For the fourth Saturday running, results in Premier Division One were affected by breaks for rain during the innings of the side batting first and one of those matches was the meeting between bottom of the table Ombersley and Smethwick, the side in pole position at the half-way stage. Strengthened by the inclusion of Daryl Mitchell for only the second time this season, Ombersley, boosted by their win, last week, at Kenilworth Wardens, were invited to bat first and a solid platform was laid by Mitchell (56) and Josh Dell (32) who put on 77 before the fall of the first wicket. Nick Hammond added 30 before skipper Liam Gwynne took over to score an unbeaten 120 from 99 balls, an innings that included 14 fours and 5 sixes. At the end of 55 overs, Ombersley had reached 278 for seven and Smethwick, whose reply was restricted to 49 overs, faced a stiff task to win. Their first target was to reach 266 for a winning draw but they fell well short, finishing on 185 for nine. Bilal Shafayat (59), Kadeer Ali (46) and Amritpal Singh (41 not out) contributed the bulk of the runs, but they were left to hang on for a losing draw after the vastly experienced Mitchell took 4 for 22. The points earned by Ombersley lifts them out of the bottom two but Smethwick’s lead at the top of the table remains a healthy 26 points after Barnt Green stumbled to a losing draw at home to Halesowen. Batting first, after losing the toss, Halesowen were dismissed for 217 with one ball of their 55 overs remaining. Alexei Kervezee top scored with 82 from 94 balls before James Rudge hit a brisk 33 from 30 balls, including four sixes, to see Halesowen to a competitive total. Rain breaks during the afternoon restricted the home side’s response to 37 overs with 178 the target for a winning draw. They made a decent start, reaching 72 for two before Eddie Rhodes stepped up to take 4 for 25 from 11 overs. Rudge (3 for 33) had taken the first two wickets before returning to snap up the ninth as Barnt Green held out on 135 for nine. One side that did take advantage of draws by the top two was Moseley who romped to a four wicket victory over Kenilworth Wardens, who were all out for 277 with two balls remaining before the interval. Harry Johnson (105) hit his third century of the season for Wardens with support, first of all, from Henry Cullen with 45 and, later on, from Tommy Rex with 52. Three Moseley bowlers, Yadvinder Singh, Ali Awan and Usman Awan took three wickets each, but it was a dashing 75 from 62 balls, from Abraash Khan and 61 from 70 balls from Andrew Umeed that set Moseley on their way to a victory that leaves them two points behind second in the table Barnt Green. Roheel Qamer (35) and Haaris Syed (33 not out) also played their part as Moseley won off the second ball of the 52nd over.

Knowle & Dorridge remain in the hunt for the title, in fourth place, after a comprehensive nine wicket win over Shrewsbury, a result that sees the Shropshire side slump to the bottom of the table. Three early wickets for Jack Grundy, either side of a double for Ethan Brookes, saw Shrewsbury crash to 14 for five before 37 from Rob Foster improved the situation. His dismissal by Jacob Lintott (3 for 19) left them struggling, once more, as Grundy returned to pick up three more wickets to finish with 5 for 13 as Shrewsbury crashed to 92 all out in 36.1 overs. Although Alex Phillips was out to the first ball of the K & D reply, this was the visitors only success as Brookes came in and smashed 13 fours and a six in an unbeaten 69 in 45 balls to rush his side to victory. Kidderminster were another team that cruised to a nine wickets victory after dismissing Shifnal for 116 in 46 overs. The main resistance for the home side came from Shaun Lorimer with an unbeaten 41 as opening bowlers Chris Steele (4 for 38) and Josh Tidmarsh (3 for 32) shared seven wickets between them. Rain during the Shifnal innings reduced Kidderminster’s reply to 39 overs but they raced over the line with more than 13 overs to spare thanks to an unbroken second wicket stand of 110 between Neil Pinner (66 not out) and Andrew Kimberlin (46 not out). The match between the two sides that finished in first and second place in the table in 2021 was dominated by Berkswell, who piled up 286 for seven in 55 overs, led by 62 from Ateeq Javid, 55 from Neil Dexter and 53 from Chris Whittock with Mohammed Ahmed unbeaten on 40. Leamington’s reply was reduced to 49 overs and they finished on 163 for seven, which included 51 from Luke De Souza and 43 from Josh De Souza.