with wides and short balls.

“We had the field set for people to bowl at but with those short boundaries at Delph Woods you can’t defend them if people are putting it halfway down the track. It was a lack of execution of their skills.

“We’re fortunate to have a few people back for Saturday, and one of them just happens to be a middle overs bowler.”

Portland renew rivalries with Compton House at Reforne on Saturday (1.30pm), the two sides having been promoted after Portland beat them to the Division Two title last season.

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