Written by Paul Smith – www.Stumped4Words.com
Five wickets from Jasper Davidson plus a remarkable tenth-wicket partnership between Alex Kirkpatrick and Henry Arnold saw Harborne to a memorable one-wicket Birmingham Premier League Division Two home win over Kenilworth Wardens.
After Wardens’ fifth-wicket pair Ben Rex (61) and Ali Zaryab (59) added 115, Davidson’s superb second spell derailed the visitors’ progress to such an extent that they collapsed from 161 for four to 187 all out.
Despite another useful contribution from Tejas Wagle (40), the home batting line-up then found itself in similarly deep water at 143 for nine when the final pair joined forces.
And amidst unbearable tension they batted over an hour, survived two missed chances and saw off a ferocious spell from Derbyshire paceman George Scrimshaw to claim the spoils in the 48th over.
“It was quite a game,” ecstatic home captain Tom Arnold said. “It was really topsy-turvy and I imagine Wardens thought it was in the bag.
“The wicket was really good – plenty of bounce and a little bit of seam movement due to moisture but both sides bowled really well on it – it certainly wasn’t a 180 track.
“Jasper bowled really well for us – stump to stump and getting it wobbling around – and he deserved his five wickets.
“After Tejas played another good knock to hold us together, the last pair did incredibly well. Neither of them would be considered main batters so it was an impressive effort.
“They batted for a long time and had a bit of luck but they survived Scrimshaw bouncing them from round the wicket and did really well.”
The visitors were 46 for four after Tom Arnold (3-33) grabbed three early scalps, before their Pakistani pro Zaryab was joined by Ben Rex.
The pair went on to build the day’s only substantial partnership which finally ended when the returning Davidson dismissed Rex for an 83-ball 61 containing nine boundaries.
At this point Wardens were eyeing a total well beyond 200, but they reckoned without Davidson who soon grabbed three more quick wickets to leave Zaryab in the company of the tail.
When the Central Punjab all-rounder was eventually ninth out for a patient 97-ball 59 the end came quickly – and five overs ahead of the scheduled 55.
After the early dismissal of Indian pro Swapnil Gugale, Jimmy Clifford (27) and Guriq Randhawa (20) took Harborne’s response to 41.
However, Warwickshire prospect Tommy Rex (3-49) joined forces with medium-pacer Amun Bal (3-40) initiate a middle-order collapse which saw five home wickets fall for the addition of 44 runs.
The in-form Wagle then weighed in with his third consecutive meaningful batting contribution – an even-time 40 containing five fours and a six – but when Scrimshaw dismissed Tom Arnold and Jack Holloway Wardens were firm favourites.
However, Kirkpatrick grafted his way to an excellent 65-ball unbeaten 28 which in the company of no.11 Henry Arnold, and with the assistance of a couple of dropped catches, saw the hosts to a memorable one-wicket win in the 48th over.
