At the hallway stage of the season Old Hill 1st XI top the Worcestershire County League Premier Division after beating Pershore 1st XI in a low scoring match at Haden Hill which saw Mike Green (6-19) return excellent first innings figures for the visitors only to be thwarted in the second innings by the potent home attack again led by Aamir Manzoor (6-21) who took six second innings wickets which helped Old Hill to a ten run win which in turn maintained a three point lead over Stourbridge 1st XI who crept over the line to gain a maximum points win off the penultimate ball against Old Elizabethans 1st XI at the War Memorial Ground.

The top two are now ten points clear of Astwood Bank 1st XI who consolidated their third placed position by continuing their rich vein of form by beating Chaddesley Corbett 1st XI at Sambourne Lane thanks largely to Daniel Thomas (5-16) who returned excellent second innings figures. Oliver Uffindall (65 & 7-45) had a day out for Stourport-on-Severn 1st XI as his impressive all-round performance put paid to Droitwich Spa 1st XI at St. Peter’s Field, a result that ensured they stay in contention in fourth, twelve points clear of Pershore who have slipped to fifth.

Elsewhere in the division, Ian Bullock (113) cracked a first innings century to help Bromyard 1st XI return a winning draw against Brockhampton 1st XI for whom Jamie Burgess (83*) finished unbeaten in the second innings at Flagonners Green and Rizwan Chaudhry (149) and Matthew Van Dyk (114) compiled first innings centuries to ensure Redditch 1st XI posted far too many for Worcester Nomads 1st XI to chase who eventually settled for a losing draw, seven wickets down well short of the target when close of play was called.

In Division One Lye 1st XI extended their lead at the top of the table when they beat Hagley 1st XI by eight wickets and second placed Pedmore 1st XI could only muster a losing draw against Ombersley 2nd XI despite an unbeaten century from overseas player Harrison Barnes (128*).

This result allowed Ombersley 2nd XI to close the gap in third to twenty three points and also gave renewed hope to fourth placed Halesowen 2nd XI who beat Barnt Green 3rd X by four wickets at Cherry Hill Road and Worcester 1st XI who won from nowhere after number ten batsman Mathew Walters (58*) smashed a belligerent half century of just twenty nine balls to help produce an unbroken tenth wicket partnership of sixty one runs that broke the hearts of Coombs Wood 1st XI at Stewarts Road.

In other matches in the division, Bewdley 1st XI gained an important win against Burghill, Tillington & Weobley 1st XI at Brick House Farm and Colwall 1st XI gained a winning draw against visiting Bromsgrove 2nd XI at Stowe Lane.

In Division Two leaders Alvechurch & Hopwood 1st XI slipped two places down the table to third place after being leap frogged by both Bartestree & Lugwardine 1st XI who replace them at the summit after inflicting a seven wicket defeat over the former table toppers and Himley 2nd XI who took advantage of this result by beating Enville 1st XI by a nine wicket margin largely thanks to Chad Brandrick's (5-13) destructive first innings performance with the ball.

Netherton 1st XI are fourteen points further adrift in fourth place after recording a comfortable win against Bredon 1st XI.

Billy Brind (5-20) kept Astwood Bank 1st XI in the hunt with an excellent second innings return that dismantled Kidderminster 2nd XI well short of the target set. Cookley 1st XI beat Redditch 2nd XI by seven wickets to move into mid division and Owen Williams (93) and Joe Slater (5-50) were the main protagonists for Oldswinford 1st XI who had to settle for a winning draw after setting a challenging first innings target against Redditch 2nd XI who remain at the bottom of the table, fifty three points off safety and in need of an up-turn in form.

In Division Three Barnards Green 2nd XI consolidated their lead at the top of with a comfortable four wicket win against Avoncroft 1st XI whilst second placed Old Elizabethans 2nd XI slipped up at home against Lye 2nd XI for whom Tofiq Anwar (111*) struck an undefeated second innings in a five wicket win for the visitors which also helped Belbroughton 1st XI move in to second place after Pete Hawk (119) sailed passed the five hundred run mark for the season in his teams winning draw against basement side Old Vigornians 1st XI.

Elsewhere, Noman Waqar (196) fell just four runs short of a double century in Netherton 1st XI's maximum points win against Stourbridge 2nd XI.

Feckenham 1st XI made the long trip to the Parks to play Brockhampton 2nd XI and walked away with a one wicket win which made the return journey a lot sweeter and finally Himbleton 1st XI beat Martley 1st XI by a tight six run margin which bought them some breathing space at the bottom end of the table

In Division Four in form Ryan Delo (88*) helped Stourport-on-Severn 2nd XI go top when his second innings unbeaten contribution helped beat leaders Rushwick 1st XI by six wickets at Walshes Farm Meadows.

