KIDDERMINSTER suffered a severe nine wicket reverse at second placed Smethwick in Birmingham League Premier One.

Andy Kimberlin apart, Kidderminster couldn't put enough runs on the board as they were reduced to a modest 127 all out in the 44th over.

It could have been considerably worse had Kimberlin not held the innings together with a defiant 60.

But the rest of the batting had no answer to the bowling of Sajid Ahmedazai who took four for 38 while Gurinder Singh snapped up four for 35 to leave Kidderminster floundering.

Smethwick made light work of their reply, reaching a winning 128 for one after 29 overs, opener Muhammad Qamar Khan carrying his bat for 65 not out while Aman Hussain added 33 not out, former Derbyshire player Ruwait Khan being the only wicket to fall for 16 when removed by Liam Weston.

Barnt Green had much the better of a drawn contest with Shifnal who were saved from certain looking defeat by Worcestershire skipper Joe Leach.

Opening bat Ben Chapman-Lilley made top score of 42 as Barnt Green built a total of 203 for six from a full 55 overs.

There was plenty of support on hand with Will Baker adding 35, Dan Meredith 39 and skipper Darrel Williams supplying a further 37 not out.

Shifnal slumped to 58 for five at one stage during their reply before Leach came to the rescue by scoring 65 off 110 balls.

Leach effectively steadied the ship as Shifnal reached 176 for eight at close despite the efforts of Oxfordshire seamer Robbie Shurmer who struck with figures of four for 51 from 16 overs.

Halesowen have opened up a 24 point gap on top of Premier Division Two despite being held to a draw at next to bottom Oswestry.

Once again, Halesowen piled on the runs to reach 270 for eight.

Skipper Alexei Kervezee led from the front, the former Worcestershire player falling four runs short of his century while Jamie Harris hit a further 47.

Oswestry were immediately in trouble when they replied losing their first two wickets with only four runs on the board.

Warrick Fynn turned the innings around with a timely 110 and found a willing partner in Josh Darly, who scored 49, the pair putting on 131 for the third wicket.

It was enough to keep Halesowen at bay as the Shropshire side closed on 197 for six, Herefordshire's James Rudge reeling off best figures of three for 40 for the league leaders.

Second placed Himley suffered a shock as they were dealt a five wicket defeat by bottom side Pelsall who pulled off their first victory of the season.

Himley had appeared to be going along quite nicely as they posted a target of 218 for eight which was built around solid contributions from skipper Ollie Westbury with 42, Bilal Hussain 32 and Callum Lea on 44.

But Pelsall chased down their target with five overs to spare after Jake Lee with 86 and Todd Henderson on 43 put on 96 for their side's third wicket.

Bromsgrove got the better of Bridgnorth by a 53 run margin.

Initially it looked as though Bromsgrove hadn't put enough runs on the board after being bowled out for 156.

The score would have been worse but for tailender Alex Wilkinson who struck a belated 33 after Adam Quiney helped himself to figures of four for 36.

But Bridgnorth's batting proved much more brittle in reply as they collapsed from being 74 for two to 103 all out.

Gareth Williams again gave little away with the ball in reply after ripping out two early wickets before skipper Mark Evenson with three for two and Connor Smith three for 28 caused the remaining damage as Bridgnorth lost eight wickets for just 29 runs.