Fordhouses return to form as they see off Milford Hall

Mid-table Milford were put in to bat on the road in Fordhouses and opener Dominic Afford's composed 70 looked like setting the visitors on their way to a dangerous tally.

But they collapsed from 115-3 to 151 all out, with Niall McHale's 31 the next best, with Mubeen Rashid's work with the ball (4-17) a primary factor in Fordhouses keeping the figure down.

The hosts had been beaten for the first time this term the previous weekend at Beacon and ensured it would not be back-to-back defeats through the reliable batting of opener Niall Cooper.

Cooper steered Fordhouses forward with a cool unbeaten 77 from 128 balls including 11 fours. He was assisted by Muhammad Imran (37) batting at four.

Hall's Aaron Afford was in excellent form with the ball as he claimed five wickets for a loss of 59 runs but his one-man attack was not enough as Fordhouses got over the line with three wickets to spare and a fifth victory in six.

Hammerwich were thumping eight-wicket winners at struggling Lichfield on a day the visiting bowlers came out on top.

The visitors put Lichfield into bat and skittled them for just 59, with Craig Jennings (4-21) and Sajid Ahmadzai (4-28) proving far too strong.

Lichfield barely got going with wicketkeeper opener Will Davies (17) their top scorer. Umer Khalid (15), batting at 10, was the only other to manage double figures.

Hammerwich cantered to victory despite seeing Tom Wright and Andy Malkin caught behind as Ben Novis (23) and Scott Elstone (21) got the job done in quick time for the side in fourth.

Cannock remain bottom and winless after a narrow defeat at high-flying Pelsall.

Basement boys Cannock fell 16 runs short in their chase at Pelsall's Pavilion home as their last wicket fell in the 46th over.

Cannock's Aisnley Ndlovu struck 52 as his side chased Pelsall's 177-7 but it was not to be enough as Faizanullah Niazai and Smit Metha claimed four wickets apiece.

Peter Stevens continued his fine recent form with a half-century and Jake Lee (35) had previously led the way for Pelsall, who are third and 13 points off top spot.

Second-bottom Aldridge have just a single win in six games after a 78-run defeat at second-placed Wombourne.

Wombourne recorded 229-9 from their 50 overs with consistent scoring from Chad Brandrick (50), skipper Zac Smith (48) and Todd Henderson (36).

But Aldridge – including Haider Ali Ehsan's (46) and Tharusha Fernando's (34) – fell short in response as Brandrick took three wickets, as did Oliver Siviter.

Penkridge and Walsall played out an entertaining draw at Pillaton where some high scoring saw the points shared.

The hosts were put in and recovered from a slow start for a key fourth-wicket stand of 129 between Ross Parker (85) and Jack Pope (69). Mani Parigi took 4-59 for Walsall as Penkridge finished with 229-8 from their 50 overs.

Walsall's response started strongly and was consistent throughout as they lost five wickets for 213 runs from their 50 overs.

Captain and opener Hashim Iqbal spearheaded the batting with 88 off 91 balls including 15 boundaries. He was ably assisted by Rajeev Kanji (32) and William Mashinge (45) as the visitors batted through to claim eight points in a losing draw while Penkridge earned 13 points.

Beacon sealed an 18-point winning draw at home to Tamworth seconds. Roger Fildes (69) and Jake Cartwright (48) got the hosts off to a strong start but it was Oliver Green's influence in the middle order with a thumping 80 from 49 balls that made the difference on the way to a strong 269-9 from 50 overs. Jack Smith took 5-67 for Tamworth.

Stuart Burrows (98) and Jonathan Fearn (72), batting at four and five, shared a 111-partnership for Tamworth, who ended on 215-9 from their 50 overs. Cartwright claimed three wickets for Beacon, as did tight bowling by Jack Stanier (3-27).