Smethwick went into the penultimate match of the season needing four points to secure their first top-tier title since 1968 and they, quickly, achieved their goal by taking maximum bonus points against a Shifnal side battling to avoid relegation. Batting first after winning the toss, Smethwick showed their intent by promoting former Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire batter Bilal Shafayat to the top of the order and he repaid their faith by hitting 132 from 128 balls. Shafayat and Kadeer Ali (50) put together an opening stand of 146 before a second wicket stand of 84 between Shafayat and Roshan Venkataraman (60) took Smethwick to within 20 runs of the fourth bonus point at 250. They eventually closed on 292 for seven wickets from their 50 overs, Jack Twigger taking 4 for 58 for Shifnal. With the trophy secured before the interval, their next aim was to maintain their 100% record in the white ball format and they would have expected more resistance than they were shown by the home side who were dismissed for 157. Spinners Gurinder Singh (4 for 59) and Tazeem Ali (3 for 60) caused most of the damage as Shifnal slid to a 135-run defeat, a result that confirms their relegation to Premier Division Two for the 2023 season. A similar fate awaits Leamington who were beaten by Barnt Green by three wickets. Leamington scored 230 for eight from 50 overs, boosted by 87 from Harrison Smith but Barnt Green sailed to a three wicket win with more than six overs remaining with 49 each from Ben Chapman-Lilley and Dominic Harding. This result keeps Barnt Green one point ahead of Moseley in the scramble for the runners-up trophy after the third placed side cruised to a four wicket win against Halesowen who were restricted to 213 for eight. Top scorer was Wes Griffiths (48) with Yadvinder Singh taking 3 for 48 for Moseley, who raced to victory in the 27th over, lead by 56 from Asim Shoaib and 40 from Abraash Khan.

Kidderminster’s recent dismal form continued with a 133-run defeat at Knowle & Dorridge. A century by Amir Khan (105) was the highlight for K & D who reached 299 for six from 50 overs. Khan and Alex Phillips (59) opened with 116 for the home side with Josh Tidmarsh taking 3 for 56 for Kidderminster. Having struggled with the bat in recent weeks, Kidderminster faced a daunting task and were simply not up to it, collapsing to 166 all out in 46.2 overs with Warwickshire’s Ethan Brookes taking 3 for 25 for K & D. The four bonus points that Kidderminster took from the match were enough to ensure that whatever the results are for the bottom three clubs, next week, they are safe from relegation. Some of the best batting of the day came from Berkswell’s Warwickshire past and present duo Ateeq Javid (88 not out) and Daniel Mousley (119) who put together an opening partnership of 164 as the 2021 Champions chased down Shrewsbury’s total of 274 with eight overs to spare for the loss of three wickets. Mousley was the dominant partner, striking his runs from 57 balls including nine fours and twelve sixes. When he was dismissed, Javid took over and guided his side to a comfortable victory. For Shrewsbury, steady contributions from Matt Swift (67), Jean-Pierre Erasmus (58), Rob Foster (48) and Luke Thornton (42) helped their cause, but they lacked anyone with the power of Mousley to dominate the bowling. Javid took 3 for 48 for Berkswell and was well supported by Adnaan Riaz with 3 for 65. The game between Ombersley and Kenilworth Wardens was the first white ball match, this season, to be affected by the weather and was determined by DLS, Wardens running out winners by seven wickets chasing a revised target of 171 from 34 overs. Worcestershire’s Jack Haynes hit 82 in Ombersley’s total of 213 for nine as Reece Evitts took 4 for 48 and Devon’s Hugo Whitlock took 3 for 28 for the Wardens. In reply, four of the highest run scorers in the Division added valuable runs to their total with one match to play. Jamie Harrison (56), Henry Cullen (43), Ali Zaryab (52 not out) and Harry Johnson (21) took their totals to 889, 871, 784 and 734 respectively as Wardens sauntered to a win with 29 balls in hand.