Pell ton as Sawley hit back for a big win at Sandiacre
KIERAN Pell announced himself to the Beechwood Mazda Derbyshire Premier League with a brilliant century to topple Sandiacre Town at Longstone Lane.
Pell did not make a century last season and had battled to 18 not out from 52 balls as they marked their return to the top division with a three-wicket win last week but he was unstoppable against Sandiacre, who may well have thought they had enough with 253-6 after choosing to bat on their own patch.
It still looked enough with the reply on 32-2 but Pell and Jimmy Lawton embarked on a partnership of 136 for the third wicket.
Lawton was out for 69 from 104 balls but Pell powered on and when the target was reached with six wickets down and one ball to spare, he was on 138 not out from 130 balls, with nine fours and seven sixes.
Earlier, Ben Trembling had smashed 51 not out from 24 balls, Scott McNeill had made 50, Josh Brear 45 and Connor Marshall 41 as Sandiacre set their target.
Belper Meadows chose to bat at home to Ockbrook & Borrowash, who had Derbyshire’s Sam Conners available and he took 4-36 as they were shot out for 86 in 29.1 overs.
Gareth Young weighed in with 3-21 and Chemar Holder, another of the well-known West Indian cricketing family, took 2-22.
Mehmoon Tariq took 3-4 in two overs when Ockbrook replied but they all fell with 78 already on the board as Ethan Berlusconi’s 59 not out from 31 balls rushed them to a seven-wicket win in only 10.4 overs.
Mitch Wagstaff came back to haunt his old side Spondon as Alvaston & Boulton beat them by 71 runs.
A&B chose to bat and Derbyshire’s Wagstaff opened and top-scored with 82 as they put up 197-8, spinners Chris Windmill and Jack Gorbert holding them back with good spells for five wickets between them.
The next best scores were 25 each for Daanish Mehta and Chris Durham, while Spondon’s Adam Finlay had five victims, four catches and a stumping.
Spondon could never get to grips with the chase as Saad Sarwary and Adam Wheatcroft bowled tight opening spells, opener Michael Mitchell taking 95 balls to reach 33.
His was the top score and Wagstaff, after getting Mitchell, finished them off with 4-29 from 12 overs.
Rolleston got off the mark with a low-scoring win over Dunstall at the Deer Park. The visitors could muster only 124 all out after being put in but they tumbled out their opponents for 110 with seamer Graham Dent grabbing five wickets.
It did not look good for Rolleston at first as opener Louis Burrows collected a first ball duck, bowled by Adam Leigh, as did captain Tom Liversage, the same way, with Leigh also having Gareth Marshall caught to make it 15-3.
It was not long before that became 43-7 as Dan Featherstone took the next four wickets.
Given what was to come later, an eighth-wicket partnership of 54 between Sam Bates, who finished on 43 not out, and Liam Goode, who made 25, was a match-winner.
Leigh ended with 3-23, Featherstone with 4-25, Aidan Brodrick took a late wicket and Tom Hill took 2-24.
However, Dunstall were also soon in trouble with the bat against Dent and Alex Brown, who took five wickets between them to make it 23-5.
Dunstall’s mid-innings partnership came for the seventh wicket, Dan Welch adding 53 with Hill, but Welch was out for 45 as Dent returned and the end came at 110 not long after, Dent finishing with 5-28 from 12 overs and Brown typically tight with 2-18 from 12 overs.
Hishaam Khan took 2-31 and Goode 1-16.
Alrewas also got off the mark with a solid 59-run win over visitors Denby.
It was much better with the bat for the Herons after last week’s problems as James Burton and Gareth Woolley reached 102 for the first wicket before Woolley was out for 38 from 92 balls.
Burton followed for 54 at 107 after a 105-ball vigil but Jahurul Islam hit a breezy 22 with two sixes, Stephen Cole also hit two sixes in his 17, Ben Foley added 22 in 23 balls and William Hodgkinson added two more sixes in 29 not out from 26 balls.
That got Alrewas past 200 and they closed on 209-6.
Joe Wilson claimed 5-62 for Denby.
Craig Swinfield and Matt Frend soon got among the Denby batsmen, two early wickets for Swinfield and one for Frend making it 7-3.
That gave the visitors a big rebuilding job and although the next six batsmen reached double figures, none could really get to grips with the bowling.
By the time Charlie Wilson topscored with a run-a-ball 27 not out, the game was gone for them and they were bowled out for 150 after collapsing to 115-9.
Swinfield finished with 3-22, while Hodgkinson and Will Smedley also took three wickets each.