Written by Nick Archer at the Birmingham League, whose original article you can find here.
Wem continue to lead the way in Premier Division Two after a hard-earned winning draw at Dorridge, while two of their nearest rivals were, also, involved in a draw at Bromsgrove. The Shropshire club’s lead at the top of the table is nine points over Kenilworth Wardens, while Halesowen, who held on for a losing draw at Bromsgrove, are a further three points behind and four points ahead of their hosts. Wem battled to 196 all out in 54.1 overs, where they were boosted by a patient 54 from 86 balls from Martyn Davies and an unbeaten 42 from Ben Peel. The Wem wickets were shared between Roshan Venkataraman (4 for 42), David Ball (3 for 40) and Jack Mills (3 for 54). The Dorridge reply stumbled, after a decent start of 47 for the first wicket, and it needed an undefeated 34 from 78 balls to keep Wem at bay with Peel taking 4 for 31, backed up by Tom Astley with 3 for 40. Dorridge hung on at 135 for eight, with Wem securing 15 points to stay at the head of the table.
The match between Bromsgrove and Halesowen was reduced to 42 overs per side due to a sodden outfield and Bromsgrove came out on top after reaching 169 for three from their allocation. Worcestershire’s Alex Milton was 73 not out at the close and Ashley Newfield hit 57. Halesowen were restricted to 147 for eight, in reply, after a slow but steady start from Jamie Harris (39) and Jamie Harrison (35). However, once the opening pair were dismissed, wickets fell at regular intervals, mainly to Freddie Fallows who finished with 5 for 51.
Despite an attack of vandalism during the previous week, which left tyre marks all over the outfield, conditions were good enough to start on time at Kenilworth Wardens where Oswestry were the visitors. Skipper Harry Johnson (44) top scored in a Wardens total of 193 in 50.2 overs with Warrick Fynn (5 for 53) and Matthew Davies (4 for 27) to the fore for Oswestry. In reply, only Fynn (51) reached double figures as Derbyshire’s George Scrimshaw took 3 for 17 for Wardens. Oswestry were, finally, dismissed for 85, a resounding win for Wardens by 108 runs.
An unbeaten century from Ollie Westbury (100 not out) was the highlight of Himley’s 181 for six against Harborne with Jasper Davidson taking 4 for 34 for the visitors. Davidson (60), also, played a prominent role with the bat for his side, eventually, run out with two balls remaining, five runs short of victory. Ben Robinson (5 for 44) was the most successful bowler for Himley, who, after a rocky start have, now, made it into the top half of the table.
Another side to have struggled since the start of the season is Wolverhampton but their form showed much improvement with a convincing 72 run success at Bridgnorth, who were dismissed for 132 in pursuit of Wolverhampton’s 204 for eight. Jack Stanley (51) and veteran Simon Lycett (41) held the Wolverhampton innings together on a day that they were the only side in either division to top 200. Bridgnorth’s response was disappointing as Shropshire’s Charlie Home took 4 for 26 and Worcestershire’s Adam Finch picked up 3 for 26.
The outstanding bowling performance of the day came from Barnards Green seamer Zain ul-Hassan who took the first seven Pelsall wickets to fall at a personal cost of 17 runs as the home side slumped to 30 for eight. At one time, he looked on course to take all 10 but a battling 47 from Andrew Bentley took Pelsall to 89 all out. However, as the sun came out and the wicket dried, their total was never likely to be enough to stretch the Worcestershire side. Sadrian Ward took 3 for 40 for Pelsall but 34 from Ryan Tongue and a lusty 29 not out from 11 balls from Joe Crichard saw Barnards Green to a six wicket win in the 15th over of their reply.
