Hankins hammers Midsomer Norton with bat and ball as Lansdown secure home victory

Midsomer Norton's winning run came to an end courtesy of a masterful all-round display by Tom Hankins.

Electing to bat in sunny conditions, Norton started brightly. Nick Cox struck some early boundaries as, aided by some wayward bowling, the opening pair soon approached 50, but Alex Lear was lured into a false shot, guiding the ball to point.

Cox soon followed and Norton were on the back foot. After Hankins brought himself into the attack, he started a collapse as Martin Cox and Dean Clifton fell to successive deliveries, and Norton had lost three wickets in seven balls.
Nick Pang and Bokang Mosena steadied things but Hankins soon trapped Pang in front too.

After passing 20, Nick Potter was lured into top edging a pull from James Dunning and, despite Mosena reaching 50, the lower order offered little resistance.

Mosena was left unbeaten on 62 as Hankins wrapped up the tail to finish with 5-26.

Knowing early wickets would be key, Norton's hopes were raised when Sam Gould found an early edge from Joe Jenkins.

That was the last spot of joy for the visitors, however, as Hankins duly delivered a remarkable display of hitting.

Imposing from the start, he found the boundary at will, racing to 50.

Ably supported by Jordan Smith, who opened his own shoulders to move past 50, Hankins sent the ball to all parts, including the nearby hospital roof, as Norton's bowlers were powerless.

He finally fell trying to finish the game with another maximum, but not before racking up 92 from just 48 balls, with 76 runs in boundaries. The game was soon polished off with Norton a distant second.