Division One
INDIAN all-rounder Deepak Khatri produced a first-class bowling display to guide Smethwick to an emphatic nine-wicket victory over high-flying visitors Halesowen.
The 30-year-old medium-pacer took 7-42 from 17 overs as their opponents were skittled for just 124. Halesowen skipper Wes Griffiths was the only one to offer any resistance, scoring a stubborn 58 over two hours.
Victory was never in doubt as Smethwick openers Rawait Khan (37) and Viken Kedariya then put on 102 for the opening wicket with the latter able to guide his side to victory with an unbeaten 69 off 50 balls while Khatri’s 22 not out came off 13 balls.
Halesowen’s defeat allowed Knowle & Dorridge to stretch their lead at the top to 28 points following their 101-run win at Barnt Green.
Openers Hamza Shaikh (33) and Alex Phillips (41) gave the Cherry Hill Road visitors a solid start before Isaac Maddy chipped in with a useful 41 on their way to 182 all out. Dan Meredith was the pick of the bowlers, taking 5-22.
With Tom Davis (3-38) and Oliver Currill (2-14) knocking out the top order, Barnt Green were in trouble at 24/5 before Ruthvik Morajkar (3-16) joined the attack. There were also two wickets for Nick James as the home side were dismissed for 81.
Teenager Seth Essenhigh top scored for Ombersley in their four-wicket defeat of hosts Barnards Green, a result that lifts them above their county rivals and into third spot. The 17-year-old Worcestershire prospect hit 74 and put on 90 for the fourth wicket alongside Nathan Bowley.
Batting first, Barnards Green totalled 162 all out led by Mahaaz Ahmed (49) with bowlers Gareth Andrew taking 4-42 and Toby Cox taking 4-24 including the wickets of both openers with the score barely out of double figures.
Ombersley’s reply stuttered at the start but Essenhigh and Bowley (39) steadied the innings and they reached their revised target with plenty of overs in hand.
The three remaining games in the top division were drawn. Amrit Basra hit an entertaining 106 off 68 balls for basement club Berkswell who posted 271/7 at Wolverhampton. Opener Amir Khan was also among the runs scoring 56 and Grant Thornton was there at the close on 30 not out. Jack Stanley was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4-56.
The hosts lost opener Stanley without putting a run on the board but Ramanjot Jaswal (66) and Reeve Evitts (111) added 149 for the second wicket only for the game to end in a draw with their total on 246/8.
Shrewsbury opening bat George Hargrave scored 119 to help his side to 254/8 before Himley held on for a losing draw, reaching 182/7 helped by a 123-run opening stand between skipper Oliver Westbury (73) and Ollie Walker (61). Lewis Evans took 5-50.
And a century from Scotland and Somerset batter Andrew Umeed (127 off 102 deliveries) was only enough to hand Moseley a winning draw at home to Harborne for whom Eddie Miller top scored with 82.
Division Two
LEADERS Tamworth were undone by Old Hill’s bowlers who helped secure a three-wicket victory for the Black Country outfit.
Aamir Manzoor claimed 4-51 with Saad Naseem and Suraj Chauhan taking two wickets apiece as their visitors were dismissed for 176, captain Ben Maddox top scoring with 33.
Old Hill lost early wickets as they began their innings but skipper Bilal Hassan’s patient 46 not out and a rapid 51 off just 28 balls from Naseem put them back on track and they reached their target for the loss of seven wickets.
That result allowed Dorridge to close the gap at the top to just six points thanks to their four-wicket defeat of the league’s last unbeaten team, West Bromwich Dartmouth. Batting first, the Black Country outfit posted 192 before the home side needed fewer than 40 overs to secure the win, thanks to stand-in skipper Daniyal Khan making 56 off 46 deliveries.
Stourbridge lie third after putting Kenilworth Wardens to the sword, dismissing their visitors for just 131 thanks to some impressive bowling from Dan Wale who took 3-49 off 17 overs and Syed Bukhari who mopped up the tail with 4-10 from his 6.4 overs.
Although Tommy Rex (3-42) and Alex Wilkinson (3-41) then had some success with the ball, Stourbridge raced to 132/7 inside 28 overs, Bukhari top scoring with 38.
Half-centuries from Joe Wright and Rishin Patabedige helped Worfield to a six-wicket win at Leamington. But they were also indebted to off-spinner Shahrukh Khan who took 6-29 from ten overs to help bowl out the home side for 165, Kabir Sodhi leading the way with 69.
Opener Wright scored a steady 55 while Patabedige’s unbeaten 60 came off just 53 balls as the visitors reached 169/4.
Kidderminster drew their match at Handsworth where Herefordshire’s Harry Sockett led the way with 94 before being run out. Kishen Patel (57) was Handsworth’s top scorer after in-form opener Montcin Hodge’s 46 gave them the perfect start.
That result kept Handsworth propping up the table, four points behind Coventry & North Warwickshire who also had a losing draw against Shifnal.
Kuldeep Diwan took 4-49 but the Shropshire hosts still managed to reach 223/7 helped by a half-century from Sam Scrimgeour (59). In reply, the visitors were given just 38 overs to reach their target and were on 162/9 at the end of their innings, opener Will Iles top scoring with 40 while Tom Collins claimed 4-34.
