SOUTH EAST WALES
RELEGATION-BATTLING Pontypridd recorded a stunning 60-run victory at leaders Newbridge to blow the Thomas Carroll South East Wales Cricket League Division One title race wide open.
Their win dented Newbridge’s title hopes while it also did Malpas a huge favour as they took advantage and went top after beating Sudbrook by seven wickets.
Newbridge had led the way by 11 points heading into the weekend but, after the turn of events that followed, Malpas now have the edge by five points with two games still to play.
At the Welfare Ground, visitors Pontypridd were inserted after losing the toss and went on to post 187-7 off their 50 overs, with Ryan Williams striking 63 and opening partner Gregor McKain contributing a useful 47, the pair putting on 89 for the first wicket. Tom Kinsey bagged 4-37. However that total proved to be more than enough with the hosts, despite 49 from Ryan Watkins, all out for 127 in reply.
Ed Smart took 4-28 with Ali Saeed collecting 3-19 and skipper Josh Waughington also bagging a couple of wickets.
Meanwhile, despite their stunning win Pontypridd are still in deep trouble as they bid to save their Division One status.
They are second from bottom and 12 points from safety with two still to play, with basement boys Blackwood Town now all but down.
Elsewhere, Pentyrch gave their survival hopes another boost with a fourwicket defeat of last season’s runnersup Chepstow, their third win in four.
The win was inspired by a century from Todd Wilcox (118).
Earlier, half-centuries from Gareth Ansell (58) and Mitchell Harris had helped Chepstow post 219-9.
In Division Two, Abergavenny still lead the way after a crushing 139-run home victory over Lisvane but Cardiff Gymkhana also remain in the promotion hunt as they won by 87 runs at Radyr.
Usman Jaura (4-35) and Faraz Asif (315) proved to be the match-winners for Gymkhana.
In Division Three, Sully Centurions’ scheduled top-of-the-table clash at Crumlin fell foul of the weather.
It meant five points each while also allowing Monmouth to go above Sully into second after they crushed bottom club Machen by 243 runs With three sides fighting for two spots, Crumlin are now 10 points above Monmouth and 13 above Sully.
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STUART Broad’s historic match-winning intervention came as no surprise to captain Joe Root in England’s innings-and-209-run trouncing of West Indies in this country’s first daynight Test.
Broad capped a brilliant all-round performance from the hosts against opponents who lost 19 wickets in under a day’s play to lose with more than two days to spare by surpassing his childhood hero Ian Botham to become England’s second-highest all-time Test wicket-taker.
He came up with two in two balls as West Indies, following on after being bowled out for 168, folded again for 137 in reply to England’s mammoth total of 514 for eight declared, built on man-of-the-match Alastair Cook’s 243 and a century from Root himself.
West Indies were already struggling on 102 for four in their second innings when Broad (3-34) got the ball for his second spell and went level with Botham by taking his two in two.
Two overs later he then cleanbowled Shane Dowrich to move to 384 career victims, only behind his team-mate James Anderson.
Reflecting on Broad’s performance, Root said: “Stuart is that sort of guy who wants to be involved.
“Today is just a great recognition of the hard work he has done and that mentality he has to want to take his game forward even though he’s achieved so much.”
Root hopes that Broad, Anderson and Cook can keep driving not just themselves but all their team-mates forward with them.
“To have the two leading wickettakers and the leading runscorer in the side, you have to be careful not to take that for granted,” the England captain added.
“It’s very special to be up there in the ranks with them.”