In a top versus bottom clash in Premier Division Two, a wayward opening spell from Worfield’s Tarik Shorey was not capitalised on by leaders Wolverhampton who crumbled to 78 for six following a splendid 10 over stint from Ross Aucott during which he took 4 for 25. Shorey ended up with 3 for 84 but his first over lasted 11 balls and included nine wides. Worfield, eventually, conceded 50 extras, with 23 wides, but the turning point was an excellent seventh wicket stand of 161 between skipper Will Nield and Sandip Dhillon. After Aucott’s withdrawl from the attack, Nield and Dhillon took full advantage and Nield’s unbeaten 142 was one of the innings of the season so far! Cautious to begin with, he opened out once he reached his century and his final 42 runs came from 13 balls. He hit 16 fours and 6 sixes but he wouldn’t have been able to play such an innings without the support of Dhillon, who hit 10 boundaries in a composed 66. Wolverhampton’s total of 300 for eight proved to be far too daunting a target for Worfield who were dismissed for 99, with Shorey accounting for almost half of those runs with 49. The opening attack of Aqab Ahmed (4 for 45) and Brad Fallon (2 for 33) rushed through the top order before Warrick Fynn (3 for 17) wrapped up the tail. Wolverhampton’s victory maintains their 26 point lead at the top of the table, while Worfield’s defeat leaves them 19 points behind Walsall, who claimed a four wicket win at Himley with two balls remaining. This was Walsall’a second success of the season against Himley who closed on 246 for nine, from 55 overs, after being invited to bat first. The substance came from a fourth wicket stand of 98 between Oliver Westbury (90) and Ollie Walker (67) but the highlight was provided by Walsall’s Jordan Bulpitt (5 for 60) who took a hat-trick with the last three balls of the Himley innings. Ravan Chahal (3 for 38) also bowled well for the visitors, who were rocked when they lost Warwickshire ‘s Chris Benjamin at 53 for two. Newcomer Harjivan Dhinsay dug in to score 49 from 92 balls on his debut, after joining the club from Fordhouses, but it was overseas player Om Bhosale who paved the way to a valuable win with a classy 100 from 117 balls. Rahul Kaushal chipped in with 40 but his dismissal on 221, followed by the loss of Bhosale at 223, left Walsall needing 24 from 15 balls for a much-needed success. This was achieved with two balls to spare, thanks to Mateen Khan and Bulpitt, who hit five boundaries between them to see Walsall over the line. Walsall’s victory lifts them clear of the bottom two, but they have a long way to go to overtake Bridgnorth in the place above, who lead them by 33 points, despite a four wicket defeat to Barnards Green. Bridgnorth were, soon, in strife, slumping to 85 for eight, after winning the toss, losing wickets to Suffolk’s former Leicestershire all-rounder George Rhodes (5 for 39), West Indies star Jerome Taylor (3 for 34) and Herefordshire’s Zain Ul-Hassan (2 for 39). Tail-ender Sam Baugh hit a belligerent 57 not out from 48 balls to boost Bridgnorth to 155 all out but 50 from Ul-Hassan and 40 from Rhodes, who put on 75 for the fourth wicket eased Barnards Green to 24 points.

The Worcestershire club, after a tricky start to the season, have, now moved within six points of second placed Harborne who defeated Dorridge by 76 runs. The leading contributors for Harborne were Tejas Wagle (87 not out) and Jamie Harris (40) with Jack Mills taking 3 for 71 for Dorridge. The home side’s recent form hinted that the target was well within reach but excellent spells from Scotland Under 19 international Oliver Davidson (4 for 32) and George Land (3 for 22) proved otherwise as Dorridge collapsed to 134 all out, despite an undefeated 44 from Daniyal Khan. Lichfield included Leicestershire all-rounder Ben Mike in their side against Bromsgrove, but he wasn’t required to bat or bowl as the Staffordshire side raced to a 10 wicket victory. Damage was done by Riley Ward (5 for 17) and James Wilkinson (4 for 41) as Bromsgrove crashed to 83 all out before Tom Swift (55 not out) and Tom Stone (25 not out) were untroubled as they saw Lichfield to an early win in 12.3 overs. The match between West Bromwich Dartmouth and Wem finished with the same result, the home side’s win leaving Wem at the foot of the table, three points behind fellow Shropshire outfit Worfield. Former Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Glamorgan all-rounder Graham Wagg hit 62 in Wem’s 193 all out in 47.3 overs with Dartmouth duo Shahzeb Raja and Sajid Ahmadzai picking up 4 for 43 and 3 for 31 respectively. Dartmouth wasted no time chasing down the runs with both openers carrying their bats. Bruce Thomason finished with 105 and Ismail Mohammed scored 79 as Dartmouth moved well clear of the relegation zone.