Bridgnorth guaranteed their place in Birmingham League Division Two next season after a determined display at Himley on Saturday saw them clinch a narrow victory.

A dogged 93 from Ryan Lockley proved the key to the Cricket Meadow men’s first innings after they had been asked to bat first. Sharing an opening stand of 59 with Matty Simmonds, skipper Dave Exall (32) and Michael Hill (29) both added vital contributions as Bridgnorth’s top order showed their character to put them in control of the game at 160-2.
But the hosts fought back as visitors looked to up the ante in the second half of the innings, as cameos from Ben Lees and Adam Quiney took their side past the 200 mark. Late wickets then saw Himley restrict the final few overs, however a total of 237 looked competitive providing Bridgnorth performed well in the field.

Despite Adam Quiney once again taking an early wicket, the hosts made a solid start to the run chase as Bilal Hussain anchored the innings with a fine century. Contributions from the Himley middle order kept them in the hunt, but Bridgnorth’s bowlers stuck to their tasks well as Quiney (2-46) and Sam Whitney (3-33) picked up key wickets at important times, whilst Charlie Walker and Dave Laird both bowled well in support to take a wicket apiece.

At 202-6 the game was still in the balance, but triple breakthrough including Simmonds knocking over Hussain for 103, saw Himley left teetering at 206-9 and Bridgnorth just one wicket away from guaranteeing their league safety. A final twist saw the hosts’ final pair continue to pick up singles and edge up to 223, before skipper Exall ran out number ten Ben Hopkins with the hosts still fourteen runs short.

Bridgnorth II (249-7) lost to Shrewsbury (253-7) by 3 wickets

Bridgnorth’s second string produced a fine all-round display against a strong Shrewsbury side, but ultimately were beaten by the visitors at Cricket Meadow as they slipped down to fifth place in Shropshire League Division One.

After losing two early wickets, a second league century from Matt Uglow powered the hosts’ innings along, with good support from 33 apiece from Will Rodenhurst and Niall McAdam. Late cameos from Charlie Ward and Cam Wallis then saw the hosts reach up to 249-7 off 45 overs, but in good batting conditions a lot of work was still to be done.

The seamers then worked hard in the early overs as Uglow (2-46) and Wallis (2-57) chipped away at the top order, but loose deliveries were punished as Shrewsbury raced along in their chase. Legspinner Max Ferrington later chipped in with two wickets of his own, and despite taking the game closer than may have been expected, the visitors ultimately reached the winning line seven wickets down with three overs to spare.

Bridgnorth III (160-7) beat Condover (161-8) by two wickets

Despite missing a number of regular senior players, the third team took Condover all the way on Saturday, belying the six-place gap between the sides.

A tough start to the game saw Bridgnorth struggle to get going in their first innings, as only stand-in skipper Guy Black (18) was able to find any fluency against an accurate home attack. Reduced to 77-6, it took a patient innings from Will Buxton to restore respectability to the innings. Initially supported by Shashi Cherukuri, and later Ben Musgrave, a later counter-attack saw Buxton reach his maiden half century as the visitors finished on a competitive 160-7.

The second innings then started in the perfect way for Bridgnorth as Buxton broke through opener Barker’s defences with just the fourth ball. But the top order then set about attacking anything loose before a brief rain break delayed proceedings. The dampness clearly had an effect, as Musgrave capitalised on the aggressive Jordan Barker slipping when sent back to whip the ball back in to Ed Bennett behind the stumps to claim a run out.

Sensing a chance of an upset, Arjun Cherukuri and Black then took two wickets apiece to run through the hosts’ middle order to put them on top, but a further counter-attack led by a chanceless, unbeaten 89 from home skipper Charlie Rogers took his team to the brink of the win. Tim Cotton then returned to take two late wickets and throw a cat amongst the pigeons, but Rogers managed to retain the strike at the crucial time to clinch the win with five overs to spare.

Bridgnorth IV (256-4) beat Pontesbury (196-7) by 60 runs

A second century of the summer from Charlie Ward saw the fourth team pile up a dominant 256 off 40 overs at Cricket Meadow on Sunday afternoon. After being reduced to 45-3 by an accurate early bowling display from visitors Pontesbury, an excellent 142-run stand between Ward and Ashton Briggs-Thomas put the hosts in control, with Briggs-Thomas digging deep to hit a maiden senior half century.

With Ward eventually finishing the innings unbeaten on a career-best 132, a late flurry of runs alongside Shashi Cherukuri (23 not out) saw sixty runs hit off the last four overs. The hosts dominant position was then asserted further as Freddie Ward ran out opener Haigh for just two, before the accurate Noah Bishell broke through on his senior debut to claim his first wicket.

Arjun Cherukuri then bowled another tidy spell in the middle overs to pick up 2-28, before Freddie Ward completed a family day out to remember as the youngster picked up 3-31, with two catches taken by elder brother Charlie and Dad Stuart!

A late flurry of runs then saw the visitors push themselves up to 190 in the latter overs, but the result was never in doubt as Bridgnorth ran out comfortable victors.