Division One

Barnt Green moved into the Division One title fight by taking 18 points from a rain-hit 26-over drawn game with Knowle & Dorridge.

After openers Henry Cullen (40) and Ben Chapman-Lilley (65) added 87, skipper Arminder Brar pushed the home side into a dominant position with an impressive 36-ball 54.

This left K&D to chase 190 but after Oxfordshire opener Jamie Harrison fell for a breezy 44 a clatter of wickets saw the visitors settle for a losing draw at 132 for seven.

This result closed the gap between second-placed K&D and Barnt Green to a single point while Smethwick are now 25 points clear at the top of the table after they salvaged six points from a draw at fourth-placed Himley.

A fine knock from Gamindu Kanishka (73) plus useful support from Navindu Vithanage (38) and Ollie Walker (49) saw the hosts reach 195 for six from their 40 overs.

Hasitha de Silva then removed Smethwick’s top four in a potent new-ball spell that returned 4-43 before the 2022 league champions dug in for a draw at 129 for seven.

Amit Basra (pictured) led the way for high-scoring Berkswell who racked up 307 for eight on their way to leaving Wolverhampton with 17 points from a dominant winning draw.

The Northants prospect made 100 from 93 balls, adding 144 with third-wicket partner Nick James who made 54.

Callum Bennett (56) then joined Neil Dexter (25) and Tom Mousley (33) in piling on late-innings runs as the visitors topped 300 despite facing only 47 overs.

Tom Fell, Ramanjot Jaswal, Bhargav Patel and Will Nield then all passed 30 for Wolves but after wrist-spinner Kamran Khanna took 4-45 and rain again intervened the hosts shut up shop at 172 for seven from 40 overs.

Wolverhampton currently occupy the second relegation place 13 points ahead of West Bromwich Dartmouth whose visit to third-bottom Kenilworth Wardens was abandoned without play.

A similar fate befell the all-Worcestershire clash between Barnards Green and Halesowen but defending champions Moseley continued their recent positive run of form by taking 16 points from a 24-over game with visiting Ombersley.

Recent acquisition Hishaam Khan was the star of the show for Usman Awan’s team making 73 in their 188 for eight then taking five wickets to thwart Ombersley’s run chase.

Hishaam received useful support from opening partner Abdullah Awan (36) and Andrew Umeed (45) but it was Ombersley’s Ishaan Arora who dominated the closing stages by grabbing 6-34 from six overs.

Olly Cox then got the visitors away to a flying start with 67 from 47 balls but Hishaam (5-48) chipped away at the other end and as a result Ombersley closed on 164 for eight.

Division Two

Coventry & North Warwickshire’s Indian pro Jay Bista continued his astonishing run of form with a brilliant unbeaten 102 that steered his club to an emphatic nine-wicket win over promotion-hunting Harborne.

Bista passed 900 runs for the season while adding an unbroken 162 with second-wicket partner Marco Higgins who made 53 not out.

CNW were chasing 164 in 37 overs after Harris Ajaz (3-32) did a good containment job against a visiting batting line-up in which Ben Shepperson top scored with 44.

Harborne's defeat presented Shrewsbury with an opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table but Shifnal’s Jack Twigger had other ideas as he claimed 6-38 to shoot out his club’s Shropshire rivals for just 113.

Opener George Hargrave made 40 but there were no other high spots for the Shrews who were on their way home 18 overs later due to Shifnal openers Michael Robinson (49no) and Theo Wylie (54) making light work of completing a nine-wicket home win.

At the other end of the table Bridgnorth retain hopes of pulling off a great escape after taking 15 points from a rain-hit draw at the Orleton Park home of fellow Shropshire strugglers Wellington.

Last week’s centurion Seb Scott led the charge for the visitors with an unbeaten even-time 41 but a fine spell from Dan Lloyd (5-29) ensured they finished 14 runs short of their 20-over win target of 121. Matt Simmonds had earlier top-scored for the hosts with 34.

Kidderminster separate Bridgnorth and Wellington at the foot of the table after last pair Liam Weston and Ben Jones hung on nine balls for a losing draw against visiting Tamworth.

With Ed Smith and Suraj Chauhan sharing six wickets, the Carpetmen closed on 115 for nine in response to Tamworth’s 36-over total of 196 for eight.

Opener Callum Render’s 50 had earlier provided substance to the visitors’ batting effort while Zeetan Bashir claimed an eye-catching 5-48 for Kidderminster.

George Maddy’s half-century provided a high-point for Leamington who claimed 14 points from their mid-table draw with visiting Old Hill.

With Rory Grant (43) offering support Spa set the Haden Hill outfit 163 in 25 rain-reduced overs. Despite Omar Masood’s unbeaten 41 Jon Wigley’s team then went on to defend this with relative comfort as Old Hill closed on 145 for four.

Worfield’s visit to Dorridge failed to start due to rain.