Jed Schwarzbach and Pete Scott shared all ten wickets between them on Saturday as they spun a web round hosts Wellington. The win saw them push further away from the bottom two places in Shropshire League Division One, and just two points away from eighth.

Invited to bat first on a very dry wicket, the runs ticked along nicely in the first ten overs despite the loss of leading run-scorer Ian Gregory in the second over. Schwarzbach found some early fluency before being dismissed for 20, before Adam Binfield and Ross Hurdley combined to edge up to 75-3. However, with the spinners benefitting from helpful conditions, Bridgnorth lost four wickets for ten runs in eight overs, slipping to 85-7.

Hurdley was then joined by skipper Mark MacPherson-Lees, as the pair used their experience to dig in and arrest the slide, adding 45 runs for the eighth wicket before Hurdley’s dismissal for 44. The captain continued to show determination with the tail, before a couple of lusty blows in the final overs dragged his side up to 152 before falling for 37.

Adjusting to the conditions, Bridgnorth started with spin from the off, rewarded as Pete Scott broke through in the seventh over. Seamer Lewis Hurdley bowled a typically miserly spell early on, before legspinner Schwarzbach was introduced. In combination, the spin twins took control, and trapping overseas star Avijay Maharaj for 27 signalled the start of a collapse for the home side. From 50-1, Wellington slipped to 63-7 in just six overs, with Scott bowling unchanged to finish with 4-31 off 15 overs.

Wellington’s lower order then fought hard to hint at a potential revival, inching up to 88-7 with twenty overs still remaining. But the irrepressible Schwarzbach (6-25) ultimately finished the match in style, hitting the timbers three times in four balls as the Cricket Meadow men clinched a much-needed victory.

Bridgnorth II (81) lost to Llanidloes (238-8) by 157 runs

The second team were well beaten at home by league leaders Llanidloes, bowled out for just 81 when chasing 239 to win.

Ethan Osborne-Welch and Will Buxton were the pick of the bowlers in the field, producing accurate new-ball spells and returning late in the piece to take two wickets apiece. Neil Johnson, Ollie Shinebaum and Alex Thomas also made a breakthrough each, but in between the Welshmen’s batting line-up powered their way along to what would prove a total well beyond Bridgnorth’s reach.

Reduced to 33-7 by the Llani opening attack, Alfie Proctor and Johnson hit a few late blows, but ultimately the game was up and finished with eighteen overs to spare.

Bridgnorth III (199) lost to Chelmarsh (202-7) by three wickets

A somewhat depleted third team took local rivals Chelmarsh right to the wire on Sunday, but an unbeaten 78 from former Bridgnorth batter Andy Unitt proved the difference on the day.

After being asked to bat first, some eye-catching strokeplay from Ollie Shinebaum (25) and Ethan Osborne-Welch (24) alongside a watchful 22 from skipper Alex Thomas, the runs came with fluency in the first ten overs. But with the Chelmarsh bowlers chipping away, counter-attacking efforts from Ed Bennett (69) and Lewis Welch (19) saw ten-man Bridgnorth finish on 199 in the penultimate over.

Osborne-Welch (2-26) and Shinebaum (2-40) then both started brightly with the new ball, and in combination with Thomas (2-24), the game was in the balance as a spirited effort in the field saw wickets fall in clusters. But Chelmarsh inched up to their target, and finally finished the job with ten balls to spare