WCB Indoor League

ST BENEDICT'S sprang the surprise of the season last week when they defeated the joint leaders after a thrilling contest.

The early loss of Rich-ard Wood and Tom Arc-her put Saints in the driving seat and with Jamie Powell in fine form in the field, Ashton slumped to 45-4 in the sixth over.

An unbeaten 33 from David Hudson-Wood sparked a slight recovery but a meagre 86 was St Benedict's target.

Powell and Lord dug in after a wicket fell in the first over and the former's retirement saw the run rate plummet.

Lord and Hughes nudged the ball around with few alarms until both perished with seven runs still needed.

With Taylor injured, Powell returned with three overs to score the runs but Ashton put on the block and panic set in.

A single run was requ-ired off the last over but it took man of the match Powell until the penultimate delivery to clinch an enthralling triumph.

Evesham Casuals faced no such problems after restricting a depleted Elmley Castle side to 106-2.

Newcomer Will Rollitt struck some lusty blows late on and the early demise of Daryl Mitchell gave Elmley hope.

However, Steve Cha-rlton and Jon Gregory provided a solid platform for success that Quinn Jones and Norman Smith capitalised on to ease Casuals to victory.

Latest results: Stanway 102-6, Dumbleton 105-0; Ashton 109-5, Bidford 111-5.

Fixtures for Tuesday: St Ben-edict's v Elmley Castle, Over-bury v Evesham Casuals.