Pelsall humbled, but still clear at the top

Penn skittled Pelsall, who had previously won 13 out of 16 games, for just 87 en route to a stunning seven-wicket victory which ensured the Premier Division title race is alive for now.

Pelsall still hold a 38-point advantage over second-placed Cannock, with Penn and Beacon close behind.

And though Green acknowledges it will still be tough to close the gap with only five games remaining, he believes the chasing pack now have been left with a glimmer of hope

“It will be difficult because they have the points on the board. It is still very much in their hands,” he said.

“But all it would take now is for them to have a game abandoned and for one of the chasers to pick up maximum points and the race will be wide open again.

“I’d like to think we can still chase them down. A lot of things would need to go our way but there is probably a little more pressure on them now than there was before the weekend.”

Pelsall have twice racked up totals of 400-plus this season but looked a shadow of the team which has plundered attacks across the division on a weekly basis.

Opener Tom Boyd (25) and skipper Danny Pennell (22) were the only batsmen to score more than 10 as Imran Jamshed (4-24) and Tom Nutting (4-32) ripped through the top order.

Sandeep Dhillon then scored 31 from 43 balls to ensure the chase was a formality.

“It was one of those bizarre days when everything went right for us,” said Green. “We got off to a good start and kept taking wickets, applying pressure.

“I think they were a bit shell-shocked, to be honest.”

Cannock did not miss the chance to close on the leaders thanks to a six-wicket home win over Walsall YPF.

The visitors arrived eager to ease relegation fears and looked on course for a competitive total when Yasir Muhammad (51) and Ghulam Abbas (47) were at the crease.

But Ed Fleet and Dan Wood put the brakes on the innings with a spell of tight bowling which eventually began to yield wickets at a rapid rate.

Fleet finished with 3-22, while Wood took 3-24 as Walsall were eventually bowled out for 159.

That never looked like being enough to beat Cannock, for whom opener Adam Benton scored 76 to anchor a chase which was completed in less than 30 overs.

Beacon also remain in the hunt after winning an entertaining contest at home to Hammerwich by three wickets.

A fine 52 from Alistair Lawrie helped rescue the visitors from 86-5 before Todd Allen’s late, blustery 36 from 22 balls eventually saw them post a total of 240.

In reply, Beacon appeared to be cruising at 214-3 with James Fildes hitting a run-a-ball 104. His departure, however, sparked a mini collapse which saw four wickets fall for just 23 runs before Ed Steventon (37 not out) eventually saw the hosts over the line.

At the other end of the table, Springvale boosted their hopes of survival with a comfortable six-wicket win over basement boys Swindon.

Having seen their advantage over the bottom two cut to just 14 points, the importance of the game to Springvale was clear and the result never looked in much doubt.

Opener Matthew Fisher was the only batsman to reach double figures as Swindon were skittled out for just 84, a total which would be considerably less but the extras conceded by the Springvale attack, which included 17 wides.

Iqbal Singh was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-8 from 10 overs, while David Green and Lee Allen also took three wickets apiece.

Paul Baker then hit an unbeaten 39 as Springvale chased down the target in less than 20 overs.

“We went into the game knowing it was pretty much must-win for us,” said stand-in skipper Eren Ranu.

“It probably turned out to be a good toss to lose. We were happy when they chose to bat and it was a great bowling performance all-round. It was good to see the gap at the bottom opened up again.”

Springvale are now 32 points clear of the drop zone and have also overtaken Aldridge and Wednesbury in the table.

The latter were beaten by nine wickets away at Whittington, for whom skipper Daniel Wilks hit a blistering, unbeaten 118 in just 72 balls.

Aldridge’s below-par campaign meanwhile continued with a 46-run defeat at home to Rugeley. Nathen Trimbell scored 120 not out for the visitors.