The heavy overnight rain that fell on Friday evening and returned in showery form on Saturday put paid to around one third of divisional matches on Saturday, which gave those who managed to dodge the showers and get the game on the opportunity to steel a march on others that were not so fortunate.

In the Premier Division, the top two Stourport-on-Severn 1^st XI and Stourbridge 1^st XI swapped positions again after both were forced to settle for winning draws against Pedmore 1^st XI who hung on gamely at Walshes Farm Meadows and Brockhampton 1^st XI at the Parks after Jujhar Johal (5-34) again showed his prowess with the ball in the first innings for the Glassboys. These results helped Pershore 1st XI who beat Old Elizabethans 1^st XI by five wickets at the Memorial Ground to close the gap to just one point to second placed Stourbridge 1^st XI who trail the leaders by just two points.

The top three are now fifty four points ahead of the chasing pack as both fourth placed Redditch 1^st and fifth placed Astwood Bank 1^st XI were left cursing their luck as they bot suffered cancellations against Bromsgrove 1^st XI and Bromyard 1^st XI respectively whilst in the other match in the division Lye 1^st XI took the advantage to move further away from the relegation zone by beating Worcester Nomads 1^st XI by six wickets at home.

In Division One,only two matches beat the weather, one of which was played between Worcester 1^st XI who took the opportunity to climb in to second position by beating Droitwich Spa 1^st XI by eight wickets and Chaddesley Corbett 1^st XI recorded a much needed five wicket win against visiting Burghill, Tillington & Weobley 1^st XI after Junaed Afzal (5-45) and Adil Mirza (83*) proved to be the main protagonists.

With all other matches cancelled the table now looks very tight indeed and the battle for promotion promises to be an exciting one as only twenty eight points separate the top six teams, all of whom still have a very realistic chance of promotion.

In Division Two, Touqeer Azhar (5-9) set up a comfortable ten wicket win for leaders Netherton 1^st XI who look unstoppable at the moments as they recorded their ninth win of the season against Astwood Bank 2^nd XI at Sambourne Lane, a win that moved them fifty four points ahead of second placed Barnards Green 2^nd XI who were forced to cling on to a losing draw against Colwall 1^st XI at North End Lane after Rob Cook (109) had helped set a target that proved out of reach for the hosts in the second innings,

Elsewhere, third placed Kidderminster 2^nd XI were washed out against Cookley 1^st XI at Chester Road North which allowed Alvechurch & Hopwood 1^st XI to close the gap to just four points in fourth as they picked up a winning draw against Bredon 1st XI, whilst in the only other match played in the division because of the cancellation of the Oldswinford 1^st XI versus Belbroughton 1^st XI match at Albemarle Road, Matt Branch (62*) led Enville 1^st XI to an eight wicket win against Bromsgrove 2^nd XI who continue to occupy bottom position.

In the two matches that survived the weather in Division Threeleaders Netherton 2^nd XI opened up a forty point lead at the top after securing a maximum point winning draw against Old Elizabethans 2^nd XI in a rain reduced game at Highgate Road and Jamie Oliver (108*) top scored for Rushwick 1^st XI in comprehensive maximum points win against Feckenham 1^st XI that helped them move in to mid division.

All of the other matches were abandoned without a ball being bowed which again means the division is proving to be well contested with a number of team still in the race for promotion behind Netherton 2^nd XI who look clear favourites for the title at this stage.

In Division Four, leaders Hagley 2^nd XI cemented their position at the top of the table with a ten wicket win against West Malvern 1^st XI., whilst last weeks second placed outfit Worcester Nomads 2^nd XI kept up with the pace by beating Harborne 4^th XI by seven wickets at Whitegates Farm, but could not stop Droitwich Spa 2^nd XI leap frogging them in to second place after they gained a maximum points win against Stourbridge 2^nd XI by a fourteen run margin at the War Memorial Ground after being inserted.

 The matches between Claverley 1^st XI and Old Vigornians 1^st XI and Romsley & Hunnington 1^st XI and Old Hill 2^nd XI were both lost to the weather which meant the only other match to be contested in the division was played at Norton Barracks where Worcester 2^nd XI took the opportunity to move further away from the relegation zone after  Ben Doyle (115) posted a first innings century that went a long way in helping secure a maximum points winning draw against visiting Five Ways Old Edwardians 1^st XI who were forced to hang on dearly in the second innings, finishing nine wickets down, well short of the target.