The top two are now thirty one points clear of third placed Worcester Nomads 2nd XI who gained a maximum points win against Five Ways Old Edwardians 1st XI at the Masshouse.

Old Hill 2nd XI and Claverley 1st XI lie in fifth and sixth place and still in promotion contention after beating Romsley & Hunnington 1st XI and West Malvern 1st XI respectively.

Whilst, in other matches in the division Sudhir Prabhu (158) set up a comfortable win for Harborne 4th XI against Coombs Wood 2nd XI and Bromsgrove 3rd XI chased down the challenging first innings total set by Chaddesley Corbett 2nd XI (314-8) to win by six wickets at the Hedges Ground.

In the Win/Lose divisions in Division Five table toppers Droitwich Spa 2nd XI beat Hagley 2nd XI by five wickets to consolidate their position at the top, whilst their opponents slipped to third behind Worcester 2nd XI who moved in to the promotion places after chasing down Pedmore 2nd XIs first innings target to win by three wickets at Norton Barracks, a result that dropped Pedmore 2nd XI back to fourth, sixteen points clear of Astwood Bank 3rd XI who swapped places with Bewdley 2nd XI after beating them by a wide margin at Lower Park.

In Division Six, after being knocked off the top for just one week Cutnall Green 1st XI returned to the summit after beating Old Vigornians 2nd XI by eight wickets and then seeing that Hanley Castle & Upton 1st XI had been beaten by Tenbury Wells 1st XI who closed the gap in third place to just four points.

Jack Barrett (124) scored a first innings century for Bromyard 2nd XI who are still well in contention, twelve points further back in fourth, five points clear of Halesowen 3rd XI for whom Samuel Butt (5-20) returned excellent second innings figures in their win against Belbroughton 2nd XI who were replaced in the top six by Claverley 2nd XI who amassed far too many for Kidderminster 3rd XI to chase in the second innings at Chester Road.

In Regional Division Seven (North Group) Himley 3rd XI extended their lead to thirty five points after comprehensively dismantling second placed Halesowen 4th XI by eight wickets at the at Earls High School, a result which saw both Romsley & Hunnington 2nd XI and Stone 1st XI move in to second and third place after beating Harborne 5th XI (who drop to fifth) and Five Ways Old Edwardians 2nd XI respectively. Cookhill 1st XI make up the top six, just twelve points off the promotion places after beating Oldswinford 2nd XI by six wickets.

Elsewhere, Mark Cull (102*) fired an undefeated second innings century to help Feckenham 2nd XI move further away from the drop zone currently inhabited by Five Ways and Kidderminster 4th XI who lost to Bromsgrove 4th XI by six wickets.

In the South Group James Towey (120) helped Harvington 1st XI consolidate top spot by helping them set a target that proved out of reach for Ombersley 3rd XI who slip to fifth despite the best efforts of Mike Gunston (113) in the second innings. The South Worcestershire outfit now sit forty three points ahead of second placed Birlingham 1st XI for whom Alex Clasen (98) fell just two runs short of a second century in a row in their win against Bartestree & Lugwardine 2nd XI. Burghill, Tillington & Weobley 2nd XI moved into third place, swapping places with Barnards Green 3rd XI after posting a comprehensive win against them in which George Stevenson (96) and Rob Garrard (95) both just missed out on positing first innings centuries and Stourport-on-Severn 3rd XI make up the top half after recording a six wicket win against Worcester 3rd XI in which George Teal (5-28) returned excellent first innings figures.

In the Regional Division Eight Groups where the top two teams qualify for the Play Offs, in the North Group Halesowen 5th XI continue to top the table after beating Enville 3rd XI by a comfortable margin.

However, last week’s other top of the table team, Himley 4th XI suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Stourbridge 3rd XI for whom Ben Brigdale (89*) finished unbeaten at the end of a run chase that saw his team win by seven wickets.

This result helped Pedmore 3rd XI go second just two points off the summit after the experienced Kevin Truswell (97*) carried his bat through the first innings to help his team post a score that proved too many for Netherton 3rd XI to chase which in turn means Netherton 3rd XI are joined in fourth place by Lye 3rd XI for whom Adnan Ali (110*) scored an unbeaten second innings century in an eight wicket win against Harborne 6th XI to keep them in contention.

Pershore 3rd XI continue to lead the way in the East Group after beating Himbleton 2nd XI by a nine wicket margin. The South Worcestershire outfit now find themselves twenty five points clear at the top following the surprising defeat of second placed Droitwich Spa 4th XI who were humbled by basement side Belbroughton 3rd XI for whom Justin Gray (118*) posted an unbeaten first innings century.

