2018 League round-up 11

Harry Swindells’ fine summer continued as he fired Leicester Ivanhoe to the top of the table after beating Lutterworth on Saturday.

Ivanhoe batted first but were in trouble at 36-3 before Swindells rescued the side as he and Jake Beaumont (43) added 88 for the fourth wicket.

Swindells fell for 80 (86 b, 10x4) and Mitch Carey hit a quickfire 45 from just 30 balls as Ivanhoe set Lutterworth 220 to win. Craig Wilson took three wickets, with two wickets apiece for Alec Hill and Jarrad Pickering.

Lutterworth’s response got off to the worst possible start as they slumped to 2-2 which then became 24-4, Jack Gilford and Academy seamer Alex Evans with two wickets apiece.

Wickets continued to fall regularly and Lutterworth finished with 100 before being bowled out, Evans claiming four wickets and Carey added to his good day with the bat by taking three.

Loughborough Town chased down an impressive total with Tom Wells in fine form. Their opponents Uppingham batted first and set Loughborough 281 to win. Benjamin Farnsworth scored his second century in as many weeks with 119, Nick Green made 46 and Jamie Dumford 42. Sachin Patel was the pick of Loughborough bowling attack as he took four for 46 from his 10 overs.

Tom Wells opened the batting for Loughborough and hit 67 from just 56 balls with 12 boundaries in his innings. Charlie Lowen, who has played for Leicestershire Second XI regularly this season smashed an unbeaten century with support from Shyam Patel (40*) and Greg Hollins (23*) as Loughborough won with 4.5 overs to spare.

A good team batting display and then a comprehensive performance with the ball saw Barkby run out winners against Market Harborough. Barkby Captain Steve Flowers top-scored with 73 and he was well supported by wicket-keeper Ben Silver (60) and Louis Botting (45). Patrick Sadd picked up three wickets for Harborough.

Having lost a wicket with the first ball of the innings, Don Butchart (39) and Scott Howard (30) added a decent second wicket partnership. However, when they both fell Harborough slumped to 135 all out. Cameron Sharp was in fine form as he took 4-39 for Barkby.

Kegworth’s Brent Williams was another batsman to make it back-to-back centuries as he guided his side to a three-wicket victory over Barrow. Barrow were bowled out for 234, Gavin Noon top scoring with 39 with Wewalwala Hewage Chanditha, Rishi Patel and Jack Nightingale all making scores within the 30 run region. 

Academy leg-spinner James Dickinson was in good form taking 3-36 and George Scottorn also claimed a three-for.

It was then Williams who took centre stage as he smashed 114 from just 98 balls with 18 boundaries and 2 maximums. When Williams was dismissed Kegworth were 172-5 and still had work to do. Albert Grieve (25) and Alex Fletcher (18) edged them closer to the victory line but it was left to skipper Jordan Holmes 8* and Gareth Isaac 15* to see their side home.

There was an absolute thriller at Kibworth as 19 wickets fell and 481 runs were scored on Saturday. Sileby batted first and set their hosts 241 to win, Jake Gillet (34) and Dave Torr (84) added 93 for the first wicket and Chris Yates hit 39 from number six. Dave Whitmore and Russell Jackson both took two wickets for Kibworth.

With two players hitting consecutive centuries Matt Craven hit his third in three weeks. He was the only Kibworth batsmen to register a significant score only Jackson provided much support with 31.

Jackson’s wicket then saw Kibworth lose three wickets for just one run. Craven played the situation perfectly as Russell Spiers was 0* facing 5 balls and Craven finished with 118* as Kibworth edged a thriller by one wicket to go second in the table.

In the final game of the division Syston ran out comfortable winners against Langtons. Syston batted first and made 233 from their 50 overs with three half-centurions in their innings, Charles Wootton made 57 - as did George Corbett - and Charlie Royale made 54. Langtons then slipped to 146 all out with Vibhu Yadav taking five wickets for Syston.

Ateeq Javid had a stunning weekend for Berkswell with a fantastic all-round performance. Playing against Dorridge, Javid took eight for 53 as Dorridge were bowled out for 176. Then, batting at No. 4, Javid hit his second century of the week, ending on an unbeaten 103.

Rob Sayer was another Foxes player who posted three figures, but sadly his super innings was in vain as Peterborough Town lost to Rushton.

* For the very latest news from the Leicestershire & Rutland Cricket League, check out their website HERE