Stourbridge CC firsts suffered their first defeat of the season away at the hands of a struggling Pershore side.

The visitors were asked to bat first on a damp pitch and the hosts opening seamers set about testing the talented table-toppers.

They did as they had Oli Hill and Josh Banks dismissed in only the second over.

Richard Bradley, stepping up as captain in the absence of Keith Jones, was playing the perfect innings in the conditions. Continuing to play shots, his team mates could not survive as wickets fell around him. At the 10th over Stourbridge were well on the racks losing four wickets for 43 runs.

With Bradley falling for 24 the resistance had ended as Stourbridge were all out for 119.

The visitors came out with a great belief and made early in-roads.

The hope was becoming a reality as the fifth wicket fell at the half way stage with Pershore still needing 20 runs .

It was Dave White’s stubborn 45 not out that saved the day for Pershore to see them over the winning line. Stourbridge remain at the top, leading Eastnor by 16 points.

It was a different story for the seconds and the thirds as they both claimed notable victories.

The seconds were home to Feckenham.

Winning the toss, Feckenham batted first but were to regret the decision as they collapsed to 40-6. Jitesh Patel did the damage taking five wickets.

He was well-backed by young and talented Alex and Aiden Biddle. Feckenham were skittled out for 139.

It took the Stourbridge star batsmen just 23 overs to pass Feckenham’s score.

Steve Game (30), Alex Biddle 76 not out and Dan Growcott’s 21 not out finished off the job admirably.

The thirds took on Himley at the Stourbridge road ground.

Winning the toss skipper Derick Constable decided to put Himley in to bat.

Himley took full advantage and piled up 212.

The consistent Shabir Butt took five wickets. Gareth Edwards was also in the wickets claiming three.

It was all over for Stourbridge, as they lost four wickets for 62 runs in the first ten overs.

In further trouble at 121-8, Himley were well on top.

When all seemed lost Stourbridge dug in and Shabir Butt (31) coming at number eight, Eddie Firth (59) Derrick Constable (24) and Andy Denton produced some memorable shots to save Stourbridge from the brink of defeat.

They took the score from 121 to the finishing line.

The thirds are now about to emulate the first and second teams only two points adrift of the top spot in their division.

Oldswinford.

Oldswinford picked up a much-needed and well-deserved winning draw at home to Worcester to keep their hopes of staying in Division One alive.

Put into bat, Oldswinford started brightly with opener Matt Sidaway making 53, and with all the middle order chipping in and a bludgeoning 52 not out from Jamie Perks, set Worcester a target of 247 to win.

The hosts opening bowler Adam Scott took an early wicket before a second wicket partnership of 70 steadied the ship for Worcester.

Tony Brewer and Seb Soukup (pictured) bowled well to pick up figures of 2-43 and 4-72 respectively. However the Oldswinford seamers could not take the last wicket and Worcester finished on 213 to gain the losing draw. Next Saturday Oldswinford face a tough trip to second-placed Eastnor.

The seconds continued their recent habit of nearly winning but again had to settle for a losing draw at Monmouth. With six players aged 16 or under the future looks very promising but this time they had to settle on 209-7 chasing 219. Rob Whitley looked assured with an opening 47, Connor Gator hit a fine 31 before being crucially stumped and young debutant Callum Woodward impressing with the ball.

Pedmore.

Pedmore firsts picked up a pleasing win to stay in touch with the top four.

Batting first in wet conditions Pedmore posted 208-9.

Overseas player Andre Marais was again the difference between the two teams picking up 5-31 off 14 overs to dismiss Avoncroft for 107.

Captain Steve Lawson said: “This was another important result which keeps us in touch with the top four.

“I was pleased with our batting in difficult conditions and with Andre bowling the way he is, we were confident of winning the game.

“With the second team also well placed in their league we are all looking forward to the remainder of the season.”

The seconds came within a whisker of defeating Hagley but in the end had to settle for a losing draw.

Another solid batting performance by Pedmore, with Mark Rigby scoring 43 and an eigth wicket partnership of 73 between John Lawson (29 no) and Ben Taylor (59) helped them reach 234.

Pedmore then restricted Hagley to 170-9 but were unable to find the last wicket to record a win.

This Saturday sees the firsts host Lye, while the seconds are away at Oldswinford.

Hagley.

In Division Three the firsts fell to a disappointing defeat against local rivals Belbroughton. After Belbroughton chose to bat first on a tricky pitch, Hagley's bowlers set about their task well.

Again youngster Jack Baker (3-17) was the pick of the bowlers but he was ably supported by Raj Nandra (3-30) as they caused problems early for the Ton’s batsmen. With regular wickets falling, one batsman stood out, Will Pardoe (104) was the only man who got in on the wicket all day scoring the majority of the runs as Belbroughton were bowled out for 179. Hagley's reply never got going with Andy Shaw (39) offering the only resistance as Hagley were bowled out for 95. Returning captain Joe Lennon said: “This was a big game and after bowling well, we never turned up to bat, we need to bounce back next week and show some fight to stay in the promotion hunt.”

