Defeat sees Beddington lose ground on their title rivals

A POOR performance from Beddington ensured their first loss of the season in the 50-over format, dropping them to third place in the league.

In what was a top-of-the-table clash, the hosts lost the toss and were asked to bat in overcast conditions and with moisture in the air after some early morning showers.

Beddington quickly found themselves under pressure from some accurate opening bowling. Boundaries were a rare commodity as the batsmen were reduced to looking for singles and running hard between the wickets.

Camberley took the pace off the ball and were quickly rewarded with wickets as Beddington tried to increase the run rate. There were no real significant partnerships as the home side limped to a disappointing score of 122 with a top score of 23 from captain Antony Down and Shaun Lewis the only other batsman to reach 20.

Beddington were offered a possible lifeline with heavy showers continually disrupting play, but when the skies cleared Camberley were set the reduced target of 101 from 35 overs.

Any hope Beddington had of taking early wickets and causing a shock were dismissed with Camberley batting positively and hitting a number of boundaries.

The introduction of Lewis into the attack did bring two wickets but by then the result was beyond doubt as Camberley reached their target in the 16th over.

Beddington have now dropped into third position in the league but still have four matches in which to secure promotion.