Division One

A thrilling title race is set to light up the closing five weeks of the season and Smethwick’s hopes of retaining their crown were handed a huge boost when they soared to a seven-wicket victory at Barnt Green.

And it was Division One's leading run-scorer Viken Kedariya’s impressive unbeaten 74 from just 62 balls that guided them to within a point of their hosts, who as a result drop behind new leaders Knowle & Dorridge.

Despite 51 from the in-form Jacques Banton, Barnt Green were dismissed for 167 against a visiting attack in which Pakistan international Yasir Ali took 2-35 while spinners Gurbaj Singh (2-18) and Sagar Udeshi (3-66) both impressed.

In reply, opener Amir Khan fell in the third over but former Notts star Bilal Shafayat chipped in with 48 before Indian pro Deepak Khatri (19no) was there with Kedariya at the close.

The form book held good at Station Road where Knowle & Dorridge were too strong for struggling Kenilworth Wardens, winning by five wickets.

Oxfordshire paceman Tom Davis took his seasonal tally to 35 wickets by grabbing 7-52 as Wardens were dismissed for 230 of which Ben Blakemore made 47.

K&D’s reply got off to the perfect start through opener George Maddy's 94 and they went on to reach 234/5 with five overs in hand.

Closed-season recruit Joe Porter has made a big mark in his maiden BDPCL season and his unbeaten 106 plus 53 from Arun Kalsi steered fourth-placed Halesowen to an eight-wicket win at Himley.

Wes Griffiths' team were also indebted to experienced paceman Eddie Rhodes who finished with 6-50 as Himley posted 206. However, their Black Country rivals sped to the finishing line with plenty of overs in hand and as a result retain outside hopes of going one better than their 2024 and 2025 runners-up finishes.

It was a day to forget for Moseley who slip below Wardens to the foot of the table following their eight-wicket defeat at the hands of visitors Barnards Green.

The home side found it hard going against former Leicestershire spinner George Rhodes (5-35) and Chris Steele (3-42) and despite Asim Shoaib top-scoring with a stoic 34 they were bowled out in 46 overs for 148.

The visitors were soon in trouble on 26/2 only for a 124-run partnership between Rhodes (72no) and acting skipper Oliver Halion (51) to secure the points with nearly half their overs in hand.

Dorridge remain a couple of wins from safety after losing by seven wickets to a Harborne side inspired by a pair of seasoned faces.

Nabeel Mahmood (65) and new skipper Ed Thompson (56) helped the visitors to 288 against a home attack in which skipper Andy Sutton bagged 6-64.

And Dorridge then had no answer to big-hitting former Pear Alexei Kervezee whose 114-ball unbeaten 167 including eight 6s and 14 boundaries saw Harborne to victory with more than ten overs in hand.

Shrewsbury suffered a heavy 191-run defeat at the hands of mid-table rivals Ombersley. A century from Sinel Gunarathne and 89 from Joel Cox helped the home side to 302/7 with Shropshire spinner Lewis Evans taking three wickets.

But Ombersley's Ishaan Arora then responded by claiming 6-32 as Salop were bowled out in 36 overs for just 111.

Division Two

Attock are within a couple of wins of clinching promotion to the top flight for the first time after a six-wicket home win over third-placed Wolverhampton strengthened their grip on the top of the table.

The visitors recovered from 35/3 to reach 241/6 thanks to Will Nield’s excellent 110 and Rishin Upamal’s patient 88, with the pair putting on 198 for the fourth wicket.

But Attock's formidable batting line-up then eased to 242/4 through half-centuries from the league's leading run-scorer Rizwan Hussain (79), former Dorridge opener Aarib Khan (58) and the experienced Omar Ali (52).

Nearest challengers Berkswell had to settle for a winning draw at home to basement club Worfield whose last pair frustrated their victory hopes through five defiant overs.

Ethan Wragg (101) and Chris Whittock (64) helped the hosts reach 270/9. While the in-form Rohel JP Peters (66) was then going well an against-the-odds away win seemed possible, but when he fell to Wragg in the 50th over the Shropshire side dug in to claim a share of the spoils at 252/9.

With five games remaining Worfield are now 38 points away from safety. But above them Old Hill's recent four-match winning run is increasingly making it look like WB Dartmouth and Kidderminster are locked in a two-way fight to avoid the relegation trapdoor.

The Sandwell Park outfit closed their red-ball campaign by moving back above their rivals thanks to former Warwickshire pair Recordo Gordon and Ateeq Javid who took four wickets apiece as Stourbridge fell to a four-wicket defeat at Sandwell Park.

After the visitors were all out for 165, their hosts ground to the finishing line at 168/6 through patient efforts from the Cox brothers - Danny making 55 off 158 balls while Billy saw the job through with an unbeaten 68-ball 35.

Sam Keeling-Wright dazzled with the ball as Old Hill took a big stride towards safety with a five-wicket victory at Kidderminster.

The Staffordshire paceman took 7-16 from his ten overs as the hosts were dismissed for just 77 at Chester Road. There were also two wickets for Aamir Manzoor and one for Saad Naseem with just three of the Kidderminster batters reaching double figures.

Old Hill also made a shaky start before reaching 81/5 in the 18th over when Keeling-Wright struck three sixes in an unbeaten 23.

Theo Wylie (pictured) and Clark Haddrell impressed with the ball as Milford Hall beat Tamworth by four wickets. Warwickshire prospect Wylie finished with 5-29 and Haddrell 4-27 as the visitors were dismissed for 127, Riley Ward top scoring with 33. It was then left to Yohan Liyanage (35no) and Will Davis (17no) to guide the hosts home.

Shifnal picked up a winning draw at home to Leamington after posting 292/5 thanks to captain Charlie Home's unbeaten 104 and Ben Lees' useful 64-ball 79. James Hawkins (3-42) was the pick of the bowlers for Leamington whose response started well enough with half-centuries from both Harry Smith (60) and Jon Wigley (59).

But after Chad Brandrick claimed three wickets, the visitors eventually needed Second XI opener Seb Bainbridge to stand firm for eight overs alongside last man Shai Srikanthan as they closed on 244/9.