Penkridge Cricket Club Match Reports for 2010

May

 

May 1st

1st XI

Penkridge 1st XI dominated their fixture with Hammerwich on Saturday but were ultimately frustrated by the weather. Having lost the toss, Penkridge openers Waseem Khan (81) and Alex Watson (54) posted their third consecutive opening stand of 50 or more, as they laid a solid platform for the home team's innings. Ronnie Hassan (45) continued his fine early season form, and Paul Szewczyk with 40 not out from 20 balls added impetus to the Penkridge score which allowed them to declare 4 overs early on a commanding 238-3. Hammerwich had resigned themselves to a draw before the innings began and a combination of some dogged rearguard action from Mark Humphries (24 not out from 116 balls) and the early intervention of the rain, meant the Hammerwich innings concluded on 107-6 with Penkridge having to settle for the winning draw.

2nd XI

The heavy rain also meant a frustrating afternoon for the 2nd XI as they tackled the same opposition. Hammerwich batted first and reached 204-8 from their 50 overs, thanks to solid innings from Vinny Patel (81) and Alex Perks (36). Dave Geran with 3-52 and Andy Lawson (2-47) were the pick of the Penkridge attack. Steve Jones (26) struggled to push the run rate along early doors, and it was left to Matt Jones (65 not out) and Liam Kettle with a run a ball 32 not out to put Penkridge in the pound seats, but the rain intervened at the 40 over stage with Penkridge on 167-2 to give the Pillaton side the winning draw on superior run rate.

3rd XI

The third XI managed to wrap up victory before the onset of the heavy rain in their fixture against Pelsall. Pelsall faltered to 156 all out in the face of some tight bowling from Ant Hartwell (2-31), Tom Morris (2-21) and Kieran Smith (4-26). Kieran and Tom then starred with the bat too with 39 and 43 not out respectively, and together with a solid 28 from Will Hartwell, they saw Penkridge home in good time for the loss of just 4 wickets.

May 8th

1st XI

Penkridge 1st XI went top of their league as they came out on top of the awful weather and their opposition on Saturday. They travelled to Wightwick & Finchfield and were asked to bat first after losing the toss for the third successive game. Alex Watson continued his fantastic early season form with 64 as he pushed his average for the season to 50. Laeq Chishti took his opportunity to open the innings with both hands posting a handy 35 and Ronnie Hassan weighed in with 43 as Penkridge posted 176-4 from a curtailed allocation of 32 overs. W&F seemed to be cruising to victory as they racked up 100 from their first 10 overs thanks chiefly to the clean hitting of Peter Dunnett who smashed 87 from 44 balls. Gary Pope (3-46), Ian Brown (2-31) and Mo Hassan with a miserly spell of 1-9 from 6 overs restored order however and ultimately W&F didn't manage to get their run rate up to the level required for the winning draw when the rain intervened in the 28th over of their reply, leaving them stranded at 147-7.

2nd XI

The 2nd XI also went top of their league when they wrapped up a comprehensive victory against Old Wulfs at Pillaton. The visitors were asked to bat and openers Matt Truran (26) and Kelvin Brookes (36 not out) managed to put on 46 for the first wicket but thereafter the Penkridge attack dominated. Dave Geran took 5-34 to take his wicket tally for the last three games to 12, and Jon Price weighed in with 4-49 as Old Wulfs were bowled out for 113 on the final ball of their rain-reduced 28 over allocation. Adam Ball (41) gave Penkridge a solid platform for their run chase and his work was built on by Liam Kettle (22) and skipper Rob Lawrence (30 not out) as Penkridge closed on 116-4 in the 22nd over.

3rd XI

The 3rd XI match was cancelled due to the weather.

May 15th

1st XI

Penkridge 1st XI maintained their challenge at the top of Division 1 of the Staffs Clubs Championship as they came out on top of a real run feast at Pillaton, taking the winning draw against Aldridge on Saturday. Managing to lose the toss for the fourth consecutive game, Penkridge were asked to bat first and after the early loss of in-form opener Alex Watson, Ronnie Hassan (154 not out from 122 balls including 6 sixes and 16 fours) and Waseem Khan (114 from 119 balls) took the Aldridge bowlers to task as they plundered a 2nd wicket stand worth 254 which enabled Penkridge to declare four overs early on an imposing 323-4. Penkridge rued spilled chances during the Aldridge innings as Nick Brownsey (97) was put down twice, and Aaron George (52) also had a lucky escape in the middle order. Aldridge closed their innings on 278-8 with Mo Hassan (5-55) and Laeq Chishti (3-44) to hand the lions share of the points to Penkridge.

