Birmingham Premier League leaders West Bromwich Dartmouth earned a 20 point win from their encounter with bottom of the table Himley but it was no walkover and they were made to work hard for their win.
Himley skipper Greg Wright lead from the front with a superb unbeaten 147 from 169 balls, an innings that included four sixes and twenty fours.
After Himley slipped to 115 for five, Wright and Stuart Wedge (45) put on 118 for the sixth wicket to see their side to 256 for six, which included 109 from the last ten overs.
But Dartmouth showed true Champion quality to chase down their target for the loss of seven wickets with seven balls in hand. Aqsad Ali top scored with 44, former Himley batsman Dan Bassett hit 43 and Kadeer Ali scored 39 as Dartmouth increased their lead at the top of the table to 22 points following Berkswell’s tame defeat to Walmley. Ray Cooper took 4-38 and Greg Ricketts finished with 3-18 as Berkswell crashed to 147 all out, which could have been a lot worse but for a sixth wicket stand of 91 between Tom Milnes (63) and Mohammed Akhlaq (31) that took them to 134 for six before the tail folded meekly.
Walmley raced to a six wicket win in 29 overs thanks to Oli Hairs, who hit 64 in 36 balls, and a more sedate 44 not out from Danial Chaudhry. Hairs’ innings included three sixes and ten fours.
Barnt Green signalled that they will not be giving up the chase for the title with a strong performance at Kenilworth Wardens that earned them 17 points. Tom Burton (132) and Will Baker (79) eased Barnt Green to a declaration after 50 overs with the score on 293 for five before Wardens responded with 259 for eight. Scott Stenning (67) and Keith Bell (45) lead the resistance but time ran out for both sides after Wardens had faced 60 overs.
At the other end of the table, a superb spell of fast bowling from Walsall’s Josh Bowker (4-36) saw Brockhampton slump to 129 all out at The Parks. At one time, they were 46 for six, then 62 for seven but a brisk 35 from Nick Powell, well supported by 21 from Jack Aldous-Fountain earned Brockhampton a batting point.
An opening stand of 51 between Mike Hingley (16) and James Middleton (62 not out) laid the foundations for a solid seven wicket victory which was embellished by a polished 25 from Pakistani Test star Umar Amin.
Walsall remain in the bottom two, 28 points ahead of Himley, but they are just 20 points behind sixth placed Shrewsbury who defeated eighth placed Dorridge by 13 runs. Coasting on 170 for one, after Ed Foster hit 90 and brother Rob added 57, the 2013 Champions fell away to 217 all out, in 52 overs, with Dorridge skipper David Ball taking 5-39 and Iftikhar Ahmed picking up 3-60.
In reply, Valeed Butt (56) and James Hemstock (43) put Dorridge in a strong position but Sam Griffiths stepped up to take 4-43 to ensure a Shrewsbury victory. Walmley, Dorridge and Wardens are, all, locked together on 135 points, eight points ahead of Kidderminster Victoria who dominated their game with Knowle & Dorridge.
Batting first, after winning the toss, Kidderminster piled up 332 for seven with 76 from Neil Pinner, 69 from Matt Pardoe and 63 from Craig Wood. In reply, K & D finished on 217 for seven with Australian Big Bash player Michael Hill unbeaten on 104.