In the first of our all Win/Lose divisions, Division Five, four matches out of the six planned survived the weather. Leaders Tenbury Wells 1^st XI beat Bromyard 2^nd XI by seven wickets at Penlu to maintain their thirteen point lead over Pershore 2^nd XI who beat Stourbridge 2^nd XI by a wide margin thanks to a first innings century from Balkeet Singh (119). Malvern 1^st XI lost ground in third after being washed out against basement side Barnt Green 3^rd XI at what continues to be a very wet Douglas Ground. Astwood Bank 3^rd XI are fourth after beating Coombs Wood 2^nd XI by six wickets at Stewarts Road. Eastnor 1^st XI are in mid division after beating Hanley Castle & Upton 1^st XI and finally, the match between Pedmore 2^nd XI and Bewdley 2^nd XI was abandoned without a ball being bowled

Three matches survived in Division Sixas the matches between Belbroughton 2^nd XI and Alveley 1^st XI at Hackmans Gate Lane, second placed Halesowen 3^rd XI and Cutnall Green 1^st XI at Earls High School and Kidderminster 3^rd XI and leaders Himley 3^rd XI at Chester Road were all abandoned before a ball was bowled.

Harvington 1^st XI took full advantage of the chance to close the gap by posting an eighty four run win against Colwall 2^nd XI at Stowe Lane to move to within one point of the top two in third place, whilst elsewhere, Tom Smith (93) helped Bromsgrove 3^rd XI to an important win against Claverley 2^nd XI at the Hedges Ground and Ahsan Fiaz (4-24 & 64*) starred for basement side Old Vigornians 1^st XI who recorded their first win of the season, a ten wicket win against Chaddesley Corbett 2^nd XI at the Cinderella Ground.

In the Regional Divisions, three matches were contested in Division Seven (North). Pete Alexander (97*) helped Cookhill 1^st XI open up a thirty three point lead at the summit as his second innings contribution secured a six wicket win against second placed Old Elizabethans 3^rd XI at Neel Park. Stone 1^st XI closed the gap in third place to just nine points after Ombersley 3^rd XI failed to raise a team for their match and were forced to concede. Fourth placed Harborne 5^th XI were washed out against fifth placed Halesowen 4^th XI  whilst sixth placed Alvechurch & Hopwood 2^nd XI suffered the same fate against Himley 4^th XI., whilst in the only other match played in the group Romsley & Hunnington 2^nd XI beat Feckenham 2^nd XI by a nine wicket margin at Mill Lane.

In the South Group, all five matches were contested. Leaders Worcester Amigos 1^st XI hold a narrow lead at the top after beating Pershore 3^rd XI who slip to fifth place, eleven points adrift, Second placed Ledbury 1^st XI remain just two points behind after inflicting a six wicket defeat on Rushwick 2^nd XI who are now sixth, sixteen points off top. Canon Frome 1^st XI beat Birlingham 1^st XI by five wickets to go in third place, six points off the summit and the two clubs based in Herefordshire Bartestree & Lugwardine 2^nd XI beat Worcester 3^rd XI and Burghill, Tillington & Weobley 2^nd XI lost to Martley 2^nd XI in a high scoring game at the PAF Ground.

In Regional Division Eight, only two out of the five matches planned were played in the North Group. Leaders Netherton 3^rd XI beat Halesowen 5^th XI by a wide margin and Adnan Ali (157) ensured Lye 3^rd XI kept up with the pace as his first innings contribution helped his team set too many for Enville 3^rd XI to chase in the second innings. These two wins have now enabled the top two to open up a seventeen point lead which will be hard to close.

In the East Group,Himbleton 2^nd XI and Droitwich Spa 4^th XI continue to top the table after recording wins against Inkberrow 1^st XI and Astwood Bank 4^th XI respectively. Whilst in other matches played in the group, Redditch Entaco 3^rd XI moved in to third position twelve points adrift of the joint leaders after recording a win against Bredon 2^nd XI, Pershore 4^th XI beat Harvington 2^nd XI by eight wickets and the match between Avoncroft 2^nd XI and Five Ways Old Edwardians 2^nd XI was abandoned without a ball bowled.

