Red hot Hussain hits league best

Penkridge overseas player Ronnie Hussain hit a league best of 109 while veteran paceman Gary Pope bagged six wickets – but they couldn't overcome Milford Hall.

Hussain's innings came in 35 overs and included a 115-run partnership with Ian Brown, as Penkridge reached 252-3. Yet the Pakistani Test squad player, who hit 120 against Stafford in the Staffs Cup two weeks ago, was not the only batsman to produce the goods.

Ben Holmes (39) and Alex Watson (29) also put on 50 for the first wicket. But despite their efforts with the bat, Penkridge had to settle for a winning draw, after Milford Hall blocked out on 182-7.

Pope emerged with 6-91 off 25 overs, his biggest haul for several years, but the Aussie admitted bowling their Staffs rivals out was always going to be a tall order.

He said: "Chris Millward, who normally bats number three for them, was carrying an injury and batted further down, but even so, if you want to block out on a decent wicket, then it's very hard to bowl sides out. They are a good side and they will definitely be up there come the end of the season."

Penkridge make two changes for Saturday's home clash with Bloxwich, with Adam Ball and John Price replacing Simon Parnaby and Maddy Jones.

Brewood are checking the record books after Kia Betney and Joe Huxley hit a 237-run opening stand that could be a club best.

New Zealander Betney smashed 138 in 145 delieveries while opening partner Huxley made 84, as the pair laid the platform for a high-scoring winning draw against Old Wulfs Tettenhall.

The club are now scouring old scorebooks to establish whether the mammoth first-innings stand is the highest in their history. The duo scored the bulk of Brewood's runs in their 276-3 but they could not convert the score into victory, despite the efforts of 15-year-old spinner Alex Heslop.

The teenager picked up 2-20 off his eight overs but Old Wulfs made a good fist of chasing the score, ending on 217-6 to collect a share of the spoils.