Kempsey 80-8, Malvern Artefacts 81-1.

HAVING lost their first game of the season to bad weather and then the following two fixtures because neither opposition side could raise a team, Malvern Artefacts were keen to take to the field for their opening Division Two Worcester Evening League game.

After inserting the visitors, Kempsey had trouble adapting to the difficult batting conditions, which offered variable bounce and pace.

All of Malvern’s bowlers were keen to extract this help and quickly went to work.

In particular the opening pair of Julian Done (2-20) and Ian Scullion (0-18) bowled an impressive tight line.

At the half-way point in the Kempsey innings only 39 runs showed on the scoreboard, for the loss of two wickets.

Weston (17) and the dangerous Murtaza (36) reached double figures and they were the only batsmen who looked confident in the bad conditions.

However, the support bowlers of Neil Thompson (2-15) and Phil Spencer (3-25), who was the most successful bowler of the evening with his off-spin, ensured that the stranglehold was maintained for the latter part of the innings. At the innings’ close, Kempsey had reached a below-par score of 80-8, which, if the Artefacts applied themselves, should have been a losing score.

The home side belied the conditions and the fact that this was their first game of the season as Phil Birch (36no) and Ronnie Burston (16) made batting look comfortable as they added 60 for the first wicket at just under a run-a-ball.

After Burston departed to all- rounder Weston, it was left to Jamie Drew (9no) to apply the finishing touches as the Artefacts cruised home by nine wickets with four balls to spare.

This amounted to a well-calculated and executed victory, which also earned them 11 points.

This week the Artefacts are away to Droitwich Dons hoping that they can maintain their early season form.