A man of the match display from Kyle Newall saw Barwell claim a 77 run win on Saturday against Shepshed Town and move within seven points of second place in division two.
Barwell lost the toss and the home side put the visitors in to bat, giving Barwell an opportunity to seize maximum points.
They started brightly and were 60 without loss thanks to openers Trent Rollins and Adam Stapleford-Jones. When they departed for scores of 32 and 21 a collapse ensued and Barwell looked in real trouble at 111-6. Number eight Newall rescued the innings with a brilliant, unbeaten 63 and propelled Barwell to a respectable score of 201-7 and ensured maximum batting points were gained.
Barwell were on top from the outset in the second half of the game and Newall was in the thick of things again; a devastating four over spell which brought four wickets for just seven runs. Leading wicket taker Lee Skene accounted for five of the Shepshed wickets as Barwell dismissed the home side for 124.
Captain Trent Rollins feels his side are back to their best, he said: “To come away with maximum points today was really good because it means we’ve made some ground on the others. I thought our bowling was brilliant; Kyle had the game of his life today and Lee Skene was again really impressive.”
Barwell host top of the league Enderby on Saturday in a weekend where the top four sides face each other.