Avoncroft 2nd XI took advantage of the Droitwich result by moving themselves to within seven points in third place after recording a win against Old Halesonians 1st XI.

Gary Hammersley (112) helped Inkberrow 1st XI leap-frog Astwood Bank 4th XI in to fourth place after his first innings century helped post too many for the Bank who are now fifth, still in striking range just twenty six points of the promotion places.

Ledbury 1st XI continue to lead the way in the South Group after they posted another comprehensive win, this time by ten wickets after Jacob Evans (118*) helped chase down the Bromyard 3rd XIs first innings score with relative ease.

The West Herefordshire based outfit now enjoy a forty one point lead at the top over second placed Brockhampton 3rd XI who beat fellow Herefordians Colwall 3rd XI at the Stables. Bosbury 1st XI are still third despite losing to West Malvern 2nd XI who retain fourth place ahead of Malvern 2nd XI for whom Vinyas Shetty (5-36) took five wickets in the first innings to set up a five wicket win.

In the West Group, second placed Worcester Amigos 1st XI lost for the second week in a row, this time to Old Elizabethans 4th XI at Plovers Rise.

This result enabled Hallow Taverners 1st XI to extend their lead to twenty four points at the top as Lee Shuck (5-17 & 50*) produced a fine all-round performance that helped seal an eight wicket win against Hagley 3rd XI.

Droitwich Spa 3rd XI joined the Amigos on points after chasing down Chaddesley Corbett 3rd XIs competitive target (276-5) for the loss of just two wickets, a result that leaves them twenty two points clear of fourth paced Cookley 2nd XI for whom Mark Bennett (107) scored a first innings century in a win against Tenbury Wells 2nd XI and finally fifth placed Bewdley 3rd XI missed the chance to close the gap to the top when they suffered a nine wicket defeat to Alveley 2nd XI.

In the Marches League Division One Luke Jones (115) & Jince Jose (5-37) were the main contributors in Wormelow 1st XIs win against Luctonians 1st XI that ensured they continue to lead the way at the halfway stage. They now enjoy an eighteen point lead at the top over second placed Canon Frome 1st XI who swapped places with Goodrich 1st XI after recording an impressive nine wicket home win against them against Woolhope 1st XI, Garnons 1st XI beat Ross-on-Wye 1st XI by six wickets and Simon Albright (4-13) and Alex Carter (4-35) shared eight second innings between them in Fownhope Strollers 1st XI win against basement side Almeley 1st XI.

Kington 1st XI continue to lead the way in Marches Division Two after posting a nine wicket win against Knighton-on-Teme 1st XI in which Henry Powell (88*) and Wayne Morgan (72*) both made significant unbeaten second innings contributions. Thomas Allan (155) blasted a first innings century to ensure Wormelow 2nd XI stayed in touch. Jack Rowsell (72*) guided Dales 1st XI to a four wicket win against Woolhope 2nd XI and Nick Fisher (80*) helped Canon Frome 2nd XI get over the line for the loss of just four wickets against Almeley 2nd XI to keep their outside chances of promotion alive and finally Thomas Davies (5-32) blasted through the early Presteigne 1st XI batting order by taking the first five wickets to help set Hay-on-Wye 1st XI up for a victory that moved them in to fifth place at the midway point of the season.

In Marches Division Three the top two teams Kington 2nd XI and Moccas 1st XI were both beaten which helped other teams close the gap at the summit.

Moccas 1st XI now lead by just two points after suffering defeat at the hands of Herefordians 1st XI. Two points back are Kington 2nd XI who suffered a four wicket loss to Bartestree & Lugwardine 3rd XI who moved themselves in to third place just two points behind the promotion places and seventeen points ahead of Burghill, Tillington & Weobley 3rd XI who enjoyed a free week.

Elsewhere, Dales 2nd XI beat Luctonians 2nd XI by a wide margin and Fownhope Strollers 2nd XI beat Ross-on-Wye 2nd XI by four wickets to create distance between the bottom two teams, Luctonians 2nsd XI and Ross-on-Wye 2nd XI.

The match between Pedmore 4th XI and Cookley 2nd XI was cancelled which left just one match to be contested in Division Nine (North Group), which proved to be significant one as Coombs Wood 3rd XI went to the top of the table following a two wicket victory against Redditch Entaco 4th XI.

In the Division Nine (South Group) Harvington 2nd XI and Pershore 4th XI continue to share top spot after recording wins against Ledbury 2nd XI and Brockhampton 4th XI respectively.

Droitwich Spa 5th XI stayed in touch and remain just six points off the summit after they beat Malvern 3rd XI by six wickets.

Report submitted by Worcestershire County League.