Alcester & Ragley 177-9 lost to Stratford III 178-1 by 9 wickets D

Ragley slipped to their 3 defeat in a row, this time against an inform Stratford team looking good for promotion this year. Electing to bat first on a very hot day Ragley got off to a bad start when Strain was caught behind for 0 in the first over from the bowling of T Grundy. Marc Woolley and Colin Devincentiis then put on an excellent stand of 116 for the 2nd wicket as Ragley aimed to make the most of a beautiful batting track. Woolley was out for 35 with the score at 116. Adam Peachey(18) and Devincentiis then lifted the score to 154 before Peachey was out. This sparked an alarming collapse in the Ragley batting as 7 wickets fell for 22 runs in only 6 overs. One of the victims was Devincentiis who was out just 6 short of a deserved century as he made the bulk of the runs and looked in good touch. He was one of Clarkson’s 4 wickets, and he along with Steve Lamb who claimed 3 wickets put an end to Ragley’s hopes of a big total as they limped to 177-9 from their 45 overs.

Ragley had little success also in the field as the scene was set when opener Clarkson hooked the 2nd ball of the innings for 6. He was out for 18 off the bowling of Sam Westwood, but this was to be Ragley’s only success with the ball as captain Lamb (55not out) and Collins (84 not out) powered Stratford to the victory target in only 27 overs. Both batsmen batted well and gave only one chance between them in an unbeaten stand of 148.