Bridgnorth (252-7) beat Attock (251-8) by 3 wickets

Whilst the weather put paid to any cricket being played closer to home, the 1st XI pulled off what skipper Sam Whitney described as "the best performance of the season so far" as his side completed a superb run-chase away at Attock.

Despite missing seam bowling spearhead Charlie Morris, who was forced to pull out late in the week, along with other regular first team squad members including last year's batting hero Ryan Lockley, Bridgnorth showed their strength in depth at a venue where visiting sides always struggle to get results.

With overhead conditions and the weather forecast set to potentially favour the side bowling first, Whitney won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first. But Bridgnorth's seamers struggled to trouble the openers early on, and a solid partnership put Attock firmly in the driving seat reaching 164 without loss.

After a number of changes, it was Whitney who made the initial breakthrough as Masood was dismissed for 78, which appeared to signal a change in fortunes, although fellow opener Mahmood would complete his century. Tom Weaver once again impressed with a tight ten-over spell, and the returning Cam Wallis also produced an economical six overs.

Despite Attock's start making a score of 300 appear within reach, the Cricket Meadow men produced some excellent death bowling from James Ralph (3-11) and Dan Vernon (2-65), backed up by some great work in the field. A final total of 251 off 55 overs, whilst presenting a challenging run chase, left Bridgnorth confident of producing a result.

Ralph and Dave Exall then got the visitors off to a flyer, with Ralph in particular continuing to express his recently re-found form with a rapid half-century. But three wickets falling for two runs saw Bridgnorth stutter to 76-3, and it was up to the middle order to consolidate.

Vernon kept up the scoring rate with a quick-fire 40, whilst Mark MacPherson-Lees and Gareth Mumford made useful contributions. But it was Matt Martin, in his first innings in Birmingham League Division One cricket, who would make the telling knock. With Weaver adding a vital 30 runs of his own in a key partnership of 44, Martin grafted against some excellent bowling, to put his side back in control of the chase, before being joined by his skipper late in the innings.

With the nerves still on edge, the second chase of over 250 in two weeks was successfully completed with 11 balls to spare, as Martin accelerated late to finish on a superb unbeaten 58.

Whitney later continued to laud his side's efforts, saying "everyone played their part in this performance, and it's now built a bigger gap between us and the relegation spots. I was really happy to see Matt working hard against that attack, including IPL star Vikas Tokas, and hopefully the confidence he gained in his innings will rub off on the other guys."

"This was a superb game to win, and we're now fired up to do everything we can to go 3 in 3 at Moseley next week."