CRICKET: KENILWORTH Wardens celebrated their third successive Birmingham Premier League win at the weekend after defeating table toppers Knowle and Dorridge.
After losing the toss, Wardens were asked to bat on a difficult wicket in bowler friendly conditions.
It did not take long for the home side to find their first victim with Johnson caught behind for a duck in the first over off the bowling of Henry Brookes.
The early loss saw Basit Zaman arrive at the wicket.
Zaman went on to play his best innings of the season so far to score a classy 61 from 74 balls – including eight fours and a pair of sixes.
Zaman was ably supported by Nick Seagar (14) and overseas player Mankad (30) – who was removed after a brilliant catch in the gully by Alex Phillips.
Wardens then experienced a mid-innings wobble, with both Henry Brooks and Will Mottram picking up two wickets apiece.
The fall of the seventh wicket at 151 brought together Kamran Anwar and Nick Sale.
With the game in the balance, Sale and Anwar batted with controlled aggression to put together a match winning stand of 92.
Each batsman was removed on 46 by Oliver Haley, but not before Wardens had put together the basis of a very good total of 256.
Knowle and Dorridge lost both openers early on, both getting trapped lbw by opening bowlers Anwar and McCreath.
Warwickshire batting star Ateeq Javid was joined by Jack Grundy (11) and later by Sam Reddish (21) who slowly repaired the initial damage, taking the score to 94 before the pick of the Wardens bowlers Khayam Khan dismissed Reddish and Harding in consecutive balls.
Javid was joined by Tom Smith (31) and again the innings was rebuilt, this time by a 72 run partnership.
But it was ended by a brilliant direct hit from mid-wicket thrown by Finn McCreath that ran out Javid.
His 101 ball innings of 60 lasted for over two hours.
But his dismissal marked the end of K&D’s resistance and they finally folded on 202 despite a couple of lusty hits from Henry Brooks.
