Montgomery finish second

Patrick Fletcher took a ‘five-for’ as Montgomery finished their Shropshire Division Two campaign in style with a six-wicket victory against Wellington III.

The result means Montgomery end the 2018 campaign as runners-up to Ellesmere, but with the county’s cricketing landscape set for a restructure next season it isn’t yet known what division the Lymore-based club will play in next season.

Batting first, Wellington were dismissed for just 90 as Fletcher (5-23) made light work of the visiting side’s attack.

In reply, Montgomery knocked off the winning runs for the loss of four wickets as Ieuan Griffiths (39) capped off a fine season.

Griffiths ends the season with 646 league runs to his name at an average of 35.89, while Andrew Barker notched up 623 runs at an average of 34.61. Tim Davies secured an average of 35.80 as he scored 358 first team league runs this season.

Sam Williams was the highest wicket taker for Montgomery, claiming the scalps of 33 Shropshire Division Two batsmen at an average of 10.06. He was closely followed by Eddie Bennett (26), Aaron Ruff-Cock (26), Alex Bromley (25) and Patrick Fletcher (20).

Newtown ended their Premier League season second-to-bottom after another disappointing defeat at Madeley.

After being put in to bat, the mid-order of John Anthony (39) and Matt Knight (24) gave Newtown some hope but their 124 total was never going to be enough as the hosts eased home with three wickets lost.

A lack of runs cost Welshpool again as they could only muster 100 after being set 161-9 by Condover in Division One. Joe Monk took 4-38 as the Pool bowlers did their bit, but the batting collapsed from 44-1 to leave Welshpool finishing second-to-bottom for the season.

Despite struggling to bowl teams out in the second half of the season, Guilsfield & Llandrinio finished fifth in Division Four after a battling final day against Quayside.

After being put in to bat, the villagers lost early wickets before David Williams (40) steadied the ship and steered them through to 130. But only Hugh Curteis (3-33) could find a way past the stubborn response which secured the six-wicket victory with three overs left.

Montgomery II last match of the season summed up their campaign in Shropshire’s top reserve division as once again they pushed the opposition hard only to fall just short.

Montgomery posted 132-5 as Matthew Jones made 47 and Rob Yewdall scored 31, but it wasn’t enough as Wellington Fourths crossed the line with just four down and a couple of overs to play to secure a six-wicket victory.

Montgomery end the season rooted to the bottom of Shropshire Reserve Division One and will wait anxiously to see what division they filter into next season with reserve divisions becoming a thing of the past.

Matthew Jones ended the season as the third highest run scorer in the division with 447 runs at an average of 44.70. Rob Yewdall scored 291 second team runs at an average of 29.10.

Yewdall finished the season as the leading wicket taker with 28 at an average of 15.46 while Neil Tuffin took 21 wickets at an average of 15.62.

Vice-captain Dave Jones was the third highest run scorer (176) and the third highest wicket taker (16) for the second team.

Newtown II were set 177-8 by Madeley II in Reserve Division Two’s battle at the top, a target that proved out of reach as they were skittled out for just 82 in reply. The result means Newtown settle for second.