Weakened Wardens have no answer to Eburah
Moseley seamer Freddie Eburah ripped through Wardens’ fragile batting to claim five for 33 from 11.5 overs and steer his team to a comfortable nine- wicket win at Streetsbrook Road, writes Paul Smith (Write Angle Media).
Eburah, who is generally considered to be the leading non-contracted or overseas bowler in the Birmingham League, found bounce and seam movement at a lively pace to hustle the visitors out for 104.
Home opener Aadam Din’s unbeaten 68 then finished the job in the 28th over.
A weakened Wardens batting line-up was struggling from the outset as Eburah’s opening burst reduced them to eight for three, with opener Robin de Regt, Eburah’s former Coventry team-mate Keith Bell plus skipper Scott Stenning back in the hutch.
Sitanshu Kotak (24) and Oxford Blue Tony Wilkinson (19) then staged a brief recovery, but after Jono Watts and Tom Watts had shared five wickets, Eburah returned to quickly mop up the tail.
Kotak gave Wardens hope with the early scalp of Asim Shoaib, but Din, who struck two sixes and nine boundaries and Usman Shabir (33 not out) had other ideas, and their unbeaten 80-run second-wicket alliance saw the promotion-chasing hosts home with plenty in hand.
Five wickets from veteran off-spinner Mike Challis-Brown, plus unbeaten half-centuries from skipper James Madley and teenage opener Sunny Sharma brought Wardens 2nds an emphatic ten-wicket win over their Studley counterparts.
After Matt Palmer (23) and Tom Gregory (26) had got the visitors away to a promising start on a damp pitch, Challis-Brown and spin twin Karan Patra (3-28) imposed a stranglehold on proceedings.
Although Patra troubled all the batsmen with sharp spin and clever variations of flight, it was Challis-Brown’s drift and accuracy which reaped the rewards.
A succession of batsmen fell to over-ambitious shots, leaving tail-ender Brandon Kelso (15 not out) to ensure the visitors secured a solitary batting point at 127 all out from 49 overs.
Madley and Sharma then consistently put the bad ball away as Wardens’ response raced to 50.
Although both survived lives in the 20s, they grew in confidence against the spin of Kelso and Bray, to pass 100 shortly before drinks.
When victory arrived in the 29th over, Madley was unbeaten on 60, while Sharma’s maiden Wardens’ half-century had extended to 61.
A superb all-round display from Bidford-upon-Avon 2nds’ James Wain saw his team to a resounding 146-run win over a youthful Wardens 4ths in Division Six of the Cotswold Hills League.
Wain’s fine unbeaten 116 provided the backbone of the visitors’ 227 for four. He added 143 for the visitors’ third wicket with opener Wiggett (57) to defy the best efforts of teenage seamer Luke Moreau (3-42) and leg spinner Ben Rex (1-46).
After tea, Wain’s new-ball spell claimed the key wickets of Harry Johnson, Scott Jones and John Hayman as the hosts slumped to 30 for six.
Stand-in skipper Neil Johnson’s hard-hitting 30 brought a measure of respectability, before Pound (3-28) polished off the tail, to dismiss Wardens for 81.
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Weather for Kenilworth
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
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