Wellington 3rd XI made the long trek to Kilmington and Stourton on Saturday to take on the home side’s 2nd XI in Division Seven South of the Somerset League and came away with 35 points following a round journey of over one hundred miles that saw them visit Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset in one day, but it was well worth the effort as a superb all round performance from Richard Henwood (five wickets and a half-century) laid the base for a first success of the new season.

K and S opted to bat first and saw Cassidy and Ward add a fluent 42 for their opening wicket as Ward, who would eventually make 75, came to the fore, but when Andy Hurry removed Cassidy and Nicholls with successive balls and Richard Henwood did same K and S’s good start has dissipated.

Ward was now having to take charge and in W.Vellacott he found a trusty ally as they added 50 for the sixth wicket before the latter player was Henwood’s third victim.

Oli Beale with 2-46 will bowl better and not take wickets, but he struck when it mattered most and with Richard Henwood securing figures of 5-18 in eight overs along with Andy Hurry’s 2-23 in same, Ryan Henwood’s 1-28 in five overs and Tyler Fyfe’s albeit wicketless decent eight over burst that was delivered in two spells Wellington could be quite happy to have bowled K and S out for 152 with 5.1 overs going unused; home skipper M.Barge with 24 held up the end of his team’s innings with a decent knock.

Plenty of wides were sent down to start Wellington’s innings and they had lost a wicket by the time that the score had reached nine, but Oli Beale with 11 and the start of Richard Henwood’s knock saw the Red and Blacks third string exert some authority on the game; Beale was dismissed with the score on 33, but from then it was the Richard Henwood show as he made 83no and shared an unbroken stand of 122 for the third wicket with Jacob Hurry who, having kept well earlier, now made a very good 23no as he gathered singles at will.

Only W.Vellacott and Burton took wickets for K and S as Henwood and Hurry dominated totally and the game was won by eight wickets with 7.5 overs to spare so making the journey home a good one…