RUGBY have all but confirmed a top-six finish in the Warwickshire League Premier Division this term after claiming a winning draw at Bablake.
Firing a 221-9 score from their innings at the crease, the visitors then limited the Norman Place Road hosts to 136 runs for seven wickets conceded – earning Rugby a second winning draw for the season.
It means Matthew Ewer’s side in sixth, on 237 points, are unlikely to be caught by Solihull Municipal – currently 18 points behind – with just one fixture left to play.
It was the Rugby skipper who helped get things underway with an opening partnership of 51 runs, with Ewer (41) outlasted by top-scorer Michael Hughes (61).
The hosts’ talisman was eventually lost at 170-5 after overseeing a number of lower-scoring partnerships, leaving Wes Landsdale (33) to pick up the mantle and carry the visitors closer to the 200-run mark.
Akshay Vaghela (22) also added useful runs in quickfire fashion, as Rugby survived the imperious Josh Bains (4-32) to complete the innings.
If Neal McGrath (3-38) and Landsdale (3-18) were unable to star with their batting efforts last weekend, their bowling attempts certainly caught the eye.
The latter took the dismissal of Bablake’s standout man Matt McCarthy (49), while opener Ruairi Willis (32) was seen off by the economical Daanyal Sidiq (1-20) in a stellar display.
Rugby complete their league campaign against ninth-placed Bedworth at Webb Ellis Road on Saturday.
