Spin-king Diwan turns in record-breaking figures

The Indian overseas ace returned stunning figures of 9-29 from 14.2 overs to fire Premier Division leaders Quatt to a 151-run success at Madeley.

After team-mate Scott Furber had taken the first Madeley wicket, Diwan got to work with his mesmerizing left-arm spin doing the rest.

Three of his victims were clean bowled, four trapped leg before and one caught and bowled as he took his wicket-tally for the season to 28 in six matches and recorded the club’s best ever first-team figures.

Mithun Jayawickrema (22) and Salim Ahmed (15) were the only batters to reach double figures as the hosts were shot out for 80 in reply to the visitors’ 231-9, with Quatt skipper Jonathan Edwards quick to praise Diwan’s efforts.

“He’s a top performer and he was unbelievable on Saturday,” said Edwards. “He bowled at a good pace and varied his line and length really well and because the ball was turning he picked up a few wickets with a few sliders.

“It was a good cricket wicket, which we showed by getting 230. The batters set us up nicely and then Kully applied the pressure.”

Chris Miller (53), Alex Biddle (36) and Oliver Plank (35) were the main contributors to Quatt’s total. Nadeem Ahmad (4-59) was the pick of the Madeley attack.

The victory made it six wins from six and leaves Quatt 37 points clear of second-placed Whitchurch as they face up to clashes against Shelton and Wem.

“I am pleased with the 37-point lead, especially as were docked 10 points due to an admin error,” added Edwards.

“The aspiration is always to try to compete at the top of the league and we have enough quality to do that.

“We have always had a strong bowling unit but our batting has been inconsistent. But this season we have gone in with a different plan and it’s working well.

“I would be lying if I said we weren’t feeling confident because we are playing some good cricket.

“But we have got a couple of tough games coming up against Shelton and Wem in the next two weeks and things can change quickly.”

Whitchurch lead the chasing pack after a resounding 152-run success at home to Frankton.

Maisam Jaffri top scored with 72, while Saad Wasim made 55 not out and Shafiq Ahmed 31 not out in Whitchurch’s total of 221-5.

The home bowlers then hit form to roll Frankton over for just 69, with Dan Bowen taking 5-11 and Kashif Hussain 3-15.

Tom Astley was the star of the show as third-placed Wem beat St Georges by 116 runs. He bowled superbly to pick up 7-17 from eight overs as the home side were dismissed for 53. Muhammad Irfan offered support with the ball with 3-8.

Earlier, opener Harry Chandler had made 42 and Chris Peel jr 35 as Wem posted 169. Faisal Khan (4-24) and Muhammad Khattak (3-23) impressed with the ball for St Georges.

Shelton’s Simon Jones, Sam Griffiths and Nathan Sealey took three wickets apiece to dismissed Allscott Heath for 145 as opener Max Ferrington(65) played a lone hand with the bat.

An unbeaten 44 from Greg Smith and 37 not out from George Manders saw Shelton home by four wickets.

Sentinel claimed a 24-point haul from their clash with Shrewsbury seconds.

Skipper James Shaw top scored with 48 and Ed Ashlin chipped in with 33 as Sentinel were bowled out for 194 with two balls of the allotted 50 overs remaining. Bradley Thornton shone with the ball as he picked up 6-43 from 13 overs.

Zane Beattie (65) and Rob Foster (50) gave Shrewsbury hope with a 110-run stand for the fourth wicket, but once that partnership was broken, wickets tumbled and the visitors were dismissed for 166. Shaw capped a fine all-rounder performance with 4-33.

The day’s other clash – between Ludlow and Oswestry – failed to produce a winner.

It was Oswestry who headed home with the lion’s share of the points after claiming a winning draw.

Skipper Josh Darley fell three runs short of a century as Oswestry fell for 203 – Louis Watkins and Chris Edenborough both bagged three wickets.

In reply, Ludlow held on 147-9. Deon Patel made 52 while Edenborough was unbeaten on 21. Ian Davies (3-37) Shakkae Marshall (3-30) did their best to force the win.