Wellington 3rd XI are looking at securing a top half finishing position in Division Seven South of the Somerset League following this home win over Crewkerne 2nd XI on Bank Holiday Monday in what was a sixth straight win over the visitors for the Red and Blacks third string since 2016.

Des Campbell opted to bat first on winning the toss and saw Nathan Roberts and Richard Henwood add 21 first up before Henwood was bowled for 10.

Roberts continued to 12 before he was well caught at slip and at 44-2 it was the cue for Oli Beale and Callum Hendy to add 66 for the third wicket in good fashion as this teenage duo got Wellington’s score well past three figures with Beale hitting well over the top and playing well to leg as he made 55 all told; Hendy with 20 was going well before he was run out.

Des Campbell with 24 marshalled the lower order well as Wellington got to 166-9 at tea with A.Callow’s 3-11 being Crewkerne’s best offering with the ball figures wise, but Keylock with 2-17 in eight overs was pacy and gave little away as he joined the attack in line with the SCL’s rules on playing higher grade players in lower team games.

Nathan Roberts and Tyler Fyfe took the new ball for Wellington and it was Roberts who removed Parsons early on and after their spells had concluded Crewkerne had 19-1 on the board in ten overs.

From here though the visitors exerted some pressure as Keylock with 30 and Shipton with 31 gave some impetus to their innings, but with Ryan Henwood producing a pearler to get rid of Keylock and Oli Beale getting one through Shipton’s defence the game swung in Wellington’s favour as the remainder of the Crewkerne order did not have the push to go on due in major part to Wellington’s miserly attack as Rob Moysey let just eight runs go in eight overs and with Richard Henwood collecting 1-13 in five overs the job of restricting Crewkerne to less than 167 was done; Des Campbell took the game’s last wicket before C.Callow and Fry saw out time for the visitors on 121-7 as they collected 15 points to Wellington’s 30.

These points allocations see the two sides locked on 350 for the season, but as Crewkerne have now concluded their season and Wellington has one to play (scheduled as a visit to bottom side Lydford 2nd XI on Saturday 1st September) the Red and Blacks are most likely to need to look at how Yeovil 3rd XI does at Taunton Deane 4th XI to know where they have ended up for 2018.