RUGBY CC eased to a 53-run win against Solihull Municipal thanks to a century from Wes Landsdale as they moved up to third in the Warwickshire County League Premier Division.
Landsdale scored an impressive 109 from 123 deliveries to help Rugby post 251-5 from their 50 overs as George Mackenzie finished on 50 not out.
The pair were supported by knocks of 42 from Owen Edwards and 32 from Hugh Cochrane as Rugby recovered from 47-3 to put on 89 for their fourth wicket.
And Landsdale and Mackenzie combined for a 115-run unbroken partnership as Rugby’s innings drew to a close having been put into bat by Solihull.
Seth Westley struck early in Solihull’s reply before two quick wickets for Lee Golding, including Danyal Mehmood (33), put Rugby on top.
Nathan Boyce (23) and Alex Roslyn (20) steadied the ship for the hosts, but the return of Neal McGrath accounted for the wickets of both batters.
And after a luckless opening burst, McGrath (3-41) picked up three wickets in a crucial second spell that reduced Solihull to 129-6.
Solihull’s John Stanley struck an aggressive 50 to keep his side in the hunt, despite Golding (3-34) taking the seventh wicket.
However, when Stanley fell to Landsdale (2-43), the run chase soon fizzled out as Solihull were bowled out for 198.
Rugby’s 2nd XI were also victorious as they secured a comfortable 93-run success against Nuneaton in Division Five to maintain their perfect start to the season.
And after winning the toss and choosing to bat, openers Bhavik Rathod (81) and Lee James (42) put on 101 for the opening wicket.
Abhay Lal (23) added a further 63 with Rathod, before three wickets fell for just 17 runs, including Rathod.
However, another solid partnership between Aravind Katragadda (59) and Rob Stipanovic (32) saw Rugby put on a further 66 runs for the fifth wicket.
And with runs throughout the order and two sixes in the final over from Dave Marshall (17 not out), Rugby closed on 301-7 from their 50 overs.
Nuneaton made a quick start in reply before James Nuttall removed Lyndon Topp (22) which slowed down the run rate as the visitors struggled to mount a realistic run chase.
Hugo Rogers (52), Andrew Bonner (37) and James Taplin (34 not out) all enjoyed time at the crease but Nuneaton ultimately fell well short of the required total as they finished on 208-6.
Brett Markham (3-39) and Amaan Shah (2-38) were Rugby’s other wicket takers, helping to secure a 93-run win for the Webb Ellis Roaders.
However, Rugby’s 3rd XI were beaten by 10 runs after losing a narrow run chase against Dorridge in a low-scoring affair in Division Eight South Central.
Dorridge batted first and made 148 with Sam Burn (54) top scoring, whilst Murali Natarajan (3-19) was the pick of the bowlers.
The other wickets were shared between Sunil Poral (2-28), Rubans Sugartharubans (2-21) and one each for Tom Rigby and Liam Hebblewhite.
Rugby’s reply started well thanks to young opener Advay Pophali (31), before Jack Coleman (27) and Hebblewhite (20) continued the good progress.
However, a horrific batting collapse saw 97-3 turn into 103-9, with six wickets falling for as many runs.
Final pair Liam Slaughter (25) and Dan Pinks (9 not out) fought hard and added another 35, but just as the win looked possible, the final wicket fell on 138.
Lastly, Rugby’s 4th XI beat Dorridge by six wickets thanks to an unbeaten century from debutant Ram Kumar Singh to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
Batting first, Dorridge racked up 240-7, largely thanks to opener Robert Collen (70) in the Division Nine South Central clash.
Mohammed Obaid (2-44) impressed with the ball for Rugby once again, whilst Singh also chipped in with 2-31 and Jag Barhey and Max Johnson shared a wicket apiece.
Rugby’s reply started badly and found themselves in trouble at 36-3 when Sachin Barhey (45) joined Singh in a 130-run stand.
Barhey (36 not out) then finished the game in a hurry, adding the remaining 76 runs for victory in just eight overs with Singh who finished on 128 not out from only 93 balls.
Rugby’s 1st XI host Sutton Coldfield on Saturday, May 21 with the toss at midday (12pm) at Webb Ellis Road.
Rugby’s 2nd XI travel to Ambleside CC, Warks 1st XI on the same day at 12.30pm at Ambleside Cricket Club.
Rugby’s 3rd XI travel to Newbold-On-Avon CC 1st XI on the same day at 1pm at Parkfield Road Recreation Ground.
And Rugby’s 4th XI host Oakfield & Rowland United CC on the same day at 1pm.
