LEAMINGTON have moved up to third in Birmingham & District Premier Division Two, despite falling to a losing draw against Wolverhampton.
Wolverhampton’s Thomas Fell was in inspired form, smashing 148 from 108 balls to help the hosts build a commanding total of 291-7.
Heavy showers then followed during tea, which drastically reduced the Spa innings, putting a victory out of the question with just 21 overs to face.
Winning the toss and fielding first, Leamington’s Chris Calcott caught Rahul Kaushal (10) from a Tom Warner delivery early on, before a partnership of 127 knocked the wind out of Leamington’s sails.
Amritpal Singh (55) and Fell put the visitors to the fore with their batting display, but Perry Derrick’s dismissal of the former ended their run.
Unfortunately for Leamington, the hosts continued to wreak havoc, as captain Matthew Kleinveldt came in at number three to put on a stand of 55 with Fell.
Kleinveldt was caught by Calcott from a Nabeel Ashgar (4-84) delivery, the bowler then claiming Fell as his next victim at 261-4.
The dismissal of Wolverhampton’s talisman led to a number of late wickets, with Ashgar removing Jack Stanley (11) and Will Nield (14) from the crease, whilst Dan Bowyer (1) was caught by Matthew Davison off a Derrick delivery.
Wolverhampton’s innings left the visitors with a mountain to climb, a mission that was made impossible when rainfall curtailed Spa’s innings.
The target for a winning draw was 121 from 21 overs, but Leamington never looked likely to go close to achieving a result when slumping to 26-5.
Waqar Ahmed (10), Harrison Smith (7), Calcott (2), Sulaiman Hussain (0) and William Mashinge (0) were all lost cheaply, before a stand of 40 between Oliver Currill (15) and Jonathan Wigley (33no) saved some face for Spa.
Wigley and Warner (8) carried Spa to 82-7, ensuring their side took seven points for their troubles and avoided an outright defeat.
Spa are next in league action on Saturday (noon) when hosting second-placed Ombersley at Arlington Avenue, following a Coventry Charity Knockout Cup final meeting with Pak Stars on Friday (6pm) at Coventry & North Warwickshire CC.
