No complaints from Pennell as leaders are downed
Pelsall skipper Danny Pennell was fulsome in his praise for Whittington after they ended his side’s winning streak.
The Staffs County League’s top verses bottom clash didn’t go to form as Whittington eased to an impressive seven-wicket success over the table-toppers.
But while he was disappointed to taste defeat after a run of six straight victories, Pennell felt the outcome just reiterated what he has been saying all summer, that there are no easy games in the top flight.
“Perhaps some people would have looked at the fixture and saw it was top verses bottom and expected us to win,” said Pennell.
“But I have said before that all 12 sides in this league are capable of beating each other and a couple of results on Saturday proved that.
“As much as you are disappointed when you lose, sometimes you have to pay respect to the other side. They played the better cricket and deserved their win.
“We didn’t get enough runs and then Dan Wilks batted well for them. He is a really good opening bat and a consistent performer.”
Wilks’s 71 set Whittington on their way to victory in a clash reduced to 37 overs per side. Michael McNaught (42 not out) and Omar Ali (28 not out) finished the job off with an unbroken stand of 52.
Pennell will now be seeking an immediate response when fourth-placed Milford Hall visit on Saturday.
“We had been on a good run with six straight wins and now we will be looking to bounce back on Saturday,” said the skipper. “But Milford will be keen to do the same after losing to Wombourne at the weekend and it will be another tough game.”
Penkridge leapfrogged Brewood into fifth place after beating them by six wickets at Deansfield.
In another match that was rain affected and cut to 39 overs each innings, the hosts made 172-6 after being put into bat.
That total was built around 49 from James Clark and an unbeaten 40 from skipper Richard Bradford.
Kashif Hussain impressed with the ball for Penkridge with figures of 3-23 from eight overs.
Penkridge suffered a wobble at the start of their reply as they slipped to 16-2 and then 42-3.
But 36 from opener Waseem Shah helped steady the ship before Attiq Chisti (60 not out) and Abdullah Awan (49 not out) saw them to victory with six wickets to spare.
