BROMSGROVE Second XI entered the busy Bank holiday schedule on the crest of a winning wave, looking forward to a top of the table clash with Ombersley.

Bromsgrove elected to insert the opposition on a dry but crumbling home wicket.

'Grove made a steady start, Lawton having opener Hobbs well caught for five.

Ombersley persevered, and progressed well, until the introduction of Bilborough and Walker, the latter making immediate impact with a caught and bowled first ball.

This pair restricted the opposition to only 48 off the first 20 overs for the loss of two wickets. Ombersley showed their metal by digging in, and though wickets fell, they purposefully set about increasing the scoring rate, putting on a further 49 in the next ten overs.

With Allen joining Davies at the crease, Ombersley were able to maintain this rate without further loss, setting Town 191 for 5 in their 50 overs.

Bromsgrove made steady progress, Keyte (snr) again in good form until misjudging the bounce and being caught at gully for 16. Hansell quickly followed.

Court (41) entered the fray, taking care to judge the pace of the wicket before launching onto the offensive, and with Bennison, put on 62 in 14 overs.

The loss of Bennison (21) signaled a mini collapse of three wickets in three overs, tilting the balance back with the visitors.

Disciplined batting by Bilborough and Hope allowed Town to re-establish a platform for another offensive.

Yet again to be thwarted by the untimely loss of the inform Bilborough (34).

With wickets running out, the Boars called off the chase, ending on 169 for 9. A draw, with honours to Ombersley, reflected the balance of the game.

Improvement

An improvement all round was required for Mondays visit to St. Georges.

Without the experienced Hansell, and prolific Court, a weakened town side were put into bat on a slow wicket. The openers found the going tough, and both subsided early to miss timed shots attempting to force the pace.

With patience the name of the game, Bennison dropped anchor to get the pace of the wicket.

The loss of Keyte (jnr) brought Hope to the wicket, with Bromsgrove struggling at 26 for 3 from 15 overs.

These two battled through a poor spell which brought only 14 runs in six overs. However, this investment brought its return as both batsmen began to open up, and with good running Bromsgrove recovered to 93 off 30 overs.

The loss of Hope (25) initiated a mini collapse, with Bennison (47) and Walker quickly following.

However, the middle order showed resolve and flair. Husbands (25) in combination with R Hope (15) combined to form another valuable partnership, and with good contributions down the order, town set a target of 164 in 50 overs.

St. Georges started steadily, but were always struggling to maintain the run rate on the slow wicket.

A good initial spell by Lawton (1 for 7 off 12overs) removed the dangerous Taylor (10), with Husbands frustrating the batsman at the other end with an excellent spell of left arm orthodox spin bowling (2 for 30 in 16 overs), and wickets consistently fell.

As St. Georges fell behind the rate, so the Boars were able to exert pressure.

Walker had a fine spell, collecting 2 for 15 from 11 overs, and in tandem with the leg spin of Mortlock, the inexperienced middle to late middle order were dispatched.

'Grove threw everything into the final push for victory, but could not prize out the final wicket.

The game ended with St. Georges on 121 for 9 in reply as town took a winning draw.