Whilst a strong Shrewsbury side ultimately ran out comfortable victors in the Birmingham League Division Two contest on Saturday at Cricket Meadow, Bridgnorth will once again take a lot of positives from their second game of the season having played two of the top teams in the league.

The start of the match played out as a real-time highlights reel after the visitors had won the toss and elected to bat first, as the Shrewsbury top-order looked to assert themselves immediately. Bridgnorth, however, counter-punched with aplomb as boundaries were followed by wickets and after just twelve overs the scoreboard read 96-5. Ravi Kumar once again impressed with the new ball, whilst legspinner Zak Abbas (3-55) also bowled with guile and tenacity.

Opposition captain Lewis Evans then led his side’s resurgence alongside Luke Thornton in an 88-run stand for the sixth wicket, before Peter Scott broke through during a tidy spell. Matt Swift then hit the accelerator and rode his luck with a 52-ball 59 as Shrewsbury looked to push past 300, but Kumar (3-66) returned to pick up his third wicket, before a run-out saw the visitors dismissed in the final over.

The run-chase would always prove a tough ask against a bowling line-up that ticks most boxes, and ultimately Bridgnorth struggled to put a meaningful partnership together. Rahul Kaushal made another solid start with the bat, continuing his early-season form, and was just starting to flourish before being dismissed for 40. In the meantime, Shrewsbury’s Brad Thornton and Evans had both taken two wickets apiece to assert their side’s dominance in the game, but Jaspreet Singh counter-attacked in typically swashbuckling fashion, hitting a 42-ball half century, before having to take a temporary break from the middle whilst struggling with cramp.

Shrewsbury then made relatively short work of the Bridgnorth tail, but the Cricket Meadow men ended up taking a valuable six points from the game, after having bowled out the London Road outfit’s strong batting line-up earlier in the day.

Bridgnorth 2nd XI (134) lost to Alberbury (136-9) by 1 wicket

The second team fell agonisingly short in a low-scoring thriller at Pecknall Farm on Saturday, in a game that could easily have gone either way.

Alberbury made a good start with the ball after Bridgnorth captain Lewis Hurdley won the toss and chose to bat, as three early wickets put them in the ascendancy. Chris Green and Ross Hurdley then found a bit of fluency as they battled back up to 72-3, but another further lower order collapse saw the visitors slump to 93-7. Cameos from captain Hurdley and Jenson Caine then dragged their total up to 134 in the 36th over of the innings.

Needing to start well in the field, the Cricket Meadow men got off to an excellent start with Caine striking twice early on, before Hurdley made a double breakthrough of his own to reduce the hosts to 40-4. The Alberbury middle order then got stuck in as the ground their way up to three figures, and were seemingly gaining control before the spinners made an impact. Alex Yarnley (3-22) and Ben Musgrave bowled with great control as the home side slid to 107-8 and Bridgnorth sensed victory was in their grasp.

But a late cameo from Rob Owen saw five boundaries hit in just eleven balls to swing the momentum back in the hosts favour, and despite him being dismissed with five runs still needed, the last man sealed the result with a final four off the last ball of the 42nd over.

Bridgnorth 3rd XI (175-9) vs Lilleshall (107-5) - Match Abandoned

The thirds made a promising start to their league season at Cricket Meadow on Sunday, and were ultimately denied a win in their first game by untimely heavy showers in the late afternoon.

After choosing to bat first, Bridgnorth openers Rich Ealey (27) and Noah Bishell (22) played well against the new ball to set a strong platform, before Jack Welch came in and upped the tempo, top-scoring with 36. Contributions continued down the order whilst the visitors chipped away, including a quick 24 from debutant Manoy Dodiya, before the tail was quickly removed by Rob Bagshaw (5-28).

The following run chase began steadily for Lilleshall until Dodiya made the first breakthrough in the seventh over. Bridgnorth’s bowlers continued to be accurate, preventing the visitors from getting away from them, leading to Guy Black and Freddie Ward breaking through again in successive overs.

As the clouds then rolled in, the hosts continued to search for wickets, with Bishell and Issy Crann finding success, but with the score on 107-5 in the 27th over, rain brought a frustrating halt to proceedings. Eventually it was decided that play could not continue, leading to the points being shared.

Bridgnorth 4th XI (187-8) vs Madeley (160-9) - Match Abandoned

The fourths were also denied in final moments of their game on Sunday by the weather, but not before a youthful team had showcased their talents with bat and ball and a closely fought contest.

Choosing to bat first, Bridgnorth made a strong start with the bat despite losing an early wicket, as Kieran Rodenhurst stood firm whilst Jenson Caine played a range of fine attacking shots, before being dismissed for a 45-ball 47. George Brettell also produced a fine cameo in the middle order, but it was Ben Musgrave who played the innings of the day, batting superbly with the lower order to finish unbeaten on 50, his maiden senior half century.

In reply, despite early wickets for skipper Alex Thomas and Angharad Morgan, Madeley looked to keep the runs flowing and stayed very much in the game. The turn around came when legspinner Musgrave took the ball and immediately made an impact, taking three key wickets in the middle order, whilst young seamer Will Scott bowled a testing spell from the other end and was unlucky to go unrewarded.

With a few chances missed in the field, Jenson Caine stepped up as another spin option to pick up three late wickets as Bridgnorth went hunting for the win under ever growing clouds and gradually increasing rain. But as thunderstorms approached, the weather ultimately proved the main victor on the day.