Shrikant Wagh takes 10 for 39 in ECB Premier Division

Shrikant Wagh, the Vidarbha allrounder, took all ten wickets in an innings while playing for Stokesley Cricket Club in the North Yorkshire & South Durham Cricket League on Saturday. Wagh took 10 for 39 in 11.4 overs against Middlesbrough Cricket Club to set up a 135-run victory.

Put in to bat, Stokesley made 232 for 9 in 50 overs in the ECB Premier Division match; Wagh contributed 41 off 28 balls from No. 5. Opening the bowling and continuing unchanged, Wagh then ran through Middlesbrough, who were bowled out for 97 in 22.4 overs.

The result gave Stokesley 25 points, and they are now fourth on the ECB Premier Division table with 154 points from 11 games. Great Ayton Cricket Club (199 points), Barnard Castle Cricket Club (185 points), and Richmondshire Cricket Club (174 points) are ahead of Stokesley.

This is Wagh's second season with Stokesley, having played for them in 2015 too. The left-arm seamer has taken 37 wickets this season in League and Cup games, at an average of 12.05, and has also scored 341 runs at an average of 37.89.

"It was very hot day on Saturday and the pitch was very dry so it was not easy to bowl on. I got the first five wickets in as many overs and I thought I have to try for a few more. But that was not easy," Wagh told Mid-Day. "I had to bowl four overs for the next two wickets and I was really desperate for the rest. I thank my team-mates for encouraging me to go for it. For the last three wickets, we charted out a thorough plan, set a fielding. It worked."

Wagh, 29, has been a Vidarbha veteran, having made his debut in 2007. In 63 first-class matches, he has 1589 runs at 23.71 with one century, while taking 161 wickets at 31.03. He didn't play a major role in Vidarbha's run to the Ranji Trophy title in 2017-18, with injuries and the emergence of Rajneesh Gurbani keeping him out of the XI. He was more involved in the limited-overs fixtures, playing both the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.