Whittaker shines for Sports (From Maldon and Burnham Standard)

Whittaker shines for Sports

4:48pm Thursday 28th June 2012 in Local Sport

JOEL Whittaker was again in fine form as Burnham Sports resumed winning ways with a 61-run defeat of Bentley seconds at Millfields.

All-rounder Whittaker, fresh from a couple of six-wicket hauls in recent weeks, shone with bat and ball this time — making a fluent 60 in his team’s winning tally of 188 for eight before grabbing the last three Bentley wickets available at a personal cost of just eight runs.

It was no one-man show, though, as Ali Allchin and Robin Whittaker, younger brother of Joel, also emerged with plenty of plaudits.

The former was rarely troubled on his way to making 46, sharing in a vital fifth-wicket stand of 87 with Whittaker Snr after his side, who had chosen to bat, had been a shaky 30 for three.

For an encore, the paceman grabbed three swift wickets to leave Bentley’s reply in tatters at 13 for four.

Whittaker Jr arguably bowled even better — taking four from 30 from a 12-over spell that always threatened danger.

Bentley were eventually all out for 127, squandering more than 15 overs.

Burnham captain Andy Stephens said: “We played some really good cricket and got what we deserved.

“Our previous two narrow defeats were frustrating but this went some way towards making amends.

“Joel’s enjoying a real purple patch and proving pretty hard to keep out of the game – long may it continue.”

This Saturday, Sports, who are fourth in T.Rippon Mid-Essex League Division One, make the short journey to Rettendon.