Staffordshire bowlers impress on day one
Impressive bowling performances from Brinder Phagura and Paul Byrne put Staffordshire in a strong position on the opening day of their Unicorns Championship clash against Bedfordshire.
Phagura (5-65) and Byrne (4-75) shared the wickets as Bedfordshire finished on 247-9 after opting to bat at West Bromwich Dartmouth. Phagura took control from the off – taking the wicket of Ben Howgego with his first ball.
He then trapped James Kettleborough lbw for just two.
Luke Thomas and Joe Keeping dug into guide Bedfordshire to 94-2 at lunch.
Some steady play then saw them reach 241-6. But their good work was undone when Byrne took three wickets in four balls to make it 242-9.
Staffs openers Sam Kelsall (37no) and Kadeer Ali (36no) then made an impressive start with the bat promoting Bedfordshire to call for Monty Panesar. But the spinner failed to make any headway with Staffs closing on 75-0.
