DESPITE not firing on all cylinders, Thriplow put together a solid performance to comfortably beat league leaders Great Shelford.

DESPITE not firing on all cylinders, Thriplow put together a solid performance to comfortably beat league leaders Great Shelford.

After winning the toss, home side Shelford set off with a target of 270 on a hot day with a fast outfield and short square boundaries. However, while Barnard and Crick looked generally comfortable, the run-rate was kept in check by Thriplow bowlers Woolley and Stephenson.

Off-spinner Olly Richer then joined the attack and eventually Crick, having accumulated 29 runs in 22 overs, looked to loft him over long-off but was superbly caught by Andy Morris. Barnard fell a few overs later in identical fashion and when fellow spinner Neild trapped opposite number Sutton on the crease lbw for a duck, Shelford were marooned at 85-3 in the 26th over.

Richer finished his spell with great figures of 12-1-39-2 to take the Thriplow bowling honours. Milne (37) hit out before falling lbw to Neild (10-0-42-2) and Mortlock (87) found some form towards the end before being caught by Morris following a Stephenson bouncer and the innings drifted to its conclusion at 216-5.

Thriplow’s innings got off to a shaky start, losing Martin Craze (1) early on and Paul Staley and Carr being forced to be watchful as Johnson and Glassbrooke showed good form with the ball.

Carr (16) was bowled with the score on 32 but this only brought in Ally Cliffe. Thriplow’s two premier batsmen were now together and Shelford were going to need to break the partnership early on if they were going to get themselves back into the match.

However, they failed to do this as the pair saw off the openers and tucked into the Shelford change bowling with relish. The seriousness of the run chase was marked by the absence of the trademark reverse sweeps from both batsmen’s armoury and it was a surprise when Cliffe (52) was bowled, playing from the crease instead of going forward.

At 145-3, Cliffe had got his team well on the way to victory. Miller (2) was undone by a short delivery which he edged to slip but Viner played a classy cameo 19 to keep the scoreboard moving swiftly on and Staley continued to mix calm singles with excellent boundaries.

Andy Morris added to his three catches with a prompt 16* and Staley reached a deserved century just before the end to finish on 101*. Thriplow sailed over the line with four leg byes, reaching their target with five wickets and six overs to spare. The result leaves Shelford still clear at the top but means Thriplow are very much back in the hunt for second place and promotion.