Bashley travelled to Portsmouth to play Kerala 1st and having won the toss elected to bat first. They got off to a good start on a difficult, slow wicket with uneven bounce. Openers Tom O’Sullivan (16) and Luke Stubbington (26) were then both caught and the loss of a further 3 quick wickets left Bashley in trouble at 59 for 5. Darren Britton joined Sam Scott and together they started to rebuild the innings. They batted cautiously at first but then started to accelerate until Britton was bowled for a valuable 25. Scott carried on his excellent innings and started to find the boundary with increasing regularity as Bashley added 53 runs in the last 5 overs. When Scott was eventually bowled in the last over for 77, it ensured that Bashley had reached a competitive 180 for 9 off their 45 overs.
Sam Scott – 77 runs
After tea, the Kerala openers found scoring difficult as the impressive Tom Harris (1 for 3) struck in the first over. James Edmonds (2 for 29), struggled at first with his line, but with the help of two excellent outfield catches, broke through at the other end. A run out, and an early wicket for Sam Scott (1 for 52), then reduced Kerala to 45 for 5. Kerala captain Valsan and Pradheesh threatened a recovery with some big hitting all round the ground. Michael O’Sullivan (1 for 13) then dismissed Valsan for 23 and when young Sam Presland had Pradheesh caught on the boundary for 41, the Kerala resistance ended. Presland (4 for 31), backed up with good catching in the deep, quickly ran through the tail to leave Bashley the comfortable winners in the end by 46 runs.
