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Kiddi Struggle to Victory 31/05/2010 - Nick Archer
League positions at the end of the first Bank Holiday weekend of the season are, often, a significant pointer to the final places, but there was much in the game between leaders Kidderminster Victoria and struggling Walmley, to suggest that the home side might not last the place in the race for the Premier Division title, while their visitors from Warwickshire face a season of toil, unless they show much improvement with the bat. Missing two key players, batsman Tim Gruijters and opening bowler Hamza Nadeem, Walmley made a decent start, with Chris Howell (37) and Bhavik Patel (17) putting on 38 for the first wicket. The introduction of left-arm seamer, Matt Pardoe, immediately, changed the game and the remainder of the innings turned into a procession, with wickets falling at regular intervals, as Walmley collapsed to 112 all out. Whilst Howell showed glimpses of a welcome return to form, after two seasons of injury, the rest of the visitors’ line up looked, woefully, weak and lacking in fight, as Pardoe finished with 5 for 19. Opening bowler Gareth Williams (2 for 30) returned to wrap up the innings, with the final two wickets, but the Kiddi attack will face sterner challenges as the season progresses. Overseas opening bowler Jason Voros finished wicketless but did pull off an outstanding catch, at deep square leg, to dismiss Greg Ricketts, off the bowling of Mark Mansell. Boasting one of the strongest batting line-ups in the League, Kiddi made a steady start but lost the highly regarded Pardoe (11) with 25 on the board. They, then, ran into trouble, as a combination of tight bowling by Ricketts (5 for 36) and reckless shots by their batsmen, left them on 66 for six, after 22 overs. Craig Wood, Neil Pinner, Jonathan Wright and James Ralph all departed to shots they will not rush to see again, while Andrew Siwicki was adjudged leg before wicket to the first ball he received. The innings was becalmed as Voros and Jon Smith were content to see off Ricketts but as soon as he completed his 17 overs, the shackles were released and Kiddi cruised to a four wicket victory. At the end of their unbroken stand of 50, Voros finished unbeaten on 28, while Smith was undefeated on 21. Second placed Shrewsbury maintained their fine start to the season with a six wicket win over Barnt Green, who recovered from 33 for five to 136 for six, thanks to a century stand, for the sixth wicket, between Keiran Rees (69 not out) and Dougie Brown (62). Their total of 205 for nine represented a fine comeback but Shrewsbury sped to victory after skipper Ed Foster hit a sparkling 91. Wellington remain neck and neck with their Shropshire neighbours after a seven wicket win at Walsall who were indebted to a fifth wicket partnership of 113 between Tim Maxfield (63) and Paul Wicker (54) after they had slipped to 35 for four. Three wickets apiece for Adam Byram and Mark Downes restricted Walsall to 193 for nine, a total that Wellington reached, for the loss of seven wickets, with five overs to spare after Gerry Strydom (58) and Wendell Wagner (52) recorded half-centuries. On a day when all six sides, who won the toss, won the match, Smethwick came closest to an upset after they piled up 248 for four at reigning Champions, Knowle & Dorridge. Faisal Shahid’s unbeaten 123 laid the foundations for Smethwick but Attiq Chishti (65), Luke Parker (55) and David Smith (48) saw K & D to a thrilling two wicket success with two balls remaining. Tejinder Singh smashed 101 as Himley raced past Wolverhampton’s 167 for six, with more than 12 overs to spare, despite 3 for 44 from Jack Snape. Ryan Canning (47) and Richard Howitt (43) were the best batsmen for the home side. Moseley gained a vital win in their clash with Kenilworth Wardens after Ashfak Hussein (4 for 37) played a major role in the visitors’ dismissal for 184. Moseley eased past this target, with seven wickets in hand, after Keith Bell (65) and Calum McLeod (64) had set them on their way. Two former giants of the League, West Bromwich Dartmouth and Old Hill lead the way in Division One, moving well clear of third placed Shifnal and Brockhampton. Dartmouth, who took over in pole position, following their five wicket victory over Old Hill, on Saturday, wasted no time in maintaining their superiority by shooting out Stratford-upon-Avon for 53 with Imran Khan picking up 6 for 20. They gifted a point to their victims by losing three wickets before they romped home but the game was done and dusted by 3.30pm. Old Hill returned to form with a five wicket success, against Shifnal, who were dismissed for 180. Anthony Parker top scored with 57, while Zafran Ali picked up 4 for 60 for Old Hill, who were thankful to half-centuries from Nitesh Patel (67) and Mike Hingley (51) to see them home. Tim Austwick (57 not out) and Adam Hewlett (47) steered Brockhampton to 241 all out, against Leamington Spa, who replied with 229 for eight, boosted by a magnificent unbeaten 123 from Lee Hopkins. Owen Price took 4 for 51 but the Herefordshire side were unable to pick up the last two wickets. Bromsgrove slumped to 12 for three, against Wombourne, but Brett D’Oliveira (90) and Mark Evenson (62) helped them to a respectable 207 all out. D’Oliveira and the veteran seamer Nick