League match at Foliot Fields, Stoney Lane (Sheldon won the toss and elected to bat)
Sheldon Marlborough 58 for 6 in 20 overs
(Naweed 3-0-7-1, Umar 3-1-7-2, Rashurd 3-0-16-0, Adil Saeed 2-0-7-0, Luke Baker 2-1-1-2, Omar 3-0-10-0, Jei 3-2-1-1, Ben 1-0-7-0)
FOW: 8 9 9 39 58 58
Kings Heath 62 for 0 in 7.3 overs
Josh Baker 42 not out (9 x 4s)
Luke Baker 12 not out (1 x 4)
Did not bat: Ben Rattley, Umar Rehman, Arjan Gihar, Naweed Uddin, Adil Saeed, Rashurd Ali, Omar Dawood, Louis Langham-Walsh, Jei Diwakar
KINGS HEATH WON BY 10 WICKETS
Bonus points: Win 4, Bat 4, Bowl 3
Kings Heath cruised comfortably in their chase of 59, during which Luke Baker was given the opportunity to open the batting for the first time, having failed to make it to the crease during the Blossomfield victory the previous match, and Josh Baker also had the chance to boost his confidence having failed to make a notable score since the first match against Kings Norton. However Sheldon bowled their first two overs very accurately and several minds briefly wondered if there could be an upset and Sheldon successfully defend their total. The wonderings were soon silenced at the start of the third over when Josh opened his shoulders and starting hitting boundaries though the offside with ease. Luke soon joined in the fun, hitting a sublime four to the left of mid on and the pair surged past the total in only 45 deliveries, scoring the required runs at over 8 an over to secure the win by 10 wickets.
Earlier Sheldon had won the toss and surprisingly elected to bat; Kings Heath would also have batted on a hot day and a flat pitch. Eight bowlers were used, not out of necessity but in order to ensure that most players were given an opportunity to bowl some overs and collect wickets. The opening bowlers Naweed and Umar soon reduced Sheldon to 9 for 3 and despite two rallying partnerships of 30 and 19 respectively Sheldon were kept to only 58 from their full 20 overs. Under 12 Adil Saeed made an encouraging debut, bowling two overs before being rotated. Under 13 Jei Diwakar bowled three overs for only a single run (which was a front foot no-ball) and collected a wicket in the process – an exceptional reaction catch by Luke Baker at close midwicket. Ben Rattley also bowled his first over of the year, demonstrating his full repertoire of off spin deliveries and varied his pace well. The joint captaincy of Ben Rattley and Umar Rehman has worked well in the absence of regular captain Louie Turpie. Although victory is pleasing it is more satisfying to win a close contest which either team could have won. The result of this match was effectively decided once the first three Sheldon Marlborough wickets had fallen.
