Newborough CC close in on two titles including a first in Rutland Division One, Tariq torments Hampton and disappointment for Cambs veterans
Newborough have moved closer to the first Rutland Division One title in the club’s history.
‘The Bulls’ claimed top spot with a six-wicket win at Werrington helped by a 28-run defeat for previous leaders Burghley Park at the hands of Barnack.
But the top two will be aware of the menacing presence of reigning champions Peterborough Town who are third, 39 points behind Newborough, but with three games in hand.
Joe Mills took 4-7 for Newborough as Werrington were dismissed for 128 before David Cooper slammed 55 from 39 balls. A ton from Asim Butt (103) and a 49-ball 87 from Husnain Tariq helped Barnack recover from 16-3 to 257-9. Burghley collapsed from 150-2 to 229 all out after 71 (62 balls) from Ben Silver.
A depleted Town team beat Ufford Park by 59 runs after half centuries from Sreehari Subramonian (57) and Jai Venugopal (51no). Ufford looked on course for a surprise win when Nofal Raja (53) and Mohammed Rizwan (44) were going well, but from 111-3 chasing 195-9 they fell apart against Zeeshan Hamid who bagged 5-21 from eight overs and one ball.
It could be a double title success for Newborough who are also 28 points clear in the South Lincs Championship. Cooper struck 84 from just 56 balls in a 77-run win over Boston in their latest outing.
In Hunts Division Three Mohammed Yaseen (103), Tas Ahmed (79) and Husnain Tariq (57) all scored well as Barnack seconds piled up 278-1 in 35 overs against Hampton seconds. Tariq also picked up 5-21 as the city side were rushed out for just 57 in reply.
Werrington 2nds beat Peterborough Town by 14 runs in a high scoring clash. Saad Ashraf (76) scored most in Werrington’s 233, a score matched by Sandeep Kumar Nanda of Town. Zeeshan Hamid struck 51 not out for Town after taking three wickets.
OVER 50s
Cambs, semi-finalists for the last two seasons in the ECB National Over 50 competition, lost at the last-16 stage by 49 runs to Essex at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.
Pete Munns and Lee Peacock picked up three wickets apiece for Cambs as Essex posted a 45-over score of 232-8. Rain meant the target was changed to 206 in 41 overs, but Cambs slumped to 87-7 before Will Earl (65no) and Dominic Ralfs (32no) pushed them to respectability at 156-7.