A barnstorming start and a strong finish helped secure Bourton Vale Vikings an exciting 15-run win over Tewkesbury Royals last night.

It made it two wins out of two in the Varistha Cheltenham Premier T20 for the competition’s newcomers, and they sit alongside 2023 champions Hatherley Hurricanes at the top of the eight-strong table, albeit Hatherley have a better net run rate.

Bourton made an explosive start to the game after winning the toss with their opening pair of Ollie Whiteley and Musa Twala piling on the runs in the first half of the innings.

Tewkesbury’s bowlers were powerless to prevent the run rush as they crashed the ball to all parts, taking the score to 117 before Whiteley was dismissed for 55 midway through the 12^th over, having hit nine fours in his 37-ball innings.

Twala continued to enjoy himself, following Whiteley to his half-century before falling at the end of the 15^th over for 62.

He hit five fours and three towering sixes in his 45-ball innings and with the score 141-3 when he departed hopes were high among home supporters that their team would go on and top 200.

That they didn’t was down to some excellent Tewkesbury bowling which restricted them to just 42 runs in the final five overs.

Wade Ridsdale was the most successful with 2-32 and there was also a wicket apiece for James Cooley, Alex Oliver and Josh Richards as Bourton closed on 183-5.

Tewkesbury would certainly have taken that at the halfway stage of Bourton’s innings and they made a quickfire start to their reply through Richards and James Whitmore.

They had motored to 34 before Whitmore fell midway through the fourth over to a fine catch in the deep by Lysander Tarrant – the first of two – off the bowling of Liam Webb.

Tarrant’s second legside catch shortly after, again off Webb, to dismiss Josh Barnes was even better and crucially, although Tewkesbury were always up with the required run rate, Bourton kept taking wickets at key moments.

Richards and Louis Whitmore took the score to 86 before Whitmore was smartly stumped by Twala – one of three stumpings for the wicketkeeper – off the bowling of excellent left-armer Max Shepherd.

Richards was bowled for 56 after hitting seven fours and three sixes in his 35-ball innings, a moment of sheer joy for bowler Darrel Williams who knew the importance of that wicket.

That left Tewkesbury 96-4 with one ball remaining in the 10^th over and they were still very much in it when Fraser Loveday became the second of four victims for Shepherd to leave Tewkesbury 142-6.

They still had 29 balls to get the 42 runs they needed but despite a few lusty blows, Shepherd, who finished with 4-33, dismissed the dangerous Tom Stevens for 32 and Ridsdale for 11.

Webb returned to claim his third wicket – he finished with 3-18 – before Will Faulkner bowled Oliver with the final ball of the game, a game that was watched keenly by Sathya Prakash Timmaraju, the driving force behind the Cheltenham Premier T20.

Bourton Vale Vikings 183-5 (20, Twala 62, Whiteley 55), Tewkesbury Royals 168 (20, Richards 56).

Elsewhere there were wins for Hatherley Hurricanes, defending champions Dumbleton Dynamite and University of Gloucestershire Giants over Civil Sixers, Charlton Super Kings and Cheltenham Spartans respectively.