Barnards Green, towards the top of the table, and Worfield, at the foot of the table, were the two clubs who made the most of a difficult day in Premier Division Two with Barnards Green moving up to third place and Worfield lifting themselves between Walsall and Wem in the battle to avoid relegation to the County Leagues. In a low scoring match at Barnards Green, the home side were inserted by Lichfield and dismissed for 111 in the 37th over of a match reduced to 50 overs per side. Phil Harris top scored with 40 but his team-mates struggled against Lichfield’s opening attack of Brinder Phagura (4 for 29) and James Wilkinson (3 for 27). At 47 without loss, in reply, Lichfield looked set for a routine victory but the dismissal of Rich Taylor-Tibbott, for 29, heralded a collapse as the visitors lost all 10 wickets for the addition of 37 runs. George Rhodes (2 for 18) sparked the collapse with the first wicket before Zain Ul-Hassan picked up 5 for 34 to clinch a 25 run victory. Worfield were rewarded for an enterprising declaration at Bromsgrove, after rain caused an interruption, with the Shropshire side on 184 for four after 34 overs and Basit Zaman unbeaten on 103 from 86 balls, including 10 fours and a half dozen sixes. The declaration left Bromsgrove with 25 overs to chase 185 for a win or 150 for a winning draw. They closed, well short, on 117 for seven, which meant that Worfield gained four batting bonus points and four bowling bonus points to add to their 10 points for a winning draw. Warwickshire red-ball skipper Will Rhodes took 3 for 26 for Worfield who move on to 85 points, two points behind Walsall and two points ahead of Wem, who were defeated by Himley by four wickets. Lower order batter Tom Astley top scored with 37 in Wem’s total of 153 all out in 48.3 overs as his side failed to master the spin twins of Graeme White and Ben Robinson. Northamptonshire left-armer White took 4 for 32 and off-spinner Robinson finished with 3 for 41 before 43 from newly contracted Worcestershire rookie Oliver Cox set up a win for Himley which sees them join the fringe of the battle for promotion with 19 points separating them from second in the table Harborne with another four clubs in between.

Walsall missed an opportunity to put some daylight between them and the bottom two, as well as a chance to move closer in the table to opponents Bridgnorth in a rain affected match at Gorway. Bridgnorth completed their full allocation of 45 overs after a late start and several interruptions which left Walsall with 20 overs to chase a target of 121 for a winning draw. They fell short on 105 for eight when time was called which leaves them precariously placed above the two Shropshire clubs. Matt Martin (60) and David Laird (55) put on 111 for the fourth Bridgnorth wicket and the top scorer for Walsall was Inam Ul Haq Muhammad with 44. Shropshire spinners Sam Baugh (3 for 21) and Sam Whitney (3 for 34) did most to peg Walsall back and they need an urgent improvement in form to withstand the resurgence of Worfield. The match between Harborne and West Bromwich Dartmouth was abandoned with the home side on 107 for one after 23 overs with Swapnil Gugale undefeated on 60, while leaders Wolverhampton were, only, able to secure a losing draw against a Dorridge side that is moving, quietly, up the table. Batting first at Danescourt, Dorridge reached 166 for seven in 53 overs, thanks to 48 not out from Daniyal Khan after they had slumped to 74 for six. David Ball (38) helped Khan to add 84 for the seventh wicket with Kieron Patel taking 5 for 17, from 10 overs, for the home side. Interruptions during the afternoon left Wolverhampton with 48 overs to chase the win or 160 for a winning draw. They, eventually, finished a disappointing 129 for seven with Leicestershire seamer Chris Wright, backing up last week’s heroics with the bat with an equally effective contribution with the ball. He took 4 for 21 from 13 overs but it was not enough to stop Wolverhampton from earning a losing draw which leaves them 26 points clear of second placed Harborne.