Walsall Extend Lead At The Top   You are here: Home » Blogs Detail

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A week’s fine weather which enabled groundsmen to prepare some excellent pitches was reflected in much higher scores in the Birmingham Premier League, none more so than in the match between Berkswell and Himley, who began the day in joint second place in the table, 25 points behind leaders Walsall.

Batting first, after losing the toss, Himley amassed an imposing 312 for seven from their 55 overs with Greg Wright and Nathan Round scoring 88 apiece and Rajat Bhatia adding 61.

Wright (12 fours and 2 sixes) and Round (10 fours and 3 sixes) put on 148 for the second Himley wicket but this was eclipsed by a stand of 216 for the fifth Berkswell wicket between Tom Milnes (122) and Dominic Ostler (114) after the home side had slipped to 77 for 4 in the 19^th over of their reply.

Milnes struck 12 fours and 5 sixes and skipper Ostler hit 10 fours and 6 sixes. Earlier Milnes had taken 3 for 54 while Bhatia picked up 3 for as Berkswell finished on 299 for eight.

Leaders Walsall extended their lead to 30 points after they, successfully, chased struggling Leamington’s impressive total of 282.

Sam Cheshire (79 from 57 balls), Tom Lewis (50), Lee Hopkins (42) and David Bailey (30) scored the bulk of the Leamington runs while promising seamer Josh Bowker took 4 for 35 for Walsall.

In reply, Christiaan Jonker made a brisk 57 but it was a career best 87, off 78 balls, from all-rounder Paul Byrne which saw Walsall score more than 200 for the first time, this season, then, take them on to a six wicket victory with more than 10 overs in hand.

Alex McChristie (38), Tim Maxfield (37) and James Middleton (30 not out) also scored valuable runs for the leaders, who face second placed Himley next week.

Leamington’s brave effort leaves them 41 points short of safety and Wellington’s plight, at the foot of the table, worsened with a six wicket defeat at Knowle & Dorridge.

Aussie Michael Johnson hit 113 in Wellington’s total of 223 for nine with Chris Davidson (4 for 63) and Will Mottram (3 for 66) the most successful bowlers for K & D.

 In reply, Sam Reddish made 99 before he was adjudged leg before wicket and Attiq Chishti continued his recent superlative form with 81 not out as K & D cantered to victory.

Kidderminster Victoria head into their quarter-final Kingfisher Cup tie with Bamford Fieldhouse in good heart following a 60 run success over Wolverhampton.

Both sides were missing players who were in the Worcestershire side against South Africa, at New Road, but it was the remaining Kidderminster players who stepped up a gear, as youngsters Connor Smith (109 not out) and Zac Turley (42) eased them to 240 for five with a stand of 91 for the third wicket.

Wolverhampton cruised to 87 without loss, thanks to Aaron Jeavons (69) and Mike Smith (41) before evergreen skipper Jonathan Wright nipped in to take 6 for 33 as Wolverhampton slumped to 180 all out.

Barnt Green, who are involved in a quarter-final Kingfisher Cup tie of their own, against Havant, tomorrow, also, tuned up with a win, a 32 run success at Brockhampton.

The 2011 Champions, who won the toss and elected to bat first, included 13 year-old wicket keeper Tom Banton in their side and were helped to 233 for nine by Richard Wilkinson (75) and Tom Burton (66).

Chris Boroughs took 3 for 57 but Brockhampton were dismissed for 201, in reply, with Ben Stebbings top scoring with 90. Andy Sutton (3 for 23) and Nick Powell (3 for 27) did the damage with the help of two catches from the precocious Banton.

Shrewsbury moved up to a more comfortable mid-table place after a six wicket win against West Bromwich Dartmouth who remain the most likely side to be vulnerable to a late revival by the bottom two.

Kadeer Ali scored 47 and Ateeq Javid made 31 in Dartmouth’s below par 173 for nine with spin twins Elliott Green (4 for 41) and Rob Foster (3 for 33) taking advantage of the conditions.

66 from Ryan Bishop and 43 from Ed Foster laid the foundation for Shrewsbury’s victory which was confirmed by 26 from Rob Foster and 22 from Tom Cox.