Premier Division Two Review 21st May

Author: Nick Archer
Date: 21/05/2022

Premier Division Two Review 21st May

Author: Nick Archer
Date: 21/05/2022

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Lichfield’s James Wilkinson began the white ball season in Premier Division Two with a seven wicket haul against Barnards Green and he, almost, matched that in the opening red ball game with 6 for 41 against Bridgnorth. Bowling first, after winning the toss, Lichfield dismissed the Shropshire outfit for 171 in 51 overs, which would have been far less without a classy 50 from 78 balls from Karl Quiney. Matty Simmonds added 31 and Ian Gregory hit a brisk 27 but it was a session that favoured Wilkinson who extended his lead at the top of the wicket-taking charts in the division, taking his total to 20, thus far. For a side that had won four of its first five games, the target appeared to be a comfortable task for Lichfield but a hostile opening spell from Shropshire’s Ben Roberts (3 for 23), supported by Adam Quiney (2 for 31) reduced them to 48 for five, then 83 for seven. A stubborn 30 from Brinder Phagura and a cavalier 29 from Robert Turner improved the score to 122 before Turner was bowled by Michael Hill who went on to dismiss Phagura and Wilkinson with successive deliveries, one run later. Hill, who missed out with the bat, showed his all-round value to Bridgnorth by finishing with 3 for 12 to see his side to a 48 runs victory. The only draw in either division came at Harborne, where the leaders were bowled out for 191 by Bromsgrove. Jasper Davidson (53), Tejas Wagle (46) and Tom Arnold (41) provided the bulk of the runs for Harborne before Richard Kimberlin (4 for 9) stepped up to bring the innings to a hasty conclusion in 49 overs. Faced with 61 overs to achieve their target, Bromsgrove were given a great start by Connor Smith (69) but the Harborne attack, led by Swapnil Gugale (3 for 28) and George Land (3 for 34) applied a stranglehold which saw them finish on 141 for eight. Wolverhampton have moved up to second place in the table after defeating West Bromwich Dartmouth by seven wickets. Former Walsall skipper Danny Cox scored a patient 42 from 90 balls for Dartmouth who struggled to score at under three runs per over throughout their innings to finish on 144 all out. Spinners Joe Stanley and Charlie Home took 4 for 39 and 3 for 47, respectively, and Aussie Brad Fallon picked up 3 for 30 for Wolverhampton. Dartmouth’s hopes of an unlikely success were raised when Wolverhampton slipped to 13 for three but skipper Will Nield (69 not out) and Home (51 not out) eased them to victory without further alarm with an unbroken stand of 133.

Worfield’s woes continued with a six wicket defeat to Himley. After defeat in all their white ball games so far, the return of the red ball did them no favours at all, as they crashed to 128 all out. Opener Ross Aucott hit 40 from 70 balls but there was little support from anyone else apart from Ryan Quiney (28). James Lunn (3 for 40) took the first three wickets before left-arm spinner Graeme White (4 for 20) and off-spinner Ben Robinson (3 for 21) took over. In response. Himley reached their target at a canter, thanks to 48 from Callum Lea, 38 from Oliver Cox and 28 not out from veteran former skipper Greg Wright, making his second appearance on his return to the game after early retirement. After sliding to a precarious 85 for six against Barnards Green, Wem recovered to 210 all out in 50.3 overs, with 52 from Andrew Harrison and 39 from Alex Ollerenshaw. Opening bowler Phil Harris took 4 for 35 and off-spinner George Rhodes took 4 for 58 for Barnards Green who romped to victory by nine wickets in 45 overs following an opening stand of 141 between Ryan Tongue (123 not out) and Rehaan Edavalath (37). Oliver Rogoff came in to join Tongue, after the latter’s dismissal, and finished with an unbeaten 45. Walsall made a brisk start against Dorrridge, after choosing to bat first, but Amit John’s dismissal for 47 at 74 for two signalled a collapse to 87 for six and 125 for seven. Jacob Ward (43 not out) and Mateen Khan (22) improved matters to 186 all out with one ball remaining and two early Dorridge wickets boosted their confidence. Perry Derrick had been the pick of the Dorridge bowlers with 4 for 58 but the man of the match was Suffolk’s Ben Shepperson who dominated the Walsall attack with an unbeaten 126 from 114 balls. He struck 16 fours and 2 sixes to see Dorridge to a six wicket win with more than 10 overs to spare.