Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Coleshill (Away)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (161) beat Coleshill (116) by 45 runs
Batting: D. Exall 70, M. MacPherson-Lees 25.
Bowling: D. Exall 3-26.
Bridgnorth's tricky away trip to Coleshill was not made easier by the poor covers that left a wet, seamer-friendly surface that the visitors had first use of on losing the toss.
Openers Matt Martin and Andrew Carson did well in the conditions, but Herefordshire's Dave Exall and skipper Mark MacPherson-Lees provided the telling partnership of the match. Ed Lewis, with a cameo of 15, gave the tail a wag to boost the total to 161 all out in the last over.
In reply, Coleshill were in early trouble against HQ Sports Bar Man of the Match Exall, before legspinner Sam Whitney removed the obdurate Craig (43) and then blew away the tail on the drying surface as the hosts collapsed to 116 all out, giving the Cricket Meadow men maximum points.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Old Elizabethans (Home)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (194-9) lost to Old Elizabethans (195-6) by 1 run
Batting: A. Unitt 56, D. Taylor 35, R. Hughes 34, S. Caine 22.
Bowling: A. Leather 2-46.
For the fourth time this season, Bridgnorth 2nd XI failed to gain victory by the narrowest of margins as they hosted Old Elizabethans in a fine advert for cricket at this level.
Batting first the visitors made 195-6 after struggling early on against some accurate bowling by Andy Leather, but some slip-shod fielding in the second half of the innings allowed them off the hook.
In reply, Bridgnorth also found the going difficult against the new ball and were well down on the run-rate before Dan Taylor and Andy Unitt increased the tempo.
Unitt fell to a sharp piece of fielding that left skipper Rob Hughes to muster the tail. He got good support from Steve Caine, edging their side to the target, before Hughes was out off the final ball trying to hit the two runs needed for victory.
Bridgnorth CC 3rd XI v Guilsfield (Away)
Bridgnorth 3rd XI (114) lost to Guilsfield (115-7) by 3 wickets
Batting: F. Broad 34, A. Mooney 19, K. Osborne 17, H. Broad 10.
Bowling: C. Wallis 5-30.
Bridgnorth's 3rd XI had a fruitless trip to Wales in Saturday's fixture at Guilsfield, losing a low scoring game by three wickets.
Batting first, the visitors were hustled out for 114. Freddie Broad top-scored, with Andrew Mooney, Kieran Osborne and Harry Broad providing the rest of the runs.
In reply the hosts raced to their target off only 23 overs, despite the best efforts of Cam Wallis, continuing the youngster's fine season with the ball.
Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Milford Hall (Away)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (82) lost to Milford Hall (121) by 39 runs
Batting: T. Whitney 28.
Bowling: S. Whitney 4-30, E. Lewis 3-14, D. Exall 3-32.
It's as well that the hard work had been done earlier in the weekend, as Monday's game went horribly wrong.
The coin came down right for Bridgnorth at the relegation-threatened Staffordshire outfit, who made a solid start with the bat, reaching 80-2 before losing their remaining wickets for only a further 24 runs. Ed Lewis, Dave Exall and that man Sam Whitney were the wicket-takers that saw maximum bowling points guarantee the step up for next season.
So, the simple task of chasing down 121 for maximum points and a grip on the trophy began, and came off the rails as the visitors produced a horror display to fold to 82 all out.
Tom Whitney made a rare return to run-scoring but to no avail as the Bridgnorth batsmen had little answe to former Cannock pair Guy Bulpitt and Neil Francis.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Himley (Home)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (148) lost to Himley (152-6) by 4 wickets
Batting: R. Hughes 49, D. Taylor 20.
Bowling: S. Pitt 4-53, J. Shaw 2-32.
Monday's must-win encounter at home to Himley went horribly wrong with the bat as only Rob Hughes and Dan Taylor produced any show of form in the home side's 148 all out.
In the Himley reply Simon Pitt bowled with real heart and young legspinner Jimmy Shaw got reward for his efforts, but experienced skipper John Day (73*) steered his side to victory and so putting their hosts survival in Division One in real doubt.
