Pakistani pace ace Anwar Ali starred in the sunshine and earned his money as Ribblesdale Wanderers’ substitute paid man with a stunning all-round display against Cherry Tree.

The Colne professional filled in for the Ribblesdale League outfit in the absence of his mate and regular pro Agha Sabir, who was out with a shoulder problem.

He was lethal as he tore the heart out of Cherry Tree in a quite remarkable display.

There was little indication of the drama to come as the vistors overcame the early loss of Scott Friend to reach 54-1. But Ali stepped up a gear and changed the game.

He had Mark Hadfield dubiously caught behind before knocking over Joe Bolton and Nigel Robbins to complete a hat-trick.

If that wasn’t enough, Ali then bowled Mark Friend to make it four in four.

Rob Humphries was victim five in seven balls and skipper Jon Baldwin became the sixth victim – and fifth to be clean bowled – in just 10 match-changing deliveries as the visitors found themselves on 71-7.

But Cherry Tree pro Paul Turner stood tall amid the carnage and Danny Lord also withstood the barrage to get their side back into the game.

Turner batted quite brilliantly to make 59 and Lord hit 34 as Cherry Tree got up to a competitive 172 – but then Ali smashed 51 and Martin Briggs was also unbeaten on 51 as Wanderers claimed a five-wicket win to upset the form book and take them above the Cherries in the table.

Cherry Tree

M Hadfield ct Rain b Ali 28
S Friend ct and b Britcliffe 2
Turner b Braithwaite 59
J Bolton b Ali 0
N Robbins b Ali 0
M Friend b Ali 0
R Humphreys b Ali 0
J Baldwin b Ali 4
D Lord ct and b Braithwaite 34
A Sudnik Not Out 17
W Hussain ct Howard b Braithwaite 2
Extras 26
Total (all out) 172
Ali 15 4 45 6, I Britcliffe 5 1 20 1, L Nuttall 5 0 27 0, J Braithwaite 7.3 1 36 3, M Pratt 3 0 24 0.

Ribblesdale Wanderers

A Marsh b Bolton 21
D Howard b Lord 26
R Gladwin ct Turner b Lord 1
Ali ct and b Bolton 51
J Rain b Sudnik 11
M Briggs Not Out 51
J Braithwaite Not Out 4
Extras 10
Total (5 wickets) 175
J Baldwin 5 0 28 0, j Bolton 11.2 2 34 2, D Lord 10 3 32 2, A Sudnik 10 2 40 1, N Robbins 6 1 28 0, R Humphreys 1 0 5 0.

Ribblesdale W won by 5 wickets.