Thrilling chase ends in narrow reverse

Bath lost by just nine runs ina thrilling chase against Thorn- bury at North Parade on Satur- day.

- 

After electing to field, Bath's pace attack made early inroads into Thornbury’s top order with three wickets for only 30 on the board.

With solid contributions in the middle-order, Thornbury steadied themselves and built a challenging total of 284 upon which they were bowled out in the 49th over. The pick of the Bath bowlers were Will Hope (4-37) and George Axtell (3-27).

The hosts immediately found themselves under pressure when both openers were removed with just 43 scored. When Sam Young went in the 13th over to make it 56-3, Bath looked to have a huge challenge ahead.

Ben Church and skipper Harry Ellison built a 136-run partnership to bring Bath back into the contest, before the former narrowly missed his century when he went for an excellent 99. With 92 still required from 11 overs, Ellison took charge and batted effectively with Hope (29) to keep up with the run rate.

When Hope departed, wickets continued to tumble and, although Ellison posted a superb century, he fell in the final over with 12 runs still required. Eventually, Bath con-cluded their innings on 275-9 and have slipped to fourth in Premier One of the West of England Premier League following successive defeats.

The second side kept up their winning form with a 118-run win at Hanham in the Senior Division of the Bristol & District League.