South Staffs League: Drama at both ends of the table as Cannock claim huge win

Lichfield are now 33 points adrift of Cannock and safety, with just three matches to play, after losing by 62 runs on the road to their rivals in the Premier Division relegation scrap.

The visitors could hardly have made a better start with Isaac Rowley taking two wickets in the first five balls after the hosts had won the toss and chosen to bat.

Despite a slight recovery, Cannock were still in big trouble at 104-6 but the arrival of Josh Bowker at the crease saw momentum swing significantly.

Bowker put on 82 for the seventh wicket with Ben Lockley (38), before then combining with brother Daniel Bowker to add 66 for the eighth.

By the time he was dismissed, Josh had struck 68 from 52 balls, while Dan’s 47 from 27 helped propel Cannock to a total of 262.

Lichfield began steadily in reply but when Daniel Bowker had Preston Lee trapped leg before wicket to make the score 96-3, it sparked a collapse which saw four more wickets fall for just 13 runs.

Nick Richard hit 52 as he tried to repeat the heroics of the Bowker's but Lichfield ended up falling well short as they were bowled out for 200.

Cannock are now 18 points clear of the danger zone after Wolverhampton seconds went down 128 runs at Wombourne.

Michael Hill hit an unbeaten 108 from just 76 balls as the home side put on 307-5, with Chad Brandrick also hitting 91 and then taking four wickets as Wolves were bowled out for 179.

At the top end of the table the title race took another twist as defeat for leaders Hammerwich at home to Fordhouses saw their advantage over second-placed Milford Hall trimmed to just two points.

Fordhouses, who sit third in the table, have now beaten both title challengers on consecutive weekends.

Saturday’s win was set-up by Saqib Akbar who hit an unbeaten 93 from just 51 balls to help them reach 279-6 from 50 overs.

Adam Peat then ripped through the Hammerwich top order and from 21-4 the home side could find no way back. Despite a brisk 54 from Daniel Lynskey, they were bowled out for 175 to lose by 104 runs.

Milford took full advantage of the slip with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Beacon.

Aaron Afford and Sanjula Bandara took three wickets each as the visitors were bowled out for just 126. Bandara duly backed up his performance with the ball by hitting 40 from just 38 balls as the home side eased to the target in just 16.2 overs.

A strong team bowling display saw Pelsall claim a three-wicket win at Tamworth.

Gurshan Singh and Jack Portsmouth took three wickets each as the home side were bowled out for 137.

Skipper Dan Pennell then hit an unbeaten 32 to see the visitors over the line after their reply had been wobbling at 100-6.

The most thrilling finish of the weekend came at Penkridge, where Walsall edged home by one wicket.

A brilliant spell from Hashim Iqbal, who finished with figures of 6-15, saw the home side bowled out for 143.

Walsall then seemed to be cruising to victory at 115-4 before a sudden collapse saw them eventually creep home, No.11 Toby Tyson hitting the winning run with an over to spare.