Cleeve Cricket Club’s first XI are top of the league after winning their first match of the season against Downend CC this weekend by five wickets.

In Cleeve’s first game since promotion they started the game bowling and their attack put on a clinic, toppling Downend’s line up in 29.3 overs for just 101 runs, including a five-wicket haul for Connor Hance.

Cleeve started the attack early, Jack Spiers caught and bowled David Bromley after just 11 runs and his opening partner Chris Binnie fell to Andrew Barnsley just 15 runs later, leaving Downend 26-2.

Barnsley was excellent all day and although he took less wickets than his teammate Hance his nine overs for only 14 runs were instrumental in helping his team to 19 league points.

Downend’s number three batsman Omar Randhawa was next and made the best stand of his team’s innings after hitting 34 from 61 balls but was dismissed by Tom Baughn, putting his team to 75-4.

Before that Barnsley had taken his second wicket of the day by getting Dan Semple out and from there the Cleeve bowlers ran riot, allowing only 26 runs whilst they took the next six wickets.

Hance got his first of the day after catching his own ball off the bat of Daniel Blackwell for a duck and was followed by Jalal Ahmed who got his name on the scorecard during a good three over stint.

From here Hance cleaned up the next four wickets whilst his team allowed only 19 runs.

After taking two wickets via catches from Tom Carpenter and Tom Birt, Hance clean bowled Downend’s last two batsmen with consecutive balls in the 29th over, finishing Downend’s innings at a very gettable 101-10.

Cleeve, however, started off heir 2024 batting campaign slightly shakily.

The wickets of Sam Williams and Birt fell for ducks in the first three overs, whilst Mitchell Want followed them into the changing rooms an over later after hitting 14 in 19 balls including three fours.

Jalal Ahmed came to the crease next and hit 17 runs from 51 balls, his partnership with Connor Hance helped steady the ship for Cleeve before Andrew Barnsley and Jack Spiers combined for 33 runs to take Cleeve to 104 and the five-wicket victory.

Cleeve CC’s 1st XI next play against Huntspill and District CC in the Somerset Intermediate Cup on Wednesday May 8th.