North Crawley throw a spanner in the works for title hopefuls

Reigning champions North Crawley are getting their season back on track by beating Division 1 contenders Eaton Bray on Saturday, moving up to fifth in the table.
North Crawley's Glenn YoungNorth Crawley's Glenn Young
North Crawley's Glenn Young

After slipping into the relegation zone last month, North Crawley have managed to claw their way back to safety and a win over Bray sees them up to fifth in the table.

Electing to bat at the toss, Matt Goss (10) and Richard Bryce (30) put on 45 for the first wicket, but runs were proving difficult to come by.

Five other batsmen scored between 10 and 12 runs in the Crawley order, making Glenn Young’s 40 and Ian Gillam’s 29 even more vital on their way to 193.

Eaton Bray’s reply started just as well, as they put on 47 runs for the opening wicket.

But from there, they were five down for 101.

Opener Andrew Norris was the danger man and was shaping Eaton Bray to pick up the victory, but his wicket proved vital as he was run out for 77.

Seven of Eaton Bray’s batsmen were back in the pavilion with single figure scores to their name as Gillam and Bryce took three wickets apiece.

But it was still a close run thing as the run chase got close.

Eaton Bray were eventually bowled out for 176, leaving for some nervous final overs for North Crawley, but in the end they escaped with a 17 run victory, leapfrogging Olney Town into fifth place in the Division 1 table.

Related topics: