OLD Elizabethans lost their last five wickets for no runs to slip to a disappointing defeat at Sutton Coldfield for their Birmingham Premier League Division Two fixture.

The north Worcester side won the toss and invited their hosts to bat on what looked to be a reasonable pitch. They got off to a promising start when James Everett (2-33) had Munn caught by James Binkley at slip. One run later, Stuart Phillips (3-69) trapped Salman lbw and the home side were on the back foot at 2-9. However, skipper Dandy (25) and Hughes (22) had added 33 before Sean Cairney took a great catch behind the stumps to dismiss Hughes and at 70-5 off 27 overs, OEs looked set to push home their advantage.

Sutton Coldfield's batsmen had different ideas and put together some reasonable partnerships despite Steve May (4-66) taking wickets at regular intervals.

Randal played some good shots in his undefeated 58 and along with the tail-end batsmen managed to reach a respectable 181-9 from their 55 overs.

OEs got off to a disastrous start, losing both openers with only three runs on the board. May then went on the attack, offering several chances to the fielding side and causing them some frustration.

He eventually fell on 82 scored off 129 balls in 128 minutes. Even with his departure and with the score at 122-5, OEs still looked to be in the game. However, the last five wickets unbelievably fell for no runs, leaving them 59 runs short.

Sutton Coldfield 181-9 (24 points) (Steve May 4-66, Stuart Phillips 3-69, James Everett 2-33), OEs 122 (5 points) (Steve May 82). Sutton won by 59 runs.