2nd XI

The second XI also did their title prospects the world of good as they beat the same opposition by 5 wickets. Aldridge were bowled out for 172 as they struggled against the pace of Tim Dredge (3-55) and the part time twirling of Liam Kettle (3-26). Kettle backed up his good work with the ball with a solid 25, but the Penkridge innings was dominated by Matt Jones who led the team home with 89 not out from 93 balls (15 fours and 2 sixes), receiving vital support at the end of the game from veteran glove man Kevin Baker with 17 not out.

3rd XI

Penkridge were invited to bat by Aldridge at the WACA. Will Hartwell and Steve "Scooby" Jones opened up and made steady progress before Will was caught with the score on 29.  Scooby was joined in the middle Kieran Smith, and they worked hard against the Aldridge bowlers particularly Myers who bowled well throughout the innings.  Kieran was run out for 67 with the score on 167.  Tom Morris then came to the party and was with Scooby who fell for a superb 108 with the score on 264 in the 49th over.  Zed Khan joined Tom for the final few balls before Tom was bowled in the last over for 28 with Zed 3 NO.  Penkridge 268 for 4 off 50 over's.
 
After tea Ant and Michael Hartwell opened the bowling with the latter bowling a superb spell of 5 over's for 1 run which was a wide, Parish was the first to go for 13 bowled by Ant in the 9th over with the score on 17. Alldritt then scored a quickfire 35 before being undone by skipper Baz Hearsey with the score on 58. Mark Boden then had Lax caught by Kieran for 14.  Patel scored 26 before being stumped by a good piece of work from Will "My Knee Hurts" Hartwell.  Martin Dawson then bowled Ridler and then removed Talbut who had scored 34 frustrating all the Penkridge bowlers for 47 overs.  Tom Morris came back on to bowl and frightened Jas out for 5 and a smart catch by the skipper at 3rd slip and then had Evans caught behind of the last ball of the game with Aldridge on 146 for 8 of 50 over's.
 
The result was a winning draw for Penkridge.

May 22nd

1st XI

Penkridge 1st and 2nd XI's powered to the top of their respective leagues with emphatic victories against Cannock & Rugeley last Saturday.

At Pillaton, Penkridge managed to win the toss for the first time in five games and asked C&R to bat. Tight opening spells from Gary Pope (1-20 off 11 overs) and Laeq Chishti (2-27 off 9 overs) saw C&R contained, but the introduction of Ross Shelton to the attack saw them really struggle, as he claimed three quick scalps to reduce the visitors to 103-8. Danny Mellor (37) batting No.3 offered some resistance, and it was left to old stager Ian Brown (2-14) to clean up the C&R tail as they were polished off for 125 in the 47th over. In reply, Chad Clarke found a welcome return to form with a fluent 37, Waseem Khan played another faultless innings (49 not out) to take his average for the season over 70, and Ronnie Hassan with 22 not out from just 12 balls quickly saw Penkridge past the post in the 16th over for the loss of just one wicket.

2nd XI

Richard James dominated the 2nd XI game at Littleworth Road. He became the first Penkridge player to score a century and take five wickets in the same game for well over a decade! Batting first, heavyweight-hitter James powered his way to his first three-figure tally for the club from just 90 balls including 3 sixes and 14 fours. Manzoor Sadaq (26), Matt Jones (26) and 58 not out from Khalid Sadiq, helped Penkridge post 275-8 from their 50 overs. C&R openers Paul Beech (18) and Rakesh Mistry (22) managed a stand of 38 for the first wicket but wickets tumbled frequently with the introduction of spinners James and Liam Kettle to the attack. James took 5-24 including the final wicket to fall and Kettle (2-11) as C&R were skittled for 95, meaning a 25 point haul for Penkridge.

3rd XI

The third XI narrowly missed making it a clean sweep for the club against the same opposition. Penkridge powered their way to 238-1 from 50 overs thanks to a second century in two weeks from Steve Jones (117 not out) and a superb maiden century for the club by 15 year old Tom Morris. In reply the C&R batsmen frustrated the Penkridge attack as they posted 128-7 from their 50 over allocation to give Penkridge a commanding winning draw.

May 29th

Penkridge 1st and 3rd XI fixtures were victims of the atrocious weather on Saturday, but the 2nd XI dodged the showers to consolidate their position at the top of Division 1A in their game against Bloxwich. The visitors won the toss and asked Penkridge to bat, and the hosts quickly found themselves floundering at 40-4. Manzoor Sadaq with a fine half century, and Rich James (29) steadied the ship before some fireworks at the end of the innings from Khalid Sadiq (49 not out) and Jon Price (20 not out) saw a healthy total of 205-7 posted from their rain-reduced allocation of 40 overs. In reply, Bloxwich struggled against a superb bowling display from Dave Geran (3-14) and Jon Price (6-24) as they were skittled for 75 in 26 overs, meaning Penkridge now top the table by 20 points.