Sykes performs well in draw

By Sam Chambers

Leicestershire's James Sykes took two wickets for 27 runs and scored 20 not out as Lutterworth claimed a winning draw at Leicester Ivanhoe in the rain-affected latest round of Everards Premier League fixtures.

Sykes took the crucial wicket of Leicestershire Academy player and Ivanhoe's in-form man Sam Evans (56), while Alec Hill did his bit to limit the home side to 189 all out with 5-46 from 10 overs.

Ollie Pickering and Steven Masic scored 43 and 42 respectively, and along with Sykes' 20, led Lutts to 115-4 from 25.4 overs before the weather took hold, Josh Blunt claiming figures of 4-13 for Ivanhoe.

Leaders Kibworth romped home to a 73-run victory against visitors Market Harborough. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat, chalking up a mammoth 225-2 from just 29.2 overs, largely due to skipper Matt Craven's 107 and wicket-keeper Pite Van Biljon's 61 not out.

Aadil  Ali chipped in with 29 before falling to Zak Chappell, who took 1-33 from six overs on his comeback from injury.

In response, Harborough scored 152 all out thanks in large a decent knock of 59 from Max Levine. Wickets were shared, including two each for Matthew Bashford, Monik Patel, Richard Jackson Darren Shaw, while Ali and a run-out accounted for the other two.

The result meant that Kibworth extended their lead over Sileby Town to 19 points, who could only manage a winning draw in the derby with Rothley Park, despite the best efforts of opener Dave Torr (113*, 90b).

In another contest affected by the inclement weather, he led high-flying Sileby to 183-5 from 29 overs but it was not enough for his side to take the spoils as Rothley - aided by a quickfire 42 from 39 balls from ex-Leicestershire seamer Charles Dagnall - dug deep to end a thrilling encounter on 175-8.

Liam Kinch's 2-14 from four overs and Cameron Ludowyke's 2-32 from six was the pick of the Sileby bowling.

Elsewhere, Syston Town also lost ground on the pacesetters, their match at Hinckley seeing just 21 overs play before being abandoned. They made 98-5, including 33 from captain Umar Razzaq. before the weather brought a halt to proceedings.

Bottom of the table Earl Shilton looked to have a tough fixture against fourth-placed Barkby United, but were well set to claim a win before the familiar theme of bad weather took its bearing on the outcome.

Shajeel Butt's 102 helped home side Shilton to a formidable 218-8 from 35 overs, while former Foxes man Matt Boyce's 48 guided Barkby to 123-3 from 20 in reply as the match was drawn.

The other scheduled fixture, Loughborough Town's home match with Barrow, was abandoned without a ball bowled.