1st XI Away vs Warwick CC 1st XI
Kenilworth’s 1st XI made the short trip to Warwick to begin their WCL Division 2 campaign. Losing the toss they were asked to bat. Warwick’s bowling attack made it difficult for Kenilworth to get runs, resulting in Kenilworth reaching 50/1 after 19 overs with opener Sonu Kumar out for 26. Fellow opener Joe Atkinson followed soon after with 25, and wickets began to fall quickly, leaving Kenilworth at a worrying 75/6. However, Henry Curran (19) and Matt Casey (24) led a rebuild effort, and Kenilworth ultimately finished 140 all out after 49 overs on a tricky pitch. Joe Evans taking 4 for 28 as the pick of the Warwick Bowlers.
In response, Warwick struggled to start and lost two early wickets to Steve Rhodes and Paul Lawrence, slipping to 32/2. However, Warwick began to rebuild and reached a comfortable 94/3, appearing to cruise to victory. But Atkinson changed the game with the ball in hand, taking 4 for 19 from his 10 overs, including some smart cricket to effect a run-out of Warwick top scorer Annkur Chandra (52) that ultimately tipped the game in favour of Kenilworth. Steve Rhodes, Stuart Cope, Paul Lawrence, Darius Potten-Ravenshad, and Matt Casey also contributed with a wicket each as Warwick was bowled out for 114.
With this impressive win, Kenilworth claimed the full 24 points and sit top of the division after one game.
2nd XI Home vs Stockingford AA CC 1st XI
Losing the toss Kenilworth were asked to Bat, and with runs from Joe Tate (21) reached 55-3 before Sarfraz Hussain joined Danny Boneham in the middle after 16 overs, the pair put on 93 for the 4th wicket Partnership before Boneham fell for a crucial 39. Hussain remained and reached a fine hundred off just 78 balls, finishing 102* alongside Skipper Dave Smithson on an unbeaten 31 as Kenilworth declared on 240/5 from 47 overs.
Stockingford were defiant in reply with A Astle (3 from 49), W Percival (34 from 70), and G Evans digging in and making progress difficult for Kenilworth. It took a special piece of cricket from ben Clarke taking a diving one handed catch to remove Evans for his 43 from 86 balls. Piling on pressure against the 10 players of Stockingford Kenilworth couldn’t quite force their way over the line having to settle for the winning draw with impressive bowling performances from Ben Clarke (2-24 from 12), Louis Smithson (2-34 from 12) and Sam Davies (2-35 from 13) Ethan Tate taking the other wicket as Stockingford finished 152/7 from 53 overs.
Congratulations were in order for Sarfraz Hussain, who set up an opportunity to win the game with his fantastic century. Kenilworth took 17 points from the encounter, which placed them towards the top of Division 7 East at the start of the season.
