By Dafydd Howells
BARRY Wanderers Cricket Club hosted Ponthir 2nd XI on Saturday hoping to make it three league wins out of three in July.
After a damp morning Ponthir won the toss and put the Wanderers into bat.
Neil Blundell and Pete Coleman laid down the foundation of the Wanderers innings putting on 55 runs in the first 10 overs.
Coleman was dismissed in the 14th over for a watchful 19 with the score on 84. Joined by Sudesh Duvuru in the middle, Blundell continued his fine run of form reaching 53 before being dismissed LBW.
Duvuru and No 4 batsman Kunal Mhadgut continued to push the score on in difficult conditions before a rain delay at drinks forced the players off.
On the resumption of play and with a damp outfield, Duvuru and Mhadgut took the game to Ponthir before Duvuru was out stumped for a quickfire 31.
Mhadgut followed soon after for a well crafted 25 with the score on 153 for 3 off 29 overs.
The watching Wanderers supporters were hoping for a +200 score from this point onwards however with Andy Fenton and Ram Guni now in the middle, their hopes were to be far exceeded.
With excellent support from Ram, Fenton went on to obliterate the Ponthir attack in the final 10 overs belligerently launching ball after ball to the boundary.
Fenton reached 50 in just 19 balls and went on to score 71 (his final four balls went for six), an incredible innings which turned the game in the Wanderers’ favour.
Ram was run out off the last ball of the innings for an excellent 33 from 34 balls.
The Wanderers innings ended on 261-6.
In reply, Ponthir struggled to get their innings going.
The Wanderers struck early with James Scullion removing Bryant for 0 and from that point onwards the required run rate became increasingly steep.
With Luke Grant applying pressure from the other end, Scullion went on to claim the wickets of the top three Ponthir batsman with catches from Blundell and keeper Phil Wolfenden.
Ponthir put up some resistance with patient innings from both Bullock and Ryan but both fell before drinks, dismissed by Scullion and Tim Bowker.
The game was over as a contest at drinks with the score on 36 for 5.
Ram picked up a couple of cheap wickets in his spell however it was Bowker who did the damage at the end picking up four Ponthir wickets.
Ponthir finished on 47 all out after a superb bowling display from the Wanderers.
Barry Wanderers won by 214 runs.
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