TENBURY Wells skipper Zack Yarranton saw his side see off rivals West Malvern to go top of the Worcestershire Division Five table and then admit it was just one of those days when everything went their way.

His side worked hard for their 205 runs before the bowlers did their job, skittling the hosts out for just 71 to wrap up a 134-run victory.

Earlier rain had already seen the game reduced to 40 overs apiece when Tenbury were put into bat.

Yarranton said: “They won the toss but decided to field which seemed strange after the rain because it meant the ball kept coming back wet.

“Maybe it was a gamble in case it started raining again but it dried up and the ball started doing something when we bowled.”

Not that it was straightforward for Tenbury who lost early wickets cheaply before the middle order dug in.

“We were in trouble at around 70 or 80 for five but Simon Newhill and I got in and took the score up to around 140,” the skipper added. “You could see their heads starting to drop a little.

“We knew that if we could get up towards 200 then that would give us something to defend as although the track looked good, it was a bit of a nightmare with the odd ball keeping low.

“We had to work hard for it but it felt like such a crucial game at this point in the season. A win for West Malvern and Hallow could have seen them pull away a little.”

In fact, not only did Tenbury see off their opponents but Hallow were beaten by Old Elizabethans, meaning Yarranton’s side edged five points clear at the top.

Some excellent bowling from Aaron Morris (3-13 off seven overs) and Mark Yarranton (3-15 off eight) kept Malvern pinned back with Robbie Farrar (2-13), Zack Yarranton (1-6) and George Pearson (1-21) also playing their part.

And the skipper was also delighted with the fielding with nine of the batsmen being caught as the home side collapsed.

“We were brilliant in the field,” Yarranton said. “It was a case that everything stuck.

“Things started well for us as we’d taken young Matt Jones out of the 2nds and he caught their opener at mid-on in the first over. I knew what he was capable of because I’d seen him catch one out there in the Twenty20 in midweek.

“We also had George Pearson bowling for the first time in more than two years and he did really well.”

In Division Three, Cleobury Mortimer lost by eight wickets at Himbleton. Kieran Hall (32) top scored for the visitors as they were dismissed for 130. James Manley then took 2-46 but the home side reached their target in the 16th over.