In the South Group, Lee Shuck (6-18) helped Hallow Taverners 1^st XI maintain a sixteen point lead at the top of the table as his first innings return helped defeat Eastnor 2^nd XI by seven wickets. Secon placed Fownhope Strollers 1^st XI beat Worcester Nomads 3^rd XI by the same margin and Robin Holgate (78*) helped third placed Brockhampton 3^rd XI complete the trifecta of seven wicket wins for the top three teams against Old Elizabethans 4^th XI at the Stables.

Elsewhere, George Plumb (87*) finished not out for fourth Malvern 2^nd XI in their eight wicket win against West Malvern 2^nd XI and Alex Tyrer (125) fired a first innings century for Bosbury 1^st XI in their one hundred and two run win against Colwall 3^rd XI at the Bosbury Oval.

It was a different story altogether in the West Groupas just two matches survived the weather. In the matches that were played leaders Droitwich Spa 3^rd XI extended their lead at the top of the table with a comprehensive win against basement side Tenbury Wells 2^nd XI at St. Peters Field and in the only other match played David Jones (106) helped Alveley 2^nd XI move in to third place after his first innings century helped earn the victory against Bewdley 3^rd XI.

In Regional Division Nine North Groupthe only match to survive was the game between Cookhill 2^nd XI and Oldswinford 4^th XI which Cookhill 2^nd XI won by ten wickets, a result that took them to the top of the table one point ahead of Himley 5^th XI whose match, along with all other teams was abandoned without a ball being bowled.                                      

In the South Group, in contrast all planned matches went ahead. Leaders Ledbury 2^nd XI recorded a ten wicket victory against Malvern 3^rd XI to stay nine points ahead of Hanley Castle & Upton 2^nd XI who beat                Droitwich Spa 5^th XI by just three runs, whilst in other matches Stone 1^st XI chased down Rushwick 3rd XIs challenging first innings total that was build around a solid (97*) by Rob Hargreaves to win by a seven wicket margin and Lewis Regan (101) scored a first innings century in Barnards Green 4^th XIs win against Bromyard 3^rd XI.

Goodrich 1^st XI maintained their eight point lead in Marches Division Oneafter Sam Griffiths (77*) led them home to a comfortable eight wicket win against Garnons 1stt XI for whom Paul Williams (98) fell just two runs shy of a first innings century. Second placed Builth Wells 1^st XI kept up with the pacesetters by beating Wormelow 1^st XI by four wickets despite the best efforts of T Cutler (6-28) who took all six second innings wickets in a losing cause. Adam Gray 89* and Chris Ibbetson (76*) led Luctonians 1^st XI in to third place with a nine wicket win against Kington 1^st XI and Woolhope 1^st XI went fourth, fourteen point adrift of second place after beating Ross-on-Wye 1^st XI by seven wickets in what is becoming a very open title race.

In the two matches that survived out of the four planned in Marches Division Two, Hay-on-Wye 1^st XI posted the most significant of wins against Woolhope 2^nd XI (despite the best efforts of Matt Slocombe 122*) as their nineteen run win helped them to open u an eighteen point lead at the top over Almeley 1^st XI who enjoyed a free week. In the only other match to be played in the division, Matthew James (5-16) helped Moccas 1^st XI move up to joint fourth place as his second innings haul secured a ninety two run win against Wormelow 2^nd XI.

Only the match between Luctonians CC 2^nd XI and Burghill, Tillington & Weobley 3^rd XI fell foul to the weather in Marches Division Three. In the matches that were contested Goodrich 2^nd XI beat Ross-on-Wye 2^nd XI by seven wickets to maintain their twenty three point lead over Bartestree & Lugwardine 3^rd XI for whom Tim Fawbert (107*) compiled an excellent undefeated first innings century in a sixty five run win against Dales 2^nd XI., whilst in the other match played in the division Almeley 2^nd XI beat Fownhope Strollers 2^nd XI by four wickets to move in to mid division.

Stuart Lampitt