NAZ Siddiqui hammered a whirlwind century as Plymouth raced to a five-wicket win at Abbotskerswell and up to second place in the A Division table.

Abbots laboured to 188 for nine in their 50 overs – and were glad of a determined knock of 49 from James Tyler and 32 from Nick Guest for getting that far. 

Siddiqui set off in hot pursuit of the target and raced to 101 off 58 balls before Inder Singh trapped him lbw. He was involved in stands of 68 with skipper Sam Stein (13) and 63 with Ioan Phillips (17) while taking the total to 131 for two.

Although the run rate slowed following Siddiqui’s demise, there was no stopping Plymouth after the start they had. Teddy Haffenden wiped another 24 off the target and Nathan Birks (23) went the rest of the way.

Par Singh and Toby Hard had two wickets each for Abbotskerswell, who are stuck fast 25 points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Charlie Hill opened with 32 for Abbots before Saish Reddy (2-33) spun him out. Tyler in at 67 for three, was involved in stands that added 98 to the total.

Niall McCarthy (18) was part of one stand. It ended when he made too much room to sweep Fahad Ali and was bowled behind his legs. Guest, who put on 58 with Tyler, was run out in the last over.

Richard Goldsby-West marked his return to the side with nine miserly overs. Siddiqui was the only Plymouth bowler to cost more than four an over.

For Stein it was a ‘solid performance’ that led to a ‘comprehensive win’. “Everyone chipped in with the ball and created a lot of pressure," he said.

“Aziz Rahmanzai and Richard Goldsby-West bowled well on their return and it was handy to have them back in the team. 

“Naz took the game to them brilliantly – a hundred off 58 balls isn't something to be sniffed at.”

Ed Smout-Cooper, the Abbotskerswell captain, said not for the first time this season they were outgunned by the opposition’s overseas player.

“Unfortunately, we were on the wrong end of another overseas 100,” said Smout-Cooper.

“It was one of the most destructive innings I've seen, with shots all over the ground. 

“I think our bowlers bowled fairly well, but they came up against a very good player.”

The positives for Smout-Cooper were ‘much-improved performance’ after the previous week’s battering by Torquay & Kingskerswell

“There were lots of good contributions with the bat, notably from James Tyler, who showed maturity in getting us to what is normally a very competitive total at home.,” he said.