FENLAND’S cricketing stars are celebrating another sparkling season - with the district boasting the most prolific batsman and one of the most dangerous bowlers in the whole of Cambridgeshire.

As the Cambs and Hunts Association leagues come to a close, players from Wisbech, March, Chatteris and Leverington all feature in the top 10 wicket-takers and run-scorers of 2011.

Chatteris’ Kurt Cunningham is the only Cambs league player to have amassed more than 1,000 runs - scoring them at an incredible average of 136.13 to help his side to promotion from Senior Division Three.

And in an otherwise unremarkable season for Wisbech, spinner Craig Johnson has lit up Harecroft Road by taking a staggering 60 wickets at an average of 12.95 - bagging six five-wicket hauls.

Johnson, currently the second-highest wicket-taker in the county, said: “I’m massively chuffed and I can’t believe how well it’s gone.

“I have been playing at Wisbech since I was 16 and I’ve never had a season like this. I’ve set myself a challenging benchmark for next year!

“There’s a lot of talent around here - every season you get people from across the Fens performing well.”

Fellow spinner Gary Freear, who is the 10th most successful bowler with 44 wickets at an average of 15.45, said: “Craig is the best spinner in the league - I’ve been saying that for the last three seasons.”

Chatteris opener Cunningham, who boasts the highest average and run total, said: “I used to be a bowler so I’ve certainly never got 1,000 runs in a season before.

“It’s obviously not the best standard league around so I’d have been disappointed with anything less. The real test will be doing it at a higher level.”

March’s Tucker Premier Division stars Matt Wilcox (48 wickets at 13.10) and Chris Ringham (47 wickets at 14.36) are both in the county’s top five wicket-takers.

Jacques Steynberg, whose brutal batting helped Leverington to the Cambs Junior 2A title, has scored 613 runs at 68.11 - currently the fifth best average in the county.

March host Khalsa while Wisbech face Ramsey in the final round of Tucker Premier Division fixtures tomorrow.