Whitchurch crushed Newtown by 174 runs in the Shropshire Premier Division after dismissing the visitors for 58 in 23 overs in reply to 232-7.
Having won the toss and chosen to bat, Whitchurch built steadily around half-centuries from Muhammad Fahim, who made 66, and Iftikhar Khan with 54, after an early wobble at 21-2.
Kunal Dabas added a busy 40 before Alex Heath’s unbeaten 38 from 23 balls provided late impetus to lift the hosts to 232-7 from their 50 overs.
Whitchurch then dominated with the ball as Newtown’s reply faltered immediately, slipping to 21-3 and never threatening the target.
Kashif Hussain tore through the top order with 4-26 before Heath capped an outstanding all-round display with 5-16, ensuring only opener Tom Leslie, with 16, reached double figures as Newtown were rolled inside 23 overs.
Wem defeated Sentinel by 56 runs, defending 256-9 as the hosts were bowled out for 200 with six overs unused.
After being put in, Wem rebuilt from 56-4 through Matthew Cohen’s 33 before Tom Astley transformed the innings with a fluent 88, supported by 36 from Alex Ollerenshaw in an eighth-wicket stand that lifted the visitors to 256-9.
Cameron Watson was the pick of the Sentinel attack with 4-34, backed up by Alex Johnson’s 3-60.
Sentinel’s reply was anchored by Tom Griffiths and Nick Bateup, who both made 52 to take the chase to 126-3 before a middle-order wobble.
Ralph Davies swung the game Wem’s way with 5-61, aided by Abhishek Reddy’s tight 2-28, and despite a late 30 from Watson the hosts were dismissed for exactly 200 in the 42nd over.
Wem IIs defeated Column by 54 runs in division three after defending 170.
The hosts slipped to 24-3 but were steadied by Bobby Langton, who anchored the innings with 60, sharing useful stands with Harry Harrison, who made 18, and James McDermott with 19.
David Barnett’s brisk 20 set things up at the top before Langton ran out of partners, with Wem bowled out in the 37th over as Nikhil Raveendran claimed 4-41, backed by Brenton Fairey’s 2-19 and two late wickets for Liam Maher.
Column’s chase never recovered from sliding to 56-7, despite a defiant 23 from Fairey and 13 from opener Sam Sneyd.
James Astley led a disciplined Wem attack with 3-11, Jason Davies also taking 3-16 and Rufus Davies returning a miserly 1-14 from nine overs as the visitors were dismissed for 116 in the 44th over.
Whitchurch IIs lost by one wicket at home to Newport IIs, edged out despite a superb century from opener Arjun Sehgal in their 213 all out.
Sehgal carved 122 from 125 balls with 18 fours and three sixes to prop up the Whitchurch innings as they slumped to 101-6, with only Oliver Dyson’s 13 offering early support.
Extras added 48 on a wayward afternoon for Newport’s attack, but Waqas Khan’s 4-19 and tight spells from Mohammad Hussain, who took 2-14, and Oliver Tellwright with 1-2 kept the total to 213.
Whitchurch then chipped away with the ball, reducing Newport to 155-7 to put themselves on top, with Josh Batkin, Dyson and Jack Giddings all striking twice.
However, a late onslaught from lower-order batter Mohammad Maqbool, who hammered an unbeaten 49 from 21 balls, swung the game decisively as Newport scrambled to 216-9 with four balls to spare.
Share