Marvellous Miller stars with bat and ball in big victory

Miller first cracked 159 from just 91 balls, including 11 sixes, to help his team reach 335-6 from their 40 overs. And he then claimed 4-25 as the visitors were bowled out for just 158, to lose by 177 runs.

Ryan Wheldon, who struck 81 from as many balls, and Dan Plank, who hit 39 from 21, also impressed for Quatt, who have won all four matches so far to sit top of the Clive Smith group.

Worfield are their closest challengers after edging a low-scoring encounter at Newport.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the visitors were in huge trouble at 43-7 before Tom Pickerill’s fine, unbeaten 53, helped them to 140-9 from 40 overs, Will Weir (25) providing admirable support.

In the end the total proved more than enough as Newport were bowled out for just 97. Weir did the early damage, removing the opening pair of Sam Papps and Paul Furniss while conceding just nine runs in his eight overs as the hosts failed to find any momentum.

Basit Zaman then claimed 4-33 as Newport, who had won all three of their opening matches, slipped to their first defeat.

Madeley boosted their morale by claiming a first win of the season at Ludlow – a result which left the hosts bottom of the standings. Opener Andrew Laycock’s patient 73 provided the foundations for the visitors total of 197-8 from 40 overs.

In reply, Ludlow quickly found themselves in trouble at 12-2 as Madeley opening pair Martin Boyle and Steven Sandhu caused constant menace. Sandhu finished with figures of 3-38, while the excellent Boyle claimed 4-16 as the home side were eventually dismissed for 126.

In the Mike Robinson group, Wellington wasted little time making it four wins from four with a thumping seven-wicket victory at Shelton.

Batting first, the hosts were bowled out for just 67, with six of their batsmen failing to trouble the scorers. Tom Ellis (4-22) did most of the damage, with Dan Lloyd wrapping things up by taking three wickets for just two runs in three overs.

The visitors, in truth, got off to a shaky start as three wickets went down with only five runs on the board. But Wendell Wagner (32 not out) and Matthew Lamb (18 not out) soon steadied the ship as Wellington chased down the target in a little more than 18 overs.

Shrewsbury seconds are second in the group after a thrilling four-run win over Whitchurch. Batting first, the home side made 202-6 from 40 overs, helped by a fine 71 from Harry Wassell. Whitchurch looked to be managing the reply well when they sat on 135-2 with 10 overs remaining. But when opener Maisam Hasnain Jaffri was dismissed by Brad Thornton six runs short of his century, it sparked a collapse as five wickets fell for just 27 runs. When Iftikar Khan was dismissed with the last ball of the 39th over, 15 runs were still required and Patrick Phillips and Nadeem Ahmed could only manage 10.

Sentinel remain well in the hunt after an 187-run win at Frankton. David Laird was their hero with bat and ball, first smashing an unbeaten 134 from just 105 balls before taking 6-13 from eight overs.