Bridgnorth (205-7) had a losing draw against Dorridge (245-8)

In a game that swung back and forth, captain Sam Whitney had earlier won the toss and chosen to bowl first on a green wicket and favourable overhead conditions, yet the home side made a flying start.

With Bridgnorth’s bowlers struggling to find any assistance from what appeared to be a very good batting wicket, it was Whitney who eventually made a breakthrough as wicketkeeper Gareth Mumford completed a superb stumping. Runs continued to flow, however, as the hosts found themselves well set at 131-1.

However, the game then turned on its head with the re-introduction of Worcestershire seamer Charlie Morris (4-35), who took four quick wickets, including a triple-wicket maiden. With Whitney (3-68) taking a further two scalps of his own, Dorridge were suddenly reduced to 144-7.

Unfortunately, the Cricket Meadow men were unable to make this collapse count, as a mixture of good lower-order batting and some indifferent fielding saw the hosts recover with a 96-run partnership for the eighth wicket, eventually declaring on 245-8 off 54 overs.

Once again, Bridgnorth’s top order struggled and soon found themselves three wickets down with only 35 runs on the board. MacPherson-Lees joined Simon Gregory in the middle to kick start their side’s innings, and were making good progress before their 59-run stand ended when Gregory was given out lbw for 33.

Morris made another solid start before being run-out, and at 130-6 Mumford joined MacPherson-Lees in the middle. The following 62-run partnership was dominated by Mumford (43), as the pair seemed to be taking their side within sight of the winning line.

But the dismissal of Mumford saw Bridgnorth opt for the sensible outcome, as the solid and unperturbed MacPherson-Lees (63 not out) was joined by Whitney to see the innings to a close, finishing on 205-7.

Whitney was still worried about his side’s top order, but praised MacPherson-Lees for his efforts in getting the result. “I’m really pleased with how we’ve fought back today to get the losing draw, those points could be crucial at the end of the season. Macca used his experience today, and it was the innings I’ve been looking for from our top order this year. Him and Gareth were superb, and almost pulled a result out of the bag.

“Charlie’s spell in the middle overs was a game changer for us, and it’s a shame that we couldn’t make it count. We’re not very far away, but it’s these moments that we need to make count if we’re going to win these games.”