John Jones 125* seals opening victory for 3rd XI

Bedminster 3rd XI announced their arrival in B&D Division 6 with a comprehensive 7 wicket win over Bristol Sri Lankans 1st XI on an overcast day at the Clanage.

John Jones scored a blistering 125 not out as the 3rd XI cantered to their target of 238 with 7 overs to spare. On the sort of pitch batsmen would like to buy lingerie and whisk to Paris for the weekend, Jones was severe on anything overpitched or wide as he demoralised the fielding side, scoring 25 boundaries during his innings. Jones shared an opening partnership of 172 with Simon Roche (52), which seemed likely to go unbroken until a miscommunication led Roche to be run out. From there ,for a brief moment, Bristol Sri Lankan's luck seemed to have changed as one wicket brought two more, Purvin Shah (0) caught at mid off and Lee Shorney (4) adjudged LBW , before Alfie Jaques saw the thirds home with a busy 25 not out including a well struck six over midwicket.

Earlier in the day, in his first league game in charge, skipper Harry Pleass had won the toss and elected to field. The Bedminster opening bowlers, Andy Sheldrake and Ben Cunliffe, reduced Bristol Sri Lankans to 7-2 before an aggressive third wicket partnership allowed them to recover to 94-2. Joseph Shean then got the breakthrough, as he burst through the defences of the Sri Lankans number 3. One wicket brought two, as Sheldrake took his second of the day to finish his 9 overs with 2 wickets for 51 runs and leave the batting side at 94-4. Understanding their position, the Sri Lankans reeled in their attacking instincts to consolidate their innings and get to drinks at 120-4.

After the drinks break, the Bristol Sri Lankans seemed to be building towards a competitive total as they opened up their shoulders scoring a number of boundaries and also benefiting from extras donated to their total by Bedminster's bowlers. However from 169-4, wickets tumbled as they slid to 173-8 with left arm spinner Jack Filer and Harry Pleass taking 2 wickets a piece. The Bristol Sri Lankan's lower order, led by their number nine batsman Ranga Kalupahana (30), managed to eek their way to 237, as Bedminster's bowlers went searching for wickets. Their resistance was ended when Lee Shorney completed a catch to dismiss Ranga off the bowling of Harry Pleass, who finished with 3-39. A first innings score of 237 seemed below par on a fantastic wicket for batting, however Jones' innings later put into perspective what a good score would have been.

The 3rd XI will take on Pucklechurch 1st XI next Saturday.

See the match scorecard on Play Cricket.