Shepton Mallet 113-1 beat Grendel 2nds 108-9 by 9 wickets

On a scorcher of a Saturday, Shepton captain Ben Futcher yet again won the toss and decided to field, opting to put the pressure on bottom-of-the-league Grendel.

The pick of the bowlers was Jakeman (2-13), who bowled his eight overs straight through and did not give any width for the batsmen to play with, with Thick (2-23) also bowling well from the other end in a spell which included three maidens.

At one point, Grendel were in big trouble with five wickets down and not even 45 on the board. However, Jones (26) and the patient Goffin (30no) took some of the shine off impressive figures for Futcher (2-27) and Higgins (2-21).

The low Grendel total of 108-9 capped an impressive fielding display by Shepton, where wides were limited and all chances taken.

At the interval, Shepton were confident of chasing 109 to win, but were aware that, unlike most games this season, they did not bat far down the order.

Opening pair Futcher and keeper Allen got the Shepton chase off to a decent start until the latter found a fielder in the deep with the score on 20.

This brought Beck to the crease who, along with the in-form Futcher (65no), saw Shepton home with relative ease. Beck, like last week, had a brilliant all round game, taking (1-18) with his leg breaks and finishing (38no) with the bat.

Only L Coventry (1-31) had any success for Grendel as the ball was smashed into every corner of the ground, Shepton finishing with 26 overs to spare.

Shepton travel to Whitchurch on Saturday looking for another four points to aid their promotion push.