Herefordshire County's fine season ends with flourish and third win. (From Hereford Times)

Herefordshire County's fine season ends with flourish and third win.

10:28am Thursday 25th August 2011 in Cricket

HEREFORDSHIRE have finished a creditable fourth in the Minor Counties West table after notching their third win in six outings.

The county side were on top for much of their final game against Wales at Eastnor and wrapped up victory by 73 runs early on the final afternoon.

Herefordshire skipper Chris Boroughs elected to bat after winning the toss and Dave Exall (49) and Ben Stebbings made a fine start with a 99-run opening partnership.

There were useful contributions from Steve Adshead (41) and Boroughs himself (31) with Michael Hill (40) boosting the lower order as the home side made 310.

Steady bowling throughout the Wales reply, with Freddie Eburah (4-64) the pick, restricted the visitors to 260 in their first innings.

Herefordshire’s first innings lead of 50 had not advanced very far when openers Stebbings and Exall both departed for ducks in the county’s second innings.

But Adshead, who hit 11 boundaries in a 78-ball 74, held the innings together to round off what has been an outstanding individual summer.

Others chipped in down the order as Wales were left to score 268 to notch their first win of the season.

Although Eburah (3-49) took early wickets, when Wales reached 178-4, it looked as if they might succeed as the Herefordshire attack, shorn of Bradley Wadlan who was called up for Unicorns duty, looked short of inspiration.

But Steve Bevan (3-44) and Charlie Walker (2-17) prompted a lower-order collapse and the Wales skipper Darren Thomas, the former Glamorgan all-rounder was the final man dismissed to leave Herefordshire comfortable victors Å Wadlan returned 2-39 in eight overs on his Unicorns debut against Somerset, picking up the valued wickets of Marcus Trescothick and former Herefordshire all-rounder Peter Trego.