CRICKET: LEAMINGTON recorded their first league win by the narrowest of margins on Saturday, defeating Moseley by one wicket.
Winning the toss, skipper Lee Hopkins asked the home side to bat first – and Leamington struck quickly when Jon Wigley was dismissed by Aadam Din.
Moseley regrouped well and a fine century partnership between Abdullah Awan and Robert Yates took the total to 113 before Yates fell leg before to James Silk for 38.
Two quick wickets followed both for Neil Smith as Moseley slipped to 114 – 5, with Leamington well on top.
Awan had set his stall out to anchor the innings, and the late order gave him the required support as Moseley recovered to post a competitive 218/5 in 50 overs.
Awan finished unbeaten with a fine 116 while Smith, Silk, and Wigley were the pick of the Spa attack.
Leamington’s response started much the same as Moseley’s innings with an early wicket followed by a half-century partnership between Nathan Hooker and Alex Mellor.
Hooker fell to former Leamington man Usman Awan and the middle order folded as the score went from 57/1 to 83/5 in short order.
Mellow was determined to see Leamington through to their first win of the season though as he teamed up with Matt Payne.
The pair took the score to 175 as Leamington regained control of the game before Payne was bowled by Yates for 30.
Moseley sensed a chance of victory as Leamington’s late order failed to contribute – and when Mellor fell just short of his century for a fine 97, Leamington’s last pair required 21 from three overs. However this proved to be little problem to Silk and Lee Credgington.
An all run four and a smite over mid-wicket off the first three balls of the 50th over edged Leamington over the line.
2ND XI
The return fixture at Arlington Avenue saw Leamington gain a simple win over Moseley to move into third place in the Second XI Premier Division.
Batting first, Leamington made a solid start through Dave Hawkes and Joe Somra – passing 50 before Somra was caught for 18.
Karan Patra joined Hawkes but found timing elusive all afternoon.
As the scoring rate dropped, Moseley eased into contention.
Hawkes went lbw for a fine 51 and Tom Mackrill perished cheaply while trying to quicken the scoring rate.
Patra was bowled for a painstaking 21, but Rob Williams was now at the crease and he crafted a fine unbeaten 56 – allowing Leamington to post a reasonable 202/7 in 45 overs.
Kamran Din was the star bowler for Moseley taking five wickets for 39 runs in his nine over spell.
Leamington’s new ball pair of Joe Midgley and Nick Payne tore into Moseley’s top order, leaving the Birmingham outfit struggling at 47/5.
Muhammed Dogar, unsuccessful for once with the bat, kept the pressure on Moseley with three cheap wickets.
A knock of 40 from Din ensured Moseley passed three figures as two late wickets for Rob Lord saw the visitors dismissed for 133.
Midgley’s three wickets for just 20 runs and Payne’s two wickets were the stand out contributions.
