Promotion still possible, says Stratford's ton-up hero Bailey

STAR batsman David Bailey says Stratford are more than capable of securing back-to-back promotions following last Saturday’s three-wicket success over Stourbridge.

The former Leamington man struck a century to steer the Panthers to a much-needed victory in Birmingham League Division Two — their first since the opening day of the season.

Bailey, who hit an unbeaten 104 in 106 balls, now feels Stratford are perfectly capable of mounting a promotion challenge.

He said: “We definitely have the team to mount a challenge — if we can put together a string of performances.

"We’re currently seventh and have not hit our full capacity. We can beat anyone on paper.

“It’s been a mixed start, but we have already proven we can beat good teams.

"I think we should be aiming to be in the top four or five now and then anything can happen.”

Bailey signed for Stratford over the winter, opting to drop down two divisions after leaving childhood club Leamington.

His century against Stourbridge showed the quality he brings to Mike Brown’s team this season and the left-hander is settling in nicely at Swans Nest Lane.

“The opportunity to join an up and coming team was exciting for me,” said Bailey.

“I’ve known Mike (captain) for a number of years and he really sold the club to me. It’s been great so far, I’ve settled in very quickly and it helped that I knew quite a few of the players already.”

The victory over Stourbridge saw Stratford end a disappointing run of results.

The home side reached 237-8 after electing to bat first.

The highlight of the innings was a stand of 129 for the fourth wicket between opening batsman Alex Bingham (100) and skipper Matt Bradley (77).

Adrian Witts was the pick of the Stratford bowlers with 3-62, while Brown and James Urquhart claimed two wickets apiece.

The Panthers’ response centred around Bailey’s unbeaten 104 and 41 from opener Andrew Fisher as they won the game with 16 balls to spare.

Full story in this week's Herald.