Western Stars 258

PHC 104

Western Stars destroyed bottom of the table PHC yesterday at White Hill Field, claiming maximum points and keeping their title hopes alive in the process.

Having set PHC an intimidating 259 to win on a sub-standard wicket which appeared underprepared, the Premier Division minnows were blown away first by a pacey opening burst from young Stars fast bowler Kevin Hurdle and later by the controlled left arm spin of the irrepressible Dwayne Leverock.

Hurdle himself, perhaps guilty of pitching too short in the past, bowled to a much fuller length at this time of asking, exploiting the variable bounce to great effect and claiming figures of three for 30 in a nine-over spell.

Leverock, mixing well flighted deliveries with the odd quicker ball, was simply too good for the PHC middle order, many of whom lacked the patience and the necessary skill to counter the unpredictable bounce and often vicious turn. The veteran returned figures of four for 23 off six overs.

Only PHC captain Andre Manders (32) and Kenny Mills (23) put up any sort of meaningful resistance and once Manders departed, nonchalantly snaffled by Stars captain Albert Steede close in on the off side, a Stars victory was never in doubt.

Earlier, although Stars lost their first three wickets to rather careless dismissals, Saleem Mukuddem, who was celebrating his selection in the Somerset Cup Match eleven, was once again outstanding.

Having scored 46 the day before at the Cup Match trial, the South African continued where he left off with a fluent, well-paced 60.

Supported ably by Iain Armstrong (35) he cashed in on an extremely wayward PHC attack, who failed to make the most of a rather damp pitch which was far from easy to bat on.

On a slow outfield, where apparently certain boundaries often came to a halt just inside the rope, Mukuddem and Armstrong were forced to run hard between the wickets - a particularly gruelling experience in the intense mid-day heat.

There were also crucial contributions lower down the order from Gershon Gibbons (28), Hasan Durham (13) and Justin Robinson (21 not out) which helped Stars claim maximum batting points by hauling their total above 250.

Arthur Richards (5-40) and Shoron Hunt (3-48) were the most successful of the PHC bowlers but even they proved expensive in the face of a late onslaught from the Stars batsmen.

Afterwards the Stars captain was delighted with the comprehensive win.

"We needed 16 points to stay in contention for the league title and the boys have delivered once again," Steede said.

"The camaraderie in the team at the moment is excellent. Other teams might perhaps be tiring in the latter stages of the league season but we are still very much enthused and excited about taking it to the wire.

"This is a good time for us. We are now at full strength at last and playing like we really mean business so I am very pleased."