North and South undivided

9 June 2008

Honours were even at the Brit Oval as the North and South of England both recorded wins in disability cricket.

The South of England won the first game which was for cricketers in the Zodiac category, the section for players with high levels of disability.

Mark Pickersgill was the star of the show, taking 4-6 from his five overs before chipping in with the bat later in the game. Callum Tucker also impressed with the ball, eventually finishing with 3-12 from four overs as the North were skittled out for 59.

Linda Lane was the North's shining light with the bat and her unbeaten 25 ensured a level of respectability.

The South laboured before reaching their target, losing seven wickets before knocking the runs off with less than three overs remaining. Steve Wiltshire top-scored with 30 not out.

With the ball Robert Halford finished with 4-6 from five overs while Chris Goddard claimed two wickets.

The North avenged that defeat when the two teams faced each other in the Zenith category, which is for players with medium levels of disability.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, the North finished on 99 for nine from their 25 overs, a total that was boosted by Tom Shackell's unbeaten 25 which included five boundaries.

Simon Thomas, Peter Scrivens and Damian Halford also made valuable contributions as the South, for whom Sunil Honakeri took 4-12, were set 100 to win.

They never came close after Scrivens dismissed three of the top four batsmen. Naeem Nawaz and Michael Bailly claimed two wickets each but the most memorable moment belonged to John Taylor who took a brilliant one-handed catch at full stretch.

The day concluded with a women's tournament which was won by Gail Bradley who scored 15 runs and took 2-3 from her two overs. Linda Lane finished runner-up, just ahead of Frankie Perry.