PUDDLETOWN 222-9 (20pts) bt CHARLTON DOWN 124 (5pts) by 98 runs

PUDDLETOWN made it back-to- back victories, with a convincing 98-run win over rivals Charlton Down in County Division Two.

After an uncontested toss, Charlton Down captain Tommy Tucker elected to field in the sunshine.

This decision looked to be an excellent one after opening bowler Matt Stevens picked up a wicket on the first ball of the innings, when Allen guided the ball to Harrington in the packed mid- off region.

Facing a hostile opening spell from the Stevens brothers (Matt and Dan), Rob Snow (10) and Alby Stevens (80) began to rebuild the innings, putting on a steady 25-run partnership before Snow was next to go, missing a straight up and down delivery from Matt Stevens.

Batting at four, Puddletown captain Adam Barrett (25) joined Stevens at the crease and was forced to bat cautiously until the drinks break.

After drinks, the Puddletown duo began to feel more comfortable however, and after some uncharacteristically loose bowling from Fagence (0-28) and Gill (0-32), the score raced to 85-2 from 20 overs.

Just as Barrett was beginning to accelerate, the introduction of Kieran Heath (1-8) worked for the visitors, as Heath produced the ball of the day to dismiss the Puddletown skipper.

From this point, Puddletown’s innings was steady, if not spectacular, as the score gradually increased.

When Tucker (1-31) picked up the prized victim of Adam Weir (25), some late hitting from Michael Crabb (16), Tom Blair (20) and Callum Chaldecott (22) took the score past the 200-mark, eventually finishing the innings on a below par score of 222.

Matt Stevens bowled impressively to finish with figures of 5-41.

Despite the below par total, Puddletown’s opening bowling duo of Adam Weir (0-13) and Callum Chaldecott (2-18) bowled aggressively from the outset, making the most out of what was a very good batting wicket.

When Chaldecott picked up the prize wicket of Jack Eveleigh (1), the floodgates opened for the visitors, which saw the impressive Tom Blair enter the attack to run riot.

Bowling with great pace and accuracy, Blair picked up the wickets of Lewis Harrington (13), Javid Gill (8), Matt Stevens (16) and Jack Taylor (0), ending with figures of 4-36.

Alongside Blair’s heroics, some tight bowling from William Gage (2-36) and Mike Hoffman (2-19) ensured Puddletown continued to take wickets regularly, before the Charlton innings eventually finished on 124 all out after 35 overs, meaning maximum points for Puddletown.

Puddletown captain told Echosport: “All of the lads are delighted.

“It was really nice to see it all come together for a second consecutive weekend.

“Despite it being a team effort, you have to credit Alby with the bat and Blairo (Tom Blair) with the ball. They both stepped up and put in really good performances, ensuring we keep the momentum going in our quest to closing the gap at the top of the division.”