BERSHAM 208-9

RUTHIN 94

A BRILLIANT bowling display from Sandeep Anantharaman failed to make it a winning weekend from the perspective of Ruthin.

Anantharaman was in scintillating form with the ball as he claimed a five-wicket haul on the day, however all 15 points that were on offer ended up going to hosts Bersham.

While much of North Wales was drenched in rain on Saturday, this contest witnessed more than 85 overs as Bersham secured a comprehensive 114-run triumph.

Heading into the match, Ruthin would have been strong favourites to claim victory against a Bersham side, currently occupying a spot at the foot of the standings.

However, a dominant display from the home side saw them secure only their third win of the season and rejuvenate their hopes of avoiding relegation.

It was Ruthin skipper Rhys Hilditch who won the toss and his message back to the changing room was for the opening bowlers to get themselves warmed up.

A solid effort from the top order paved the way for Bersham to accumulate a match-winning tally.

Leading the way was opener and skipper Suresh Lakmal Koswaththage, who hit 63.

Support was offered by the likes of Amith Thilakarathne (36), Tim Jones (24) and Phillip Young (19) as Bersham's 50 overs yielded 208-9.

Other decent efforts came from Lewis Derwent (13) and Junaid Ali (13).

Sandeep Anantharaman was the star performer with the ball and he finished with a fabulous 5-27 return from 10 overs.

Other wickets went the way of Jamie Hulse (1-39), Gwyndaf Hughes (1-47) and Russell Penrhyn Jones (1-49).

A number of Ruthin batsmen enjoyed decent starts to their innings after tea, but nobody was able to go on and compile a match-defining effort.

Duncan Roberts was the leading scorer with 16, while fellow opener Michael Parton struck (13).

Other players to reach double figures were Sion Hughes (11) and Josh Duckworth (11).

With Suresh Lakmal Koswaththage (3-11) and Sultan Shoaib (3-16) impressive with the ball, Bersham dismissed their visitors for 94 in the 36th over.