Frankton are left in a spin by Quatt’s star man Diwan

Overseas ace Diwan took his Premier Division wicket haul for the season to 38 after claiming another seven victims in his side’s nine-wicket success at Frankton.

Diwan struck with his first ball of the day and went on to pick up 7-13 from 13 overs as the hosts were shot out for 63.

It was Diwan’s fourth five-wicket haul of the summer, with his scalps coming at average of six, and he is 14 wickets clear of Whitchurch’s Shabbir Khan in the race to be the top flight’s leading wicket-taker.

Opener Tom Whitney (36 not out) and Ryan Wheldon (21 not out) then saw Quatt to their eighth victory of the season inside 10 overs.

Second-placed Whitchurch are 18 points behind after bagging a maximum haul from their nine-wicket triumph at home to Sentinel.

They also had a spinner impressing as Khan took 5-7 as the visitors were rolled over for 108. Opener Niall Salisbury top scored with 35.

Maisam Jaffri then led Whitchurch’s victory charge with an unbeaten 76, while Saad Wasim made 30 not out.

Whitchurch travel to Quatt on Saturday for what promises to be a keenly contested showdown between the title hopefuls.

Wem are third after coming up just short in their bid to beat Shrewsbury seconds.

A superb unbeaten 108 from Muhammad Irfan, 62 not out from Josh Gough and 43 from opener Harry Chandler helped Wem pile up 325-6.

In reply, a defiant innings from Zane Beattie (73 not out) helped Shrewsbury survive on 162-9.

Irfan capped a fine individual display by taking 5-44 as Wem bagged 18 points for the winning draw.

Madeley held their nerve to claim a thrilling win at Allscott Heath.

Chasing Allscott’s total of 229, the visitors needed seven runs to win from the final over with one wicket in hand. And Nadeem Ahmad (39 not out) proved up to the task as he hit the last ball of the day for four to secure victory.

Shahzaib Shahzaib had earlier hit 61, while Oli Davis made 30. Kuldeep Devatwal took 4-29 to add to the fine 95 he had made with the bat for Allscott.

Another dramatic clash took place at St Georges where the hosts tied with Ludlow.

Batting first, St Georges were dismissed for 181 in the final over of their innings.

Muhammad Khattak top scored with 55 not out, while Muhammad Zaheer made 44. Brendan Brady and Jason Oakes both claimed three wickets each.

Sam Roberts (75 not out) was the standout batter as Ludlow chased victory.

And at 162-6 they looked set to head home with a 24-point haul, but Faisal Khan (4-25) grabbed three quick wickets to set up a dramatic finish.

Ludlow needed eight from the final five balls for victory, which then became three from the last delivery. But Roberts could only manage two as the visitors ended on 181-9. Both teams bagged 14 points.

Shelton’s batters were in good form in their winning draw against Oswestry. Ben Matthews (78), Saleh Ahmed (74 not out), Pabel Saha (62) and Vivian John (43) were all among the runs as the home side made 290-4.

Oswestry’s hopes of challenging that total were hit early on as they fell to 10-3. But skipper Josh Darley (73) and Josh Coleridge (59) helped stave off the threat of defeat as the visitors ended on 227-7.

Saturday’s fixtures: Ludlow v Allscott Heath; Madeley v Shelton; Oswestry v Wem ; Quatt v Whitchurch; Sentinel v St Georges; Shrewsbury v Frankton.