Bridgnorth (118-2) beat Streetly (114) by 8 wickets

Bowling figures of 5-30, his best in the Birmingham League for Bridgnorth, was followed by a run-a-ball unbeaten 64 as a winning target of 115 was reached in just the 23rd over.

Earlier, Streetly won the toss and elected to bat first in an attempt to stamp their authority on the game. However it was Bridgnorth who landed with the first blow as Kiwi paceman Jamie Brown picked up a wicket in the first over.

The visitors subsequently consolidated but Dave Exall (1-26), sharing the new ball in the absence of the recently married Tom Weaver, prevented them from making any major progress with a tight opening spell.

Streetly then attempted to force the pace against spinners Sam Whitney (2-16) and Ralph, a move that backfired as a number of loose shots and some good catching reduced the visitors from 53-2 to 84-9. Tom Weston (1-26) took the final wicket, and a total of 114 was always way below par.

An excellent fielding performance, with nine wickets falling to catches, was a major part of the spin twins success. A special mention must also go to youngster Ryan Wheldon, who didn’t look out of place in the field whilst making his 1st team debut.

Bridgnorth’s run chase suffered a setback early on, as Ryan Lockley and Exall were both dismissed cheaply, however Ralph rounded off his excellent man-of-the-match performance with an elegant, unbeaten 64. Alongside Weston (37*) they comfortably took their side past the winning target with eight wickets and 25 overs to spare.

The resulting 24 points puts further pressure on the sides above them, and means just 17 points separate the top four in BDPCL Division Three.