Bridgnorth (214) beat Brockhampton (209) by five runs

Dan Vernon finished off a superb all-round performance by taking the 10th wicket in the final over of the match, having earlier top-scored with 81.

After skipper Sam Whitney had won the toss and chosen to bat first, his side made the worst possible start by losing Dave Exall in the first over, against his former club. Two further wickets followed in fairly quick succession, before Ian Gregory was joined by Vernon and the pair reversed the momentum of the innings.

Gregory’s watchful and gritty 43 dovetailed well with Vernon’s attacking run-a-ball knock as the duo put on 123 for the 4th wicket, before both were dismissed in the same over.

Unfortunately a late order collapse prevented Bridgnorth from further asserting themselves on the match, but a final total of 214 meant the game was finely poised.

In the field, Rowan Harland (1-30) made an impressive start on his first team debut for the club by taking a wicket in his first over during a hostile opening spell. Exall (3-33) also made up for disappointment with the bat by bowling superbly to take three crucial top-order wickets, as the hosts found themselves struggling at 55-4.

Brockhampton’s middle order then began to work hard to build a recovery effort, but Cam Wallis (1-23) once again bowled an excellent spell to keep the hosts in check. Once again the introduction of spin proved vital as Vernon (4-49) and James Ralph (1-29) worked their way through the lower order, supported by some good catches in the field, but a late surge from the hosts threatened to take the game away.

However, Vernon completed an excellent day by getting the final dangerman Callum Stewart caught by Mark MacPherson-Lees for 31, giving the visitors the win by five runs.

Skipper Whitney was again delighted with his side’s efforts. “We’ve got a winning mentality at the moment, and everyone is grabbing their opportunities. We had a couple of guys missing today, but people have stood up and put in a performance. With the bat we should probably have got above 250 but at this point in the season you’re always in the game when you have 200 on the board.

“Dan was exceptional today, he’s made a top-knock and then his death bowling has been excellent. I hope we can all carry on with this form, if we keep going we could do something really special this season.”