Division One

Halesowen picked up their first win in more than a month to climb to the top of the Division One table.

And they did it in style, beating Shrewsbury by six wickets after skittling out their Shropshire visitors for just 81 runs.

Halesowen endured a wretched June with their last victory coming back in May but some scintillating bowling from all-rounder Ed Bragg guided them to a convincing victory.

The former Worcestershire academy youngster took 5-19 from his 15 overs including the wickets of opener Dan Humes and dangerman Will Parton with James Rudge and Eddie Rhodes snaffling up two wickets apiece. Parton (29), Sam Whitney (25) and George Hargrave (13) were the only batsmen to reach double figures.

Shrewsbury bowler Harry Darley also found conditions to his liking, taking 4-23 off eight overs but he could not prevent the Black Country side from easing to their target in the 20th over with Hasan Mahmood top scoring with 42.

The win means Halesowen are two points ahead of Knowle & Dorridge who suffered a second successive defeat, this time losing by two wickets to Smethwick.

Neil Pinner’s 56 was the pick of the scores for K&D who struggled to deal with the bowling of Gurbaj Singh (4-23), Yasir Ali (3-46) and Deepak Khatri (2-41) as they were dismissed for 166. The game was in the balance until Bilal Shafayat arrived at the crease and his 59 not out was crucial in seeing Smethwick to 167/8 in 41 overs.

Barnt Green’s Robbie Shurmer was another in-form bowler, taking 6-36 from 14.3 overs to help secure a seven wicket win against visitors Barnards Green.

Francis Moore’s 36 was the highlight of the West Worcestershire side’s innings as they slumped to 95 all out with their hosts wasting little time in wrapping things up, reaching 96/3 in the 18th over with Worcestershire’s Henry Cullen unbeaten on 72 off just 54 balls.

Bottom club Berkswell won their basement battle with Himley by six wickets, Amrit Basra starring with both bat and ball. His 4-41 helped dismiss the visitors for 172 and he then struck a majestic 106 not out off 74 deliveries to secure the win, his tally including 21 boundaries.

There was also a six-wicket win for Harborne at home to Wolverhampton where more than 600 runs were scored. The visitors batted first and opener Tom Fell top scored with 99, his wicket one of five for Andrew Sutton as Wolves posted 301/9 at the end of their 55 overs.

An excellent 148-run opening partnership between Jamie Harris (78) and Eddie Miller (50) gave Harborne the perfect foundation and it was left to another century partnership between Kshitiz Sharma (60no) and Ben Shepperson (70no) to see them to 307/4, the former securing victory with a six.

Ombersley and Moseley drew their game with the Worcestershire side scoring 262/8 before their visitors struggled to 137/9 in reply.

Division Two

It was business as usual at the top of Division Two with the leading trio all picking up maximum points.

Leaders Tamworth maintained their slender three-point margin thanks to their three-wicket defeat of visitors Handsworth with Jason Jakeman taking 5-46.

West Indies opener Montcin Hodge scored 99 not out but was denied a century when he ran out of partners with his side all out for 188. Ryan Hughes and Jacob Flower each claimed two wickets to add to Jakeman’s haul.

Tamworth’s reply got off to the worst possible start, losing two wickets in Krish Chauhan’s opening over without a run being scored. But the Staffordshire side rallied mid-innings helped by Riley Ward’s 58 and they reached 189/7 in the 46th over.

Kenilworth Wardens hosted their Warwickshire neighbours Leamington and won by 79 runs to keep the pressure on the leaders. Half-centuries for opener Keith Bell (50) and Oliver Dandy (62) helped the hosts reach 287/8 while there were four wickets for Shailan Srikanthan (pictured). Chris Wright then took 4-54 including two in two balls as the Glasshouse Park visitors were dismissed for 208, opener Harrison Smith top scoring with 53.

Dorridge are a further three points behind following their nail-biting one-wicket defeat of Shifnal, the winning runs coming off the penultimate ball.

Old Hill were the day’s biggest winners, romping to an eight-wicket win at West Bromwich Dartmouth who were back in the pavilion with just 94 runs on the board. Bilal Hassan took 4-38 and Suraj Chauhan 3-20. Hasan Ahmed then hit a rapid 58 off 31 balls to give his side the perfect start and they reached 96/2 in the 14th over.

The other two games in Division Two ended in draws. Will Iles (75) and Arun Kalsi (70) put on 148 for the first wicket as Coventry & North Warwickshire posted 275 from their 55 overs at home to Stourbridge who were on 184/8 at the end of their innings, the in-form Mavarick Perry leading the chase with his 57-run knock.

Kidderminster racked up 318/6 in their 55 overs at home to Worfield but were unable to celebrate a win. Worcestershire’s Daniel Lategan starred with a score of 124 off 118 balls and there were also half-centuries from Andrew Kimberlin (53) and Mateen Khan (55).

Worfield never looked like challenging that total and when they finished their innings on 203/7, the unfortunate Ross Aucott was left stranded on 99 not out.