GRESFORD 109-1

ST ASAPH 108

THE Saints were second best during their Saturday visit to Gresford.

It was a tough day with both bat and ball for St Asaph, with the home side easing to a nine-wicket triumph in the North Wales Cricket League Premier Division clash.

John Bell, Sam Thompson and Daniel Williams were all impressive figures as the home side grabbed 14 of the 15 points that were on offer.

St Asaph were invited to make first use of the batting track after Gresford won the toss.

They were soon in a spot of bother as opener Nathanael Scott was dismissed by Chris Ellwood for a duck.

Will Ryan and Danny Ryan also departed the crease cheaply as St Asaph stumbled to 20-3.

Opener Mathew Ryan and Jason Foulkes did attempt to instigate a recovery for the visitors with an 18-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

However, this came to a close when Foulkes was bowled by Ryan Williams.

Opener Mathew Ryan was then joined in the middle by David Lloyd and the duo embarked on the largest partnership of the innings.

They were able to put together a 32-run stand for the fifth wicket.

The partnership drew to a close when Ryan was caught by Daniel Williams off the bowling of Chris Ellwood for 40.

Lloyd hung around for a while and he struck 20 before he was the eighth batsman out.

Amer Jamil added 11 batting at number nine and St Asaph would eventually find themselves being dismissed for just 108 in 45 overs.

John Bell was the star of the show with the ball from the perspective of Gresford and he took a fine 5-26 from 12 overs.

Ellwood also impressed with his 2-18 haul from eight overs, while the other wickets were shared between Ryan Williams (2-26) and Daniel Williams (1-14).

There were few trials or tribulations for the home side when it was their turn to respond after tea.

St Asaph did manage to claim a point from their efforts when Liam Moores grabbed the wicket of opener Matthew Thompson.

He was caught by David Lloyd after scoring 16.

That would turn out to be the solitary bright spot for the visiting outfit during the second portion of the afternoon.

Sam Thompson and Daniel Williams successfully guided Gresford to a winning 109-1 in the 25th over of the innings.

Thompson finished up undefeated on 42, while Williams made a quickfire 41 not out, hitting five boundaries in the process.