Dragons take pole position in chase for NUL title

Glamorgan Dragons have put themselves into a strong position in the race for the NUL title with a 103-run victory over Worcestershire Royals under lights at Sophia Gardens.

The Dragons now have a six-point lead over Royals with only two games to come, but can take nothing for granted with tough encounters with Warwickshire Bears and Kent Spitfires to come.

Royals could manage just 177 in pursuit of the Dragons 280-8, with none of their 'big three' of Solanki, Hick or Ben Smith able to make any impression against a disciplined Dragons bowling attack, well supported by excellent fielding.

Royals, desperate for a good start as they began their testing chase, soon lost Anurag Singh, driving at Andrew Davies, while David Pipe followed attempting to pull a ball far too close to him from Kasprowicz.

That brought Hick in to partner Solanki. The pair could make little headway against some tight bowling, however, and Solanki perished trying to make room for an expansive off-drive against Adrian Dale.

With the pressure of a run-rate pushing up beyond eight an over, the vital wicket of Hick came when the former England star drove young David Harrison to mid-on. Smith followed, attempting the sharpest of singles, but failing to beat Robert Croft's underarm throw

Leatherdale struck a defiant 53 from 44 balls, including a driven six off Croft, but he found little support, and Royals last four wickets fell for just two runs.

Earlier a fine partnership between Mike Powell and Matt Maynard was the basis of a formidable Dragons total. Initially Royals had seized the initiative through Alamgir Sheriyar. The left-arm seamer trapped Croft lbw in the first over, before the in-form Ian Thomas skied a leading edge to Batty off the same bowler.

But Mike Powell, not afraid to drive over the top and surely worth a look for higher honours, led the fight-back in partnership with the veteran Matthew Maynard.

At first Maynard was content to play second fiddle, but he began to unleash some of his trademark cuts and pulls as the Dragons made it to the 15 over mark at 84-2.

Powell stuck the dangerous Kabir Ali for successive boundaries straight down the ground, before repeating the punishment to Sheriyar. Stuart Lampitt struggled with his line and David Leatherdale with his length as Dragons looked to have a score of 300 within their sights.

But Powell, attempting an optimistic single, was run out for a fine 71 (from 81 balls) having been sent back by Maynard. The pair had added 133 off 113 balls.

Maynard continued to flourish. Using his feet well to the spin, and displaying his huge range of back foot shots, it was something of a shock when he well caught and bowled, one-handed, as he drove hard at the promising Gareth Batty. He had made 87 from 72 balls.

The 200 was brought up in the 33rd over, but Dale soon perished, driving Leatherdale lamely to mid-off as Royals appeared to have weather the storm.

But Mark Wallace showed why he is so highly though of with a brisk 21 (18 balls), including an edged pull for six off Leatherdale, before clipping the same bowler to mid-wicket where Lampitt held a fine catch above his head.

Steve James used his experience to steady the ship and hit a boundaryless 43 (55 balls) before attempting too sharp a single, and some lusty blows from Mark Kasprowicz and David Harrison gave the innings a late boost.

Meanwhile in the second division Sussex Sharks were back in the swim with a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Hampshire Hawks at Hove.

Kevin Innes took 4-26 as the Hawks subsided from 56-1 to 126 all out, with none of the batsmen progressing beyond 26.

Dimitri Mascarenhas struck back at the start of the Sharks innings, dismissing Bas Zuiderent first ball and James Carpenter to reduce the hosts to 5-2, but Murray Goodwin stood firm, finishing unbeaten on 76 and adding 95 with Chris Adams, who made 30.

Both the Sharks and the Hawks look destined to a place in the bottom four, however. That would mean a third round tie against first-class opposition in the third round of next year's C&G Trophy, while their rivals will play against part-time players from the qualifying rounds.