Division One

Five clubs are separated by just four points at the head of the Division One table as the BDPCL switches formats for the first time this season ahead of next Saturday's round six action.

The Bank Holiday weekend's big eye-catchers were defending champions Smethwick who eased into this group by clinching back-to-back wins against Moseley and Berkswell by thumping margins.

Monday's nine wicket win at Meeting House Lane was secured by a thrilling unbeaten hundred from teenage prospect Isaac Mohammed.

Chasing a DLS-adjusted 151 in 30 overs, Isaac smashed ten fours and six sixes in his brilliant 73-ball 104no as the visitors raced home with nearly ten overs remaining.

Fresh from his ton against Zimbabwe, England Lions' Dan Mousley had earlier marked his first league cricket for a couple of years with a half-century as Berkswell closed on 190-9 from 45.3 overs. Gurbaj Singh claimed 2-8 from seven miserly overs for the defending champions.

There is no doubt about the headline news story of the day, however, as Harborne's veteran former Barnt Green seamer Andy Sutton smashed the last ball of the game for six to clinch his new club's thrilling two-wicket home win over his long-time ex-employers.

Led by Jaques Banton's 72 plus useful knocks from Robbie Shurmer (53) and skipper Romi Brar (49), Barnt Green were bowled out for 277.

Mike Bevan (4-40) led the way for the hosts with the ball, and after the weather intervened Harborne were left to chase 182 in 25 overs.

T20 specialist Jack Holloway thrashed a 59-ball 73 to give the chase impetus, but as wickets tumbled ten were required from Banton's last over then six from the final ball before Sutton's dramatic intervention.

Harborne leap-frog Barnt Green into second place as a result of this win but it is Halesowen who hold the narrowest possible advantage at the head of the table despite taking only eight points from an abandonment against Moseley.

Chris Whittock and Alexei Kervezee both logged half-centuries for the Black County hosts who posted 221-8 from 46.1 overs before rain arrived. Worcestershire's Yadvinder Singh grabbed three wickets for Moseley who were 33 without loss in the fifth over when the match was abandoned.

Ombersley's visit to Knowle & Dorridge also met a watery end after the Worcestershire-based visitors posted a useful 254 for five in 48.1 overs on the back of a fine 104 from opener Yusuf Khalil and Nick Hammond's 49. K&D's response was barely out of the traps at 6-0 when the players left the ground for a final time.

Himley clinched a five-wicket DLS win over local rivals Wolverhampton in another  contest badly hit by rain. Skipper Joe Stanley top-scored with 29no as Wolves reached 128-6 from 37 overs against a home attack in which Ben Robinson and Connor Smith shared four wickets. Chasing 112 Ollie Westbury's team then eased home with five of their 23 overs unused.

The day's fullest match was played in the shadow of the Malvern Hills where Barnards Green claimed a second win of the season - by a comfortable 88-run margin - over newly-promoted Shrewsbury.

Worcestershire opener Rehaan Edavalath claimed the plaudits for the hosts by making 119 from 130 balls as his team reached 255-7 from 50 overs.

Sam Whitney grabbed three late scalps for the Shrews whose batters were quickly on the back foot at 38-5 against an impressive new-ball burst from Chris Steele (3-29) before eventually being bowled out for 166.

Division Two

Kenilworth Wardens are the only unbeaten side across the two divisions after registering a fifth consecutive win with a tight three-wicket DLS success over Old Hill.

And as so often in recent years it was Harry Johnson who was again the hero by finding the boundary twice during a final over which began with Wardens requiring 11.

Although Old Hill's Waqas Ahmed claimed 4-26, Johnson finished with an unbeaten 34-ball 55 to ensure his team passed their 160-run adjusted target with two balls of their 24-over allocation remaining.

The Haden Hill outfit had earlier posted a challenging 243 all out on the back of a half-century from Pakistani pro Saad Naseem while home skipper Tommy Rex grabbed 3-47.

Dorridge's five-wicket win at Leamington means it is a Warwickshire one-two at the head of affairs as the players swap coloured gear for whites.

Useful contributions from skipper Jon Wigley (49) and keeper Harry Barclay (60) enabled Spa to recover from 73-5 to 219-8 from their 50 overs.

Adnaan Riaz took three wickets for Dorridge whose successful pursuit of their adjusted target of 152 was in no small part due to Daniyal Khan's 44-ball 52.

Tamworth finished 2024 with a sustained charge towards the promotion places and they have very much picked up where they left off so far this term as a six-wicket home win over Shifnal made it four wins from five.

Charlie Home made 58 of the Telford side's 211-9 while Dan Mousley's former Nether Whitacre teammate Tom Smith claimed 4-49 with his off-spin following his winter move along the M42.

Chasing 190 from 41 overs the hosts crossed the finishing line with 16 deliveries in hand on the back of a solid through-the-card batting effort.

At the other end of the table Kidderminster's latest attempt to open their seasonal account was frustrated by the rain when their clash with local rivals Stourbridge was seemingly in the balance.

Opener Jujhar Johal had made 57 from 110 balls when rain halted the visitors' innings at 139-4 in the 33rd over. Chasing 142 from 22 overs Kiddy were then 51-1 from seven when play ended.

Warwickshire League champions Handsworth are also yet to open their 2025 account after slipping to a six-wicket defeat at Worfield.

KasJuan Sullivan stroked a fine 93 for the visitors who as a result recovered from 11-4 to 188 all out from 44 overs.

Arthur Smallman claimed three wickets for Worfield who then eased to a revised target of 183 in 46 overs through 73no from Rishin Patabedige.

Coventry are just a point ahead of Handsworth after being annihilated by ten wickets by West Bromwich Dartmouth at Binley Road.

Aaron Patel was destroyer-in-chief for the visitors, grabbing 5-24 from 9.3 penetrative overs as CNW subsided from 74-2 to 99 all out.

And with Bruce Thomason, who made an unbeaten 38-ball 60, in no mood to hang around Dartmouth raced to a ten-wicket win in just 13.5 overs.