Division One

Halesowen maintained their slender four-point lead at the top of Division One following the first round of red ball games with a convincing victory over Harborne.

And they were helped by a dazzling display of bowling from former Worcestershire and Buckinghamshire all-rounder Ed Bragg who blitzed through the visitors’ batting order on his way to 7-26 from 14.3 overs. With good support from Eddie Rhodes (2-35) and James Rudge (1-28), Harborne were back in the pavilion with just 130 on the board, Tejas Wagle the only batsman to stick around on his way to 41.

Warwickshire's Oliver Hannon-Dalby then had the hosts on the back foot, dismissing the top order on his way to 3-36 from ten overs only for Luke Tulacz to stop the rot with an unbeaten 62 over the course of two hours to ease Halesowen back into the contest and they reached their target for the loss of seven wickets. George Land took 2-30 and there were also wickets for Mike Bevan and Andrew Sutton.

Knowle & Dorridge remain hot on Halesowen’s heels following their seven wicket demolition of hosts Berkswell.

Batting first, some tidy bowling from Tom Davis (2-35) and Olver Currill (1-31) restricted Berkswell before off-spinner Nick Pinner scythed through the tail, finishing with 4-29 as the home side were dismissed for 142. Skipper Neil Dexter top scored with 31 before being run out by Pinner.

It proved a memorable day for the former Worcestershire and Leicestershire all-rounder who then hit an unbeaten 59 off 49 balls to guide his side to a seven-wicket win. George Maddy had provided a solid foundation with a steady 43.

South African Test star Zubayr Hamza helped Wolverhampton claim their second win of the season in style as they beat Moseley by 73 runs. He top scored with 90 off 95 deliveries and with Tom Fell (63) and Joe Stanley (62) also in the runs, the home side were able to reach 284/7.

A lively knock of 52 from opener Jakob Bhula including three 6s gave Moseley a decent start and there were also good contributions from Mahsen Narvel (53) and Sandara Narotra (46) but they fell short, losing their final wicket in the last over for 211. Skipper Stanley (pictured) was Wolverhampton’s star with the ball, taking 6-55 from 17 overs while Will Jones took 2-23.

Barnards Green beat Smethwick by 36 runs with captain Ryan Tongue hitting a mighty 126. The Worcestershire side posted 239/9 with Deepak Khatri claiming 4-60 off 14 overs. The visitors were making steady progress thanks to an unbeaten 65 from Bilal Shafayat but had no answer to the bowling of Chris Steele who took 5-65 from 16 overs. There were also three wickets for George Rhodes as Smethwick were dismissed for 203.

The other two games in the top flight ended in draws. Shrewsbury took the bulk of the points at home to Barnt Green who were holding on at 161/8 chasing a total of 263. Will Parton had earlier scored 93 for the hosts with Archie Greaves-Hall taking 4-57 before Sam Whitney’s 5-54 had Barnt Green in trouble.

Nick Hammond’s 60 led the way for Ombersley as they were sent packing for 228 with Ben Robinson taking 6-52. In reply, Himley were stranded on 190/6, opener Oliver Westbury’s 55 the pick of the knocks while Nathan Bowley impressed with 3-14 off 11 overs.

Division Two

Kenilworth Wardens were the only unbeaten side going into the weekend but their 25-run defeat at home to Tamworth dropped them down to third place.

The visitors struggled early on in their innings, slipping to 22/3 before a vital 80 from Riley Ward put them back on track. There was a useful 36 from Ed Smith as the Staffordshire side posted 211 all out. There were three wickets apiece for Chris Wright (3-56) and Levi Gekis (3-26).

Ed Smith then took 4-40 with Tom Smith and Jason Jakeman also claiming a brace as Wardens were dismissed for 186, Oliver Dandy (61) top scoring.

Dorridge are the new leaders as they put on a hefty 325/8 on their way to beating Stourbridge by 202 runs.

A century from skipper Joe Dodd (112 off 124 balls) and 72 runs from West Indian opener Jeremy Solozano helped fire Dorridge to victory while Dan Wale took 4-67.

Warwickshire’s Chris Rushworth, who was facing Worcestershire in the week, then took 6-27 from nine overs to have their Black Country visitors reeling. Mavarick Perry top scored with 24 but Stourbridge were all out for just 123.

Basement boys Kidderminster are still looking for their first win of the campaign after they lost by four wickets to fellow strugglers Coventry & North Warwickshire.

Half centuries from Dan Lategan (78) and Nathan Jukes (59) had given the Chester Road side hope while the pick of the bowlers was Gursimrat Singh whose five wickets came at a cost of 44 runs.

With Coventry struggling on 89/5, those hopes looked like coming to fruition but a 143-run partnership between Akshay Patel and Danyaal Malik lifted the visitors and they reached their target with four wickets and 11 overs in hand. Patel was still there at the close on 93 while Malik scored 57.

Saad Naseem and Bilal Hassan guided Old Hill to a seven-wicket win at Handsworth, clocking up 173 runs between them for the fourth wicket.

Their hosts were dismissed for 196 helped by Ali Latif’s four-wicket haul and it was then down to Pakistani pro Naseem (105no) and Hassan (74no) to secure the victory with the former’s innings including six 6s.

Useful contributions from Rishin Patabedige (89) and Joe Wright (74) helped Worfield post 240/6 at home to West Bromwich Dartmouth but that was not enough as the visitors claimed victory with seven balls to spare. Tim Maxfield led the way with 60 and there was an unbeaten 58 from Ateeq Javid.

Tom Randle’s 4-51 helped Leamington to a two-wicket win at Shifnal for whom Sam Scrimgeour top scored with 68. Shaun Lorimer then claimed 4-50 but the Warwickshire side reached their target in the 52nd over led by opener Harrison Smith’s 66.