The 4th XI held out in a close contest against West Bridgfordians to extend their winning streak in the Development Division on Sunday.

Asked to bat first in the glorious sunshine at Little Bounds, Finlay Hulbert did not have to regret losing the toss. Still, the batsmen had their task cut out on a minefield of a pitch which had prematurely concluded the first innings on 91 the preceding afternoon. However, Adam Newell picked up where he left off against Caythorpe with another display of power and prowess. He dispelled memories of the day before and scored freely on the same wicket that had him bowled for nought on Saturday. His healthy strike rate allowed Swayam Bajpai the time to settle in at the other end.

For the visitors, Thomas Pritchard hit a good length outside the off stump repeatedly to stem the scoring. His effort was complemented by Sam Bennet who conceded only 12 runs in his six overs. The consistency of the opening bowlers made sure that Ellerslie did not have more than 30 runs on board when the first-change bowler was introduced in the 13th over. Newell cashed in immediately. He added three boundaries and a six to the scoreboard before Reuben Morley had him caught on 34 and his innings propelled Ellerslie to a defendable total on a pitch where runs were not easy to come by.

On debut for the Ells, Bajpai played a responsible knock rotating the strike tirelessly. Forty of the 52 runs he scored were made between the wickets. Such composure was necessitated by the spirited bowling from West Bridgfordians. Morley followed up the priced wicket of Newell with the dismissal of Charlie Tyler who did not bring his perfection in the nets to the green on this occasion. Then, Samuel Symes lent an able hand to Bajpai and took Ellerslie past 100 before being bowled by Joseph Garrett on 15. It was up to Ethan Scott to see Bajpai to his fifty and the team to 129/3 at the end of the first innings.

Nick Bennett and Sam Bennet opened the chase with caution. They made no mistakes with the bat against the testing deliveries of George Lowe and Sam Lowe. But, the first wicket fell in a most unfortunate manner when the ball ricocheted off wicketkeeper Hulbert’s pads to dislodge the bails and caught S. Bennet outside his crease. Pritchard was in at 3 and he batted meticulously, taking note of each field placement before every single ball he faced. He welcomed Sachin Mathivanan with an elegant boundary down the ground and then kept the bowler from finding his length.

Spinner Matthew Cawley contained the batsmen with turn and accuracy. Conceding only 11 runs in his 4 overs at an economy of 2.75, Cawley exploited the lack of bounce in the pitch to great effect. N. Bennet plodded on calmly towards his fifty, but once it was complete he had to retire. Symes struck soon after, bowling Abi Khan on 7, while Scott stifled the run-rate from the Elm Tree Avenue End. The visitors edged closer to the target from Bajpai’s two overs that went for 13 runs. But, Pritchard fell on 30 to a stunning caught and bowled dismissal from Symes. After running Kieran Henthorn-Lee out from deep midwicket, Shoaib Aziz had 23 runs to defend in a dramatic final over which saw the fielders hold their nerve to win the match by 15 runs.

With four victories in four games, the 4th XI will hope to emulate their success at home when they travel to Gotham next Sunday.