Monmouth (7pts) 264-6 declared
Avoncroft (24pts) 265-7
Avoncroft won by three wickets

AVONCROFT CC fought their way out of the Crusader Worcestershire League Division Two relegation zone, by beating high flying Monmouth.

The total, which was the culmination of some much improved batting over the past couple of weeks, was the largest score that Croft have chased down for several seasons.

On a beautiful day for batting, Monmouth took early advantage of the conditions having won the toss.

Croft picked up three early wickets, but it was always difficult to keep the scoring in check as anything that beat the infield raced away for four over their lightening quick outfield.

Monmouth's middle order of Charles Bye (43), David Teague (58) and Jamie Craig (67no) all filled their boots despite some spirited bowling from Paul Athey (3-47) and Ian Carpenter (1-46), and having reached 264-6 from 48 overs, captain Daniel Head decided his side had enough, and declared two overs early.

Matt Hare led the initial charge for Croft, looking in fine touch as he stroked the ball around the park.

He cruised along to 34 before falling to the first ball of Ian McKinley's spell.

With the score on 65-3, this brought Dave James to the wicket to join Spencer Cox, and the pair decided upon a more brutal form of attack, hitting some scintillating shots in the process. The pair put on 107 in just 12 overs before James fell for 71.

Cox, now supported by Dave Apperley, took advantage of the gaps in the outfield to push the score on.

He looked on course for a century before fatigue got the better of him, and he was bowled for 79.

By this point, Croft had reduced the asking rate to just four an over and with Apperley also looking in fine touch they began to edge towards their target.

Good support from Mark Whitehead and Will Sach took the score on to 245-7 with five overs to go, and from that point, Apperley (50 not out) and Paul Athey (11 not out) took Croft over the finish line with 15 balls to spare.

Avoncroft under-13s missed out by just five runs against a strong Barnt Green team.

After Green won the toss and chose to bat, Croft were sharp in the field.

The tone was set when Barnt Green's Worcestershire county opener, Will Baker, was dismissed by a stunning one-handed catch from Croft captain Alex Brunt off the bowling of Hardeep.

Will Cutler went on to score an unbeaten 30 for Barnt Green but Croft took every catch to restrict Green to 107-6 from 20 overs.

Ben Hewitt took two wickets, with Jack Brighton and Ben Warwick also chipping in.

In reply, Avoncroft got off to an excellent start with Oli Morton making a powerful 30 not out and Dan Elliott riding his luck, being dropped on 10, before retiring unbeaten on 32.

Elliot's innings included two sixes which he hit out of the ground.

However, with Croft requiring just 21 from the final four overs, Green pressed hard in the field and made the Croft batsmen work for every run.

Needing 10 from the last over, Croft fell five runs short of Green's total, scoring 102-4 off 20 overs.

Avoncroft Cricket Club hosts a charity day on Sunday, with the main feature being a six-a-side cricket tournament.

The event, which will include other activities, stalls and refreshments, raises money for the Georgina Cancer Unit at Russells Hall Hospital near Dudley.

The action begins at 10am. For more information contact Neil Hipkiss on 07734113903.