Glover hits rapid century in FISSC win

LOUIS Glover hit a rapid century to keep FISSC in the running for honours at the top of Division One of the Cotswold Hills League.

His 104 against visitors Temple Grafton came off just 64 balls and included 13 4s and four 6s and helped propel his side to a 174-run victory.

Openers Oliver Horswill (54) and skipper Richard Stokes (30) handed the Farmers the perfect start putting on 83 for the first wicket with Glover and Pankaj Kane (33) then adding 101 for the fourth wicket.

By the end of their 45 overs, FISSC had scorched to 299 with Matthew Denton-Cooke the pick of the bowlers with 3-52.

Grafton bobbed along early in their innings with opener Nate Blundell scoring 28 and Denton-Cooke 39 but a batting collapse saw them slump from 92/3 to 125 all out inside 27 overs. There were two wickets apiece for Prashanth Prabhakaran and Arun Chandran before Pandi Sadayandi mopped up the tail with 3-5 from 2.2 overs.

Southam are still top after they secured an 85-run win at home to Kineton 2nds helped by century-makers Chris Prophet and James Boden.

Opener Prophet scored 101 off 114 balls and while Boden matched his score, his tally came off just 69 balls and included seven 6s with the league leaders reaching 272/6.

Kineton managed just 187/8 in reply, Asaad Qureshi leading the way with 41 before being run out. Pete Rigney and Avinash Ashok each took two wickets.

The other result in Division One saw Ashorne & Moreton Morrell beat Stratford 3rds by 28 runs to bolster their mid-table slot.

Wellesbourne’s Premier Division title hopes suffered a blow as Aussie pair Tom Kingsley and Rohan Campbell inspired Alcester & Ragley to a 29-run victory.

Opting to bat first, Ragley made a solid start through openers Brad Jefferies (41) and Toby Magnall (22). Once they fell in quick succession it was down to Kingsley (102) and Campbell (80) to drive their side forward as they put on 179 for the third wicket only for a late collapse to leave them on 270/9 at the end of their 45 overs. For the hosts, Greg Ricketts took 3-40 and Kahlem Reardon 3-26.

An unbeaten 52 from skipper David Barnett was the highlight of Wellesbourne’s innings but with Campbell taking 4-31, they floundered at the end of their innings and were on 241/9 at the close.

That result allowed Tanworth & Camp Hill to strengthen their place at the top following an 88-run victory at Exhall & Wixford.

Tom Smith was the star turn for the leaders, hitting an unbeaten 149 to help guide his side to 294/6 with opener Lee Gill adding 48. A golden duck for Exhall skipper Sam Smith did not help their cause and although Will Green hit a boundary-laden 89, the home side fell short with Tanworth’s Oscar Newell taking 5-42.

2023 champions Kineton kept up the pressure on the top two with a 30-run win at home to Lapworth where there were three wickets apiece for Jordan Dunant and Tom Durnian.

But there was disappointment for reigning champions Shipston who crashed to a six-wicket defeat at home to Bretforton to keep them in the bottom two. Matt Corby’s 32 was the only score of significance as the hosts were skittled out for 104 with former Worcestershire ace Daryl Mitchell taking 4-19.

Shipston’s Harry Radley duly took 3-26 from eight overs but Bretforton reached their target in the 24th over and for the loss of just four wickets.

Henley slipped off top slot in Division Two after losing their top of the table clash at new front-runners Norton Lindsey & Wolverton by 34 runs.

The home side were dismissed for 221 off the final ball with the wickets being shared around led by Saleem Jan’s 3-43. In reply, Henley started brightly with opener Tom Williams reaching 50 before retiring and skipper Chris Key adding 32. But with Mark Reading taking 5-44, they were all out in the 28th over for 187.

At the other end of the table Mickleton are still seeking their first win after losing to Southam 2nds by 87 runs.

An unbeaten 84 from Sam Hince guided the visitors to 262/5 which proved too much of a task for the league strugglers who were on 175/8 at the end of their innings, helped by half-centuries from James Lyne (59) and Tim Dobinson-Law (54).

Vidur Jadeja (89) top scored for Moreton-in-Marsh but it was not enough to stop his side from suffering a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Woodbourne.

Great Alne’s promotion push in Division Three continued with a six-wicket victory over Hunningham who batted first and were dismissed for 184 thanks to some excellent bowling with Joe Walters leading the way with 3-21 from his ten overs.

In reply, Steve Temple’s 61 not out was key for the home side as they reached their target with plenty of overs in hand.

Bidford won their derby clash at Welford by three wickets helped by some fine bowling from Darryl Keyte who took 4-37 as the hosts were all out for 198, Manikandan Nadarajah topping the scores with 53.

Half-centuries from opener Duncan Nel (64) and skipper Josh Hands (77) then helped Bidford to victory in the 35th over.

Jon Green scored 79 for Claverdon only for his side to lose a thriller at Tanworth & Camp Hill 2nds by just one run.

The hosts made 233/3 from their 45 overs. Green and Max Gilliver (49) kept the scoreboard ticking in response but Claverdon still needed ten runs from the final over to draw the game. Jack Quantrill and Tarun Sharma chalked up nine between them but a dot ball from Paul Townsend’s final delivery wrapped up Tanworth’s slender victory.

In Division Five, there were wins for both Blockley and Snitterfield. The former beat Alvechurch & Hopwood 4ths by 71 runs largely thanks to a knock of 114 from opener Cliff Dare and Josh Vick’s 3-16. Snitterfield beat Overbury 2nds by five wickets with Sam Drew hitting an impressive 127 not out.