INDIAN all-rounder Anupam Sanklecha produced a devastating second spell to claim his first five-wicket haul for Horspath and set up a three-wicket win at Burnham in Home Counties Premier League Division 2.
The overseas star was out of luck in his opening burst as bottom club Burnham progressed to 70-0 after electing to make first use of a good batting pitch with Rahim Akhtar (34) and Syed Yousuf Tameem (32) leading the way.
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| Anupam Sanklecha took 5-42 |
Patrick Foster ended their partnership by trapping Khan lbw for 27, but with Kumar completing a half-century and captain Rizwan Nadeem providing good support, Burnham looked set to post a sizeable total at 182-3.
However, Sanklecha's return to the attack changed all that as he triggered a dramatic collapse, which saw the home side lose seven wickets for just 11 runs in crashing to 193 all out. He bowled Nadeem for 27 and then repeated the feat to dismiss Kumar, who had made 54 off 71 balls with eight fours.
Sanklecha was on fire and he took two wickets in two balls when Foster caught Sulaiman Javed before the Horspath paceman rushed one through Adnan Malik's defences to earn an lbw decision.
Horspath weren't going to let Burnham off the hook and Heritage also took two wickets in two balls with Farhaan Khan and Shakil Ahmed both falling lbw as the hosts lost four wickets without scoring a run.
Sanklecha completed the demolition job by shattering last man Muhammad Haroon's stumps to return figures of 5-42 off 10.5 overs, while Heritage finished with 3-22 from five overs and Foster 1-44 from 15 overs.
Coleman (28) and Jimmy Phillips (22) got Horspath's run chase off to a solid start with 56 for the first wicket, before the visitors suffered a mini collapse as they slipped to 61-3.
However, Elliot Ruff, with a classy 42, and Hussain (27) got Horspath back on track with a stand of 60 for the fourth wicket. The visitors gradually inched their way towards the target - which was increased to 198 with Burnham's total boosted by five penalty runs after Horspath incurred the wrath of the umpires.
At 157-7, the game was in the balance, but then brothers Robbie and Will Eason came together to share an unbroken stand of 42 for the eighth wicket and take the side to victory at 199-7 with an over to spare before the close.
Will hit an unbeaten 30 off 31 balls with four boundaries, while Robbie was a rock-solid 12 not out as Horspath made it back-to-back league wins following last week's defeat of Amersham. Ahmed (3-39), Nawaz (2-23) and Haroon (2-43) were the Burnham wicket-takers.
Posted by: Russ