LEAMINGTON slipped to a two-wicket defeat away to Harborne in Birmingham & District Premier Division Two.
The result means Harborne leapfrog Spa into second, leaving Leamington in third, with leaders Wolverhampton also winning at the weekend.
After winning the toss, Leamington went into bat and got off to a terrible start when losing Luke De Souza (4) at 6-1, but recovered thanks to Harrison Smith (70) and Waqar Ahmed (75) – who mustered a 133-run partnership.
The duo both hit a dozen into the boundaries, with Smith claiming the only six between them.
William Mashinge was dismissed from the first ball he faced, before Ahmed was caught by James Hunt for the fourth wicket.
Whilst Jonathan Wigley added 35, the remaining order in the batting line could do little to build Spa’s total, as Leamington were dismissed for 243 in the final over.
Harborne got off to a steady start in response, with the lead batsmen consistently finding runs, whilst the middle-order duo of Tom Arnold (23) and Tejas Wagle (62) fired a combination of 52.
Wagle then went one better alongside Tom Payne – with the pair forming an 85-run partnership to take Harborne within touching distance of Leamington’s total.
They did just that in the 53rd over, condemning Spa to a second outright defeat of the season.
Leamington will hope to get back to winning ways when hosting Bridgnorth at Arlington Avenue on Saturday (12 noon).
Spa’s second XI had better fortunes when hosting Kenilworth Wardens Seconds in Warwickshire County Cricket League Division Two, storming to a 117-run victory to maintain their unbeaten start at the top of the division.
Whilst initially struggling at the bat after winning the toss, Leamington recovered from an ominous position at 100-5 to post 264 all out.
Jason Butler (42) and Paul Lawrence (46, not out) struck up 69 runs between them as the top-ranking partnership of the game, though Nick Couzens top-scored with 48.
In the second innings, the Wardens wickets fell at regular intervals, with Couzens (3-20) and Lawrence (3-31) the main culprits, as Gary Maynard’s 24 was the best score Kenilworth could offer.
Leamington finally claimed the final wicket in the 46th over to seal a straightforward victory, and hope to extend their successful start to the season when visiting RMCC on Saturday (12:30pm).
