Bridgnorth CC 1st XI v Milford Hall (Home)
Bridgnorth 1st XI (201-8) beat Milford Hall (134) by 67 runs
Batting: M. MacPherson-Lees 49, T. Whitney 31, J. Whitney 30, AJ. Smith 25.
Bowling: S. Whitney 4-33, M. MacPherson-Lees 2-20, T. Weaver 2-30.
Bridgnorth 1st XI sit proudly on top of Division Three of the Birmingham & District Premier Cricket League as their rich vein of form continued in Saturday's clash with promotion challengers Milford Hall. Batting first after losing the toss, Bridgnorth made 201-8 from their 55 overs, built on solid starts from brothers Tom and Jono Whitney. Skipper Mark MacPherson-Lees batted maturely to top score with 49 and added vital runs with the returning AJ Smith to give the bowlers a total to defend.
In reply, an early wicket for Jono Whitney put the visiting batsmen into a defensive mindset against an accurate bowling display backed by some high energy fielding. The introduction of the third Whitney, legspinner Sam, saw wickets tumble as he earnedthe HQ Sports Bar Man of the Match with figures of 4-33, and bowling in tandem with his offspinning captain MacPherson-Lees (2-20) edged his side to victory. Tom Weaver (2-30) claimed the last wicket in the last over, with Milford Hall all out for 134.
'It's great to be sat on top of the league after all the toil of previous seasons' said an elated team manager Ray Perry, 'but now it's about hard work to maintain our lead', he added.
Bridgnorth CC 2nd XI v Himley (Away)
Bridgnorth 2nd XI (105) lost to Himley (106-4) by 6 wickets
Batting: E. Lewis 39, S. Pitt 17.
Bowling: E. Lewis 2-22, S. Pitt 2-29.
In complete contrast Bridgnorth's second string are rooted to the bottom of Reserve Division One table after a woeful batting display at neighbours Himley saw them still winless in 2009.
Having lost the toss they batted first on a typical green top and had little answer to the pace of Dave Willis (3-23) being skittled for 105. Of the early batsmen only youngster Ed Lewis appeared equipped and the only other player to reach double figures with Simon Pitt batting at No.10.
Pitt and Lewis then worked hard to repair the job, but after an early stutter the home side cruised home by six wickets.
Bridgnorth CC 3rd XI v Overton-on-Dee (Away)
Bridgnorth 3rd XI (207) beat Overton-on-Dee (79) by 128 runs
Batting: G. Edwards 90, K. Osborne 37, H. Broad 27.
Bowling: L. Brown 4-18.
Bridgnorth 3rd XI made the long trek into Wales but returned more than satisfied with their 128-run victory. Batting first the visitors reached a useful 207 all out, with opener Glenn Edwards returning from injury and top-scoring with 90, hitting nine fours and a six. Youngsters Kieron Osborne and Harry Broad helped boost the total.
In reply, the Welshmen had little answer to the accuracy of Liam Brown (4-18) and his fellow bowlers who shared the rest of the wicekts, as they slipped meekly to 79 all out.
