Division One

Moseley might still be searching for their first win of the season but they pushed third-placed Himley all the way before finally losing by just six runs. A flurry of wickets in the final stages had the Birmingham side all out for 251 chasing their opponents’ 257.

Batting first, the Himley top order sparkled particularly skipper Oliver Westbury who made 78 and put on 100 for the third wicket with Mitesh Patel (49). In contrast, the tail failed to wag with the final six wickets going for just four runs with Sana Ullah Khan finishing with 3-38.

In reply, Moseley were making steady progress thanks to a 63-run opening stand between Zen Malik (31) and Ramanjot Jaswal (32) before Scotland’s in-form Andrew Umeed hit 52 and Ali Awan 55. Four wickets fell though in little more than three overs at the end of the innings to leave the basement boys to suffer a sixth successive defeat.

It was six wins on the bounce for leaders Smethwick as they saw off Dorridge by 37 runs, helped largely by the batting of former Notts ace Bilal Shafayat who struck 80 to add to his century two days earlier. Yasir Ali contributed a useful 34no to help the home side to 227/9 with Ed Thompson (3-41) the pick of the bowlers. Smethwick’s Indian all-rounder Deepak Khatri then took 3-36 to restrict Dorridge to 190, a total that could have been much worse had it not been for tail-ender Perry Derrick who hit 50 off 59 balls.

Ombersley was the place for runs as their 437/6 helped them secure a 169-run victory at home to Barnards Green. There was a lively 51 off 43 balls from Yusuf Khalil but that was overshadowed by big-hitting Sinel Gunarathne and captain Nick Hammond. The former smashed 142 off 102 balls while his skipper’s unbeaten 130 came off just 72 deliveries. The visitors did their utmost to match their opponents with Phil Green enjoying the bank holiday sunshine with a 63-ball 117 but they fell short, Ishaan Arora the pick of the Ombersley attack with 3-38.

Barnt Green had a trio of centurions as they eased to a 144-run victory at home to Kenilworth Wardens. Henry Cullen scored 105, Amrinder Brar 102 and Ben Chapman-Lilley an unbeaten 106 to steer their side to 331/2. Wardens had a stuttering start, rallied courtesy of Oliver Dandy’s 77 only to be dismissed for 187. Robbie Shurmer was the star with the ball taking 4-21 from his ten overs with Henry Marshall claiming 3-49.

Staffordshire’s Ethan Berlusconi scored 102 to give Knowle & Dorridge the perfect start against Halesowen and a decent knock from Hamza Shaikh (52) allowed them to post 263/7. The Black Country visitors were kept in check by some tight bowling with Herefordshire’s Luke Tulacz top scoring with 48.

Harborne’s former Worcestershire ace Alexei Kervezee struck an unbeaten 140 to help his side to 262/5 and a five-wicket victory against Shrewsbury. Tom Arnold was also there at the close on 57no with the pair putting on 123 runs. The Shropshire lads had earlier been dismissed for 258. Finn Jones (77) top scored and Rayyen Khan (4-42) was the pick of the bowlers.

Division Two

Berkswell took over top spot after beating former front-runners Leamington by three wickets at The Lant. The visitors took a while to get into their stride but Chris Calcott (77) and Tom Randle (48) put on 91 for the seventh wicket to propel them to 245/8. Berkswell were in touch throughout their innings and the scores were tied with one ball remaining - a delivery that George Baines smashed for six to claim a three-wicket win and to leave him on 90no.

Attock climbed into third place with a four-wicket win at Shifnal. A handy 55 from Jack Home had helped the hosts reach 236 while Pakistani all-rounder Ahmed Bashir finished with a respectable 4-26. The visitors reached their target for the loss of six wickets and their total included half-centuries for Usama Khan (56) (pictured) and Ismail Mohammed (51).

Wolverhampton were convincing six-wicket winners at Kidderminster helped by a fine bowling display from James Margetts who took 5-27. The Worcestershire outfit were dismissed for 156 with Spencer White (61) the only player to trouble the scorers. Wolves then reached 160/4 with nearly half their overs in hand, Rishin Upamal leading the way with an unbeaten 60.

Old Hill were another side to struggle in the sun, slumping to an eight-wicket defeat at West Bromwich Dartmouth. Bilal Hassan’s side failed to deal with some excellent bowling and were all out for just 120. Dartmouth had no such trouble at the crease, Bruce Thomason’s quickfire 49 helping them to 123/2 after just 22 overs.

Jaspreet Singh hit an unbeaten 68 off 39 balls to help Stourbridge to 256/8 and victory over visitors Tamworth. Tom Smith (3-19) and Riley Ward (2-17) were the pick of the bowlers. The reply never made it out of first gear though with Stour’s Ryan Brown claiming 4-23 as Tamworth were skittled out for 87.

Basit Zaman was Worfield’s star batsman, scoring 122 of 94 deliveries to help wrap up a 106-run victory at league newcomers Milford Hall. Joe Arnold added a useful 50 as the visitors posted 331/8. The Shropshire side also had a star bowler in Shahrukh Khan who took 5-54 to have their opponents all out for 225, Niall McHale top scoring with 62.