TAKING nine wickets in a match is not something many bowlers have on their CVs.

Yet Kevin Gwynne has now achieved the feat three times following his stunning exploits for Worcester’s Old Elizabethans second XI.

The 53-year-old bamboozled the Eastnor batting order with match-winning figures of 9-49 off 10 overs in their 187-run Birmingham League Division Two (South) triumph.

It has been seven years since his last nine-wicket haul, which itself was a decade after the first, as Gwynne proved there was no substitute for experience.

The right-arm medium-pacer, who wins a £30 Fearnley Factory Shop voucher, was happy with his efforts but quick to praise the contributions of his colleagues.

He said: “Although it looks great as a personal thing I must admit I rely heavily on the fielders catching the ball because that’s how I take my wickets.

“I am a swing bowler and I try and bowl a line and length and entice the batsmen into making false shots which often result in the ball being hit into the air and my team-mates catching the ball.

“Although I am getting the credit, it must also go to the rest of the team as well.”

He continued: “Over all the years I have been playing I have been taught to bowl a decent line and length and set the correct field.

“You build pressure and force mistakes.

“It’s very hard blowing your own trumpet but it’s not the first time I’ve done it.

“That was my third nine-wicket haul since I have been playing cricket.

“I usually open the bowling and try and keep it tight early on. It’s the first time I have got more than five wickets this season.”

Gwynne, now in his fifth season with OEs, has spent the majority of his 30-year career in the sport with Herefordshire side Kington.

He was part of their 1993 national village knock-out winning team at Lord’s — the 20th anniversary of which will be celebrated this Sunday — and captained them to the Worcestershire League crown in 2001.

His first nine-wicket salvo came in August 1996, when he took 9-40 against Welsh outfit Panteg.

The second, figures of 9-52, came almost 10 years later in June 2006 against Woolhope in the Marches League.

OEs’ skipper Mike Payne, whose side made 257-9, added: “He’s the sort of bowler who gives very little away and he forces the batsmen into making mistakes by bowling very consistently.

“We set a competitive total and they had to score quickly early on to keep up with the run-rate.

“But Kevin kept pegging them back by taking wickets at regular intervals.”