STEVE Bullen and skipper Ashur Morrison shared a peerless 300-run stand as Corsham signed off the season with an emphatic 147-run win at home to bottom side Ilminster.

Batting first at Station Road, Corsham lost opener Charley Reed for just four but Morrison joined Bullen at the crease and the duo put on a virtuoso batting display.

Together they took the hosts from 33-1 to 333 before Morrison departed for a classy 121.

However, even that knock was overshadowed by the brilliance of Bullen, who finally fell for 196 as Corsham posted a mammoth 360-4.

“Steve’s knock was unbelievable,” said Morrison. “I have not seen many players strike a cricket ball like he was on Saturday.

“The wicket was a little bit wet and their bowlers were quite tricky but once me and Steve got to about 40-odd, it was plain sailing.

“That was the best partnership I have been in. Me and Steve had one for more than 200 before but we both seemed to play even better on Saturday.”

Ilminster were always likely to be up against it in their reply but made a fast start as openers Louis Kraucamp (51) and Charlie Vickery shared a stand of 99.

Corsham remained patient, though, and that paid off as James Arney took 5-45 as the visitors were skittled out for 213 as Morrison’s men finished fourth in the table.

“When it came to bowl, they got quite a fast start and I think they were on about 70 after eight overs,” added Morrison.

“But we know with Ilminster that once you get a few guys out, their middle order tends to crumble and that’s what happened.

“It’s not very often that a team will chase 300-plus so we were quite confident, we just had to take our time. Arney bowled really well and got us home.

“It was a very good way for us to finish. If you look at our team, we’ve given debuts to some young guys over the year and for us to finish fourth is a pretty good effort.”