Husbands took three wickets apiece as Wombourne crashed to 175 all out, despite a brave 57 from Ben Holmes. Halesowen and Coventry & N.W. swapped places at the foot of the table after Halesowen finished the stronger in a drawn match at Binley Road. Mohammed Ishtiaq hit an unbeaten 112 in a rather strange Halesowen total of 194 for two, in 55 overs, but Coventry were hanging on at 171 for nine, at the close, with Andy Roberts taking 4 for 57. Dorridge secured their first win of the season with a nail-biting one wicket success against Attock. Sultan Mahmood made 48 in Attock’s 148 all out with Abdul Hafeez, so often the saviour of Dorridge with the bat, picking up 4 for 36. In reply, Dorridge slipped to 57 for five and needed a last wicket partnership of 12 to stay out of the bottom two. Whitchurch have taken over at the top of Division Two after they stormed to a 10 wicket victory at Ombersley. The Worcestershire club won the toss and elected to bat, a decision they may well have regretted after they subsided to 94 all out, with Amjaad Alikhan taking 6 for 38 and Maz Hasnain snapping up 3 for 24. Hasnain’s undefeated 56 ensured that Whitchurch completed a 24 point haul and they lead Old Elizabethans, in second place, by nine points, a margin that may well increase after the Cricket Sub-Committee of the League issues its judgement on the result of OE’s match with Evesham on Saturday. The Worcester based club were involved in a thriller at Bridgnorth, who were 160 all out after Andy Stephens took 4 for 44. Tom Whitney and Peter Thompson both scored exactly 50 for Bridgnorth but Jamie Boyle’s 74 proved decisive for OE’s despite 4 for 40 from Sam Whitney. Previous leaders Water Orton went down to a four wicket defeat at Evesham, with former England bowler Neal Radford rolling back the years to finish with 4 for 12. Francois Louw (83) scored more than half of his side’s 161 all out, before 15 year old debutant Tom Kohler-Cadmore (61 not out) and Paul Thomas (44) eased Evesham into fifth place with the prospect of more points to add when the result of their match with OE’s is confirmed. Water Orton, in third place, and Evesham are separated by Berkswell, who crushed Tamworth by nine wickets, and ensured a pointless weekend for their hosts. Wessel Hartslief took 4 for 25 as Tamworth were shot out for 97, then an unbeaten 42 from Jonathan Coleman guided Berkswell to an early win. A superb all-round performance by Ryan Van Niekerk was the highlight of Aston Manor’s 102 run success at St. Georges. The South African hit 69 and Shozab Haider made 55 in Manor’s impressive 223 all out, with Shropshire’s Steve Taylor finishing with 4 for 52 for the Saints, who crashed to 121 all out after Van Niekerk took 7 for 39. Cannock’s rise up the table continues, after their third win in three games, easing past Harborne by six wickets. The Birmingham side struggled to 148 for nine but former Staffordshire all-rounder, David Womble hit 52 to lift Cannock into the top half of the table. Fordhouses lead Coleshill by seven points at the top of Division Three and their 84 run success over nearest neighbours, Brewood, leaves the newly promoted Club in real danger near the foot of the table without a win in their first six games. Sunil Rahi (63) and Mitch Davies (51) were, chiefly, responsible for the Fordhouses total of 192 but it was Ijaz Yousuf (4 for 9) and Jatin Kohli (4 for 34) who left Brewood facing an early return to their Feeder League. Coleshill’s match with Sutton Coldfield could have gone either way but it was Sutton who took the lion’s share of the points with a battling performance against the early season pace-setters. Matt Parker (46) and Joel Nupier (43) were the main run scorers in Sutton’s 188 with the reliable Kevin Crotty finishing with 4 for 46 for Coleshill. Man of the season, Asif Ali chipped in with three wickets, for Coleshill but Sutton’s spinners, Mark Guest (3 for 36) and Nick Thompson (3 for 40) pegged Coleshill back to 171 for nine, at the close, with Dave Brown top scoring with 40. Penn scored 264 for eight, in a high scoring game at Oswestry, who responded with 233 for eight. Richard Bradford (70), Sandeep Dhillon (64) and Ben Maddox (52 not out) starred with the bat for Penn, as Sam Huxley picked up 4 for 75 for the home side. In reply, Mudassir Pasha (97) and 14 year old Joe Carrasco (52) offered Oswestry hope of an unlikely win but they finished 32 runs short at the close. Olton & W.W. came close to their first win of the season at Lichfield but they were thwarted by the Staffordshire club’s last wicket pair as they responded to Olton’s 191 all out with 161 for nine. Tim Filer (4 for 29) and Jacob Van Galen (4 for 45) kept the visitors in check but Xavier Gabriel’s 4 for 33 was decisive for Olton who were held up by 46 from Adam Braddock. Jason Pyott’s 102 was the significant contribution in Bablake Old Boys’ 236 against Pershore who were dismissed for 158 in reply. Pershore’s Tom Pilling (7 for 77) didn’t deserve to be on the losing side but Bablake’s all-round strength won the day. Stephen Hughes (60) and Atiq-ur-Rehman (56) were the top scorers in Eastnor’s 268 all out, against Studley, for whom skipper Stuart Harris took 4 for 32. His side’s response fell short on 180 for nine, despite a good opening stand by Simon Stamenkovic (77) and Joe Dodd (42).