Division One

Himley started the season in style beating visitors Knowle & Dorridge by 136 runs, making it the perfect afternoon for Greg Wright on his 500th Birmingham league appearance. Batting first, they posted an impressive 339/7 from their 50 overs, helped in no small part by opener Ollie Walker’s (pictured) 140 off 105 balls. Mitesh Patel added a useful 79. Of the bowlers, there were two wickets apiece for Oliver Currill and Freddie Fowler.

In reply, K&D slumped to 64/5 with opener Hamza Shaikh going for a duck. Keeper George Maddy piled in with 66 but they struggled to deal with the Himley attack as Lucas Brockman took 3-34 and Dinuk De Silva 3-31. They were bowled out in the 43rd over for 203.

Smethwick were another side among the runs, chalking up 399/7 as they recorded a 222-run victory at Shrewsbury. Opener Isaac Mohammed hit 132 off 100 balls and there were plenty of runs further down the order from Deepak Khatri (86), Amir Khan (69no) and Viken Kedariya (63). Shrewsbury made a steady start with opener George Hargrave scoring 53 but they were all out for 177 with Sagar Udeshi (3-47) the pick of the bowlers.

Joel Cox scored 108 off 116 balls before being run out for Ombersley at Halesowen. Tom Hinley added 63 to help his side to 324/8 and that was enough for a 105-run victory. Arun Singh Kalsi led the way for the home side with a knock of 62 but with seven different bowlers taking wickets, the hosts were all out for 219.

Kenilworth Wardens saw off visitors Harborne at Glasshouse Park, an unbeaten 57 from Ben Blakemore helping them to a five-wicket win. Batting first, the visitors were dismissed for 170 and it was all-rounder Blakemore who was the pick of the bowlers taking 3-27 from his nine overs. In reply, Wardens were reeling at 76/5 when Blakemore joined Harry Johnson (34no) at the crease and the pair put on 95 to guide their side to 171/5 and 20 points.

Ed Thompson’s 81 off 62 balls helped Dorridge to a six-wicket win at home to Moseley. The visitors scored 192 all out with the bulk of the runs coming from the bat of Andrew Umeed (89). Thompson also starred with the ball with 3-13 off six overs and there were also three wickets for Herefordshire’s Adam Hines. Thompson and skipper Joe Dodd (31no) put on 110 for the fourth wicket as Dorridge reached their target in the 36th over.

Barnt Green captain Amrinder Brar led by example, scoring 112 in his side’s 69-run victory over Barnards Green. The visitors posted 229/8 from their 50 overs and then dismissed their opponents for 160 with Dan Meredith taking 4-33.

Division Two

Old Hill romped to a nine-wicket victory over league newcomers Milford Hall, helped by a rapid half-century from Hasan Ahmed. The opener smashed 64 off 31 balls including seven 4s and five 6s as the home side reached their target of 140 for the loss of just one wicket. Sayf Hosein was there at the close on 48 not out.

Milford Hall’s Will Davis top scored for his side with 78 but others struggled to deal with the Old Hill attack. Sam Keeling-Wright took 4-20 and Zayn Hussain 3-19 as the visitors were dismissed for 138.

Berkswell eased to a nine-wicket win at Wolverhampton where Vansh Jani top scored with a boundary-laden 119 off 64 balls. The opener hit 16 4s and six 6s to ease his side to 192/2 in response to the hosts’ 191. Rishin Upamal was Wolverhampton’s leading runmaker with 77.

Attock made a winning start, beating visitors Kidderminster by three wickets in a high scoring contest. The Worcestershire side posted 251 all out with Sohaym Maddekar leading the way with 50. For Attock there were half-centuries from opener Arsalaan Mahmood (66) and Rizwan Hussain (72) and they reached 254/7 in the 36th over.

There was a seven-wicket win for Leamington at home to West Bromwich Dartmouth. The visitors were restricted to 162 with Shailan Srikanthan the pick of the bowlers with 3-20. It took the Warwickshire outfit just 32 overs to chase down the runs helped by an unbeaten 80 from Will Richardson and a handy 47 from skipper Jonathan Wigley.

Stourbridge won their opener at Worfield by four wickets, a game that saw Mavarick Perry fall one run short of his century for the Black Country side. Worfield were dismissed for 147 - Ryan Brown and Syed Bukhari taking three wickets apiece - and the visitors coasted home for the loss of six wickets, Perry’s 99 coming off 74 balls and included 16 4s and two 6s.

The other Division Two game on the opening day saw Shifnal beat Tamworth by seven wickets. Ed Smith’s 57 not out was Tamworth’s top score in their 233/8 and this looked a challenging target as the visitors lost their first two wickets for just 18 runs. But a 169-run partnership between Ben Lees (89) Chad Brandrick (76) steered Shifnal to 234/3 with ten balls to spare.