Words by Paul Smith, Stumped4Words – Birmingham Mail insert here
Unbeaten Harborne are 11 points clear at the top of Birmingham Premier League Division Two following their 34-run win at Walsall.
The visitors had their seam attack to thank for this latest win after former skipper James Hunt and Jasper Davidson shared eight wickets to end the home side’s pursuit of 157 in the 29th over at 123.
Following high-scoring home wins over Dorridge and Wem on typically flat Church Road pitches this was a very different success on a dry Gorway surface where runs were much harder to come by.
And after his team came back from a mid-innings batting collapse which saw them lose eight wickets for just 35 runs, to go on and claim the spoils skipper Tom Arnold was quick to praise their battling qualities.
“We would have liked 200 but after George Land got some important runs at the end to get us past 150 we knew we were in the game,” he said.
“It was a difficult pitch to start on and once the ball got softer both sides found batting difficult.
“We didn’t bat especially well after getting to 90-odd for one, but both of their seamers put the ball consistently in the right place.
“After James Hunt got three early wickets Jasper Davidson and Swapnil Gugale really tied the middle part of their innings down for us.
“Their pro then played very well for his 50 but once Swapnil got him it was always going to be a tall order for them.
“We have now won more white ball games than we managed in the whole of last season which has been a very pleasing start.”
There was little hint of what would follow as Harborne’s in-form Karan Bharaj (32) joined the prolific Gugale, who made 45 from 58 balls, in the day’s most productive partnership.
The second wicket pair added 77 to take the visitors to 97 for one with relative comfort and it was something of a surprise when both fell in quick succession to Mateen Khan who then combined with fellow seamer Luke Stynes (3-17) to rip through the visitors’ middle-order in devastating fashion.
Khan finished with an excellent 5-37 and when Land joined Tom Payne in the middle Harborne had subsided to 132 for nine.
But Harborne’s last man then launched a counter-attack which ultimately proved vital to the contest’s outcome by striking four boundaries in an eight-ball spell. This left him with an unbeaten 21 when Payne’s 38th over dismissal at the hands of home skipper Amit John saw the visitors bowled out for 157.
If Arnold’s team were to extend their unbeaten start to the season early wickets seemed essential and these were provided by Hunt’s excellent opening burst which removed Walsall’s top three.
With Gugale (2-17) keeping things very tight with a frugal spell of off-spin, the home side’s hopes rested on a fighting knock from Om Bhosale who made the day’s only half-century.
But when he became the Indian ace’s second victim following a 71-ball 59 containing ten boundaries the stage was set for Davidson to reprise his match-winning heroics from seven days previously.
The seamer ripped through Walsall’s middle order to claim 4-21 in a devastating five-over burst and when Hunt’s return cleaned up the tail – and in the process left him with the fine figures of 4-33 – the Harborne band-wagon rolled on.