The seconds struggled against rivals Pedmore in Division Two and could gain a losing draw. After winning the toss, Hagley chose to bowl with Paul Hunt (3-60) picking up early wickets. Mark Rigby (43) gave the innings some stability midway as Pedmore looked to set a total, and with the help of some big hitting from youngster Ben Taylor (59) at the end set a tough looking 234. Russell Andrews (52) was the only Hagley batsman to get going in reply but after his dismissal the run chase fell away and Hagley ended up seeing it out for a draw finishing 170-9 and picking up bonus points only. This weekend, the firsts host Rushwick at Hagley Hall ground while the seconds travel to Stourbridge.

Enville.

Enville first team took on Birmingham in a mid-table clash at home on Saturday and suffered a heavy defeat.

Having lost the toss the hosts were put in to bat on a good wicket, but lost three early wickets.

A partnership of 95 between Jono Howells and James Smith, the latter finally going for 37, gave the innings some impetus.

Enville scored freely until Howells was out for 87. Matt Grainger batted stylishly for an unbeaten 32 not out to help Enville finish with a total of 232. In reply Birlingham lost a wicket in the first over but that proved to be the only wicket Enville took. The Birlingham batsmen knocked off the runs to take a nine-wicket win.

At Birlingham the seconds followed a similar path.

Enville were asked to bat and then bowled out for 157. Mark Holloway (69) made the only significant score.

In reply Birlingham knocked the runs off for the loss of only two wickets.

The thirds played high-flying Harborne at home.

Harborne batted first and made a healthy 227 for 8.

They looked to be on course for victory but were held up by Enville's youthful lower order, finishing on 109 for 8 to concede a losing draw.

Old Hill.

Old Hill picked a very good winning draw at Wellington under the captaincy of Nathan Round whose contribution of 44 with the bat, together with Paul Lazenbury’s brilliant century (107) helped Old Hill to a total of 238-7. In reply, Wellington made a good start but thanks to some excellent bowling by Aussie Chris Hansberry 3-46 and Nathan Round 2-12, Wellington were restricted by 210-6.

A weakened second team outfit lost a close match at home to Bridgnorth.

Old Hill were invited to bat first and scored 147 all out.

Bridgnorth got home by three wickets, mainly due to Moain’s 100 not out, although captain Mo Javaid did his best with the ball, finishing with 4-45 to take his tally for the season to 40.

The thirds won their match at home to Droitwich by seven wickets.

On Sunday, Old Hill produced an excellent performance at home to Longton to make it through to the semi-finals of the Staffordshire Cup.

The home side were asked to bat first on a difficult pitch, scoring 139 all out off 43 overs with Chris Hansberry scoring 43 and Nathan Astle (ex New Zealand Test star) taking 3-20 for the visitors.

However, a fired-up Old Hill struck back immediately to reduce Longton to 12-6 off the first six overs.

Gemaal Hussain 4-14 and Nathan Round 2-19, did the early damage but with some resolute lower order batting, the visitors managed to reach 95 all out with Old Hill winning by 44 runs.

This Saturday the firsts are away to Cannock (12.30pm start), the seconds host Tamworth (1pm start), while the thirds are away to Stone (1.30pm start).

Halesowen.

The firsts upset the form books after claiming victory at home to top of the table Shrewsbury in Division One of the Birmingham League.

The visitors won the toss and put Halesowen into bat on a wicket affected by heavy overnight rain that had seeped under the covers.

With batting at the one end proving more an exercise in personal survival than run scoring, wickets fell at regular intervals and Halesowen were all out for 102 in 34 overs. For the second week running 16-year-old Ben Cox played an important innings, top scoring with 32.

In reply Shrewsbury found batting just as difficult and were skittled out for 66 in 29.2 overs. Laeq Chishti taking 6 for 42 and Imran Ali 4 for 21.

Captain Mark Fisher said: “I was confident that what their bowlers could do on a difficult wicket, our bowlers could do even better, and so it turned out.

“After back-to-back 24 point wins the team spirit is fantastic and if we can get good results against second and third in the next two weeks we could be competing for a promotion place.”

This Saturday they travel to second-placed Bromsgrove.

The seconds also claimed the scalp of Shrewsbury in an impressive away win.

The home side won the toss and decided to bat first. Andy Roberts opened the bowling and took two early wickets in an impressive opening spell.

He was replaced by Toukeer Salim and despite struggling for line and length early on he took two crucial wickets in his last over to leave the home side reeling on 43 for 4. Once Salim's spell was over Zain Shahid took the reins and proceeded to take figures of 4 for 25 to reduce the home side to 152 for 9.

Halesowen's reply got off to the worst possible start as they were left reeling at 12 for 3. However, a commanding partnership of 120 between Lowe (43) and Richard Cox (67 not out) saw Halesowen home by five wickets to give them a valuable 24 points.

Captain Steve Baker said: “This was another commanding performance in the field against a strong batting side.

“Our batting can still be fragile, but our belief as a team is growing.

“We are now unbeaten for five games having avenged two of our early season defeats and avoided defeat in a third.

“When you get to this stage of the season it's all about strength in depth.

“As we were arguably without five first choice players for this game I think that speaks for itself.”