RECENTLY retired Worcestershire batsman Daryl Mitchell proved he is still well in touch with the game as he spearheaded Ombersley Cricket Club's nine-wicket victory over Kidderminster in the Birmingham League Premier One, reports Nick Pullen.
Mitchell carried his bat to make 135 not out as Ombersley overtook Kidderminster's target of 229 for eight with room to spare.
The visitors had posted a testing target for their hosts; as Kidderminster's Andy Kimberlin cracked 65 while Callum Bennett blitzed 85 off 91 balls during a 129 third wicket stand.
But Mitchell made light work of the target, producing 18 fours in a superb innings.
Another of the Worcestershire clubs in the league, Barnt Green, blew reigning champions Berkswell away with a comprehensive 91 run success and climb to second in the table as a result.
Ben Chapman-Lilley provided the backbone of Barnt Green's 207 for eight by scoring a patient 80 off 148 balls.
Dan Meredith with 25, Rheedyi Amin on 30 and Cameron Jones 24 not out, kept the scoreboard ticking over against Berkswell's high profile attack.
Former Middlesex and Leicestershire all rounder Neil Dexter proved the pick of Berkswell's bowling by taking three for 42 while former Leicestershire team mate Ateeq Javid claimed two for 39.
But it was Barnt Green's bowlers who made more impact.
Handy Andy Sutton continued his flying start to the season by claiming three for 11 off nine overs while Cameron Jones captured figures of two for 44.
Only former Warwickshire man Grant Thornton on 34 made any impact with the bat for Berkswell before Oxfordshire's Robbie Shurmer polished off the innings by taking four for 39 as the champions crashed to 116 all out inside 28 overs.
Into Division Two and the stand-out fixture saw Bromsgrove hold top of the table Harborne to a draw.
That was after Harborne had set a target of 191 before Bromsgrove responded with 141 for eight in reply.
Scotland prospect Jasper Davidson made top score of 53 and found support from Tom Arnold on 41 and Tejas Wagle 46 before Harborne were bowled out in the 48th over.
Richard Kimberlin claimed cracking bowling figures of four for nine off five overs to put the skids under Harborne and found himself well backed up by Will Tuffin who took three for 28 while Connor Smith claimed two for 26.
Opening bat Smith then provided the backbone of Bromsgrove's reply by reaching 69 off 113 balls.
Once Smith had departed Bromsgrove were forced to dig deep and fend off Harborne's attack for 62 overs.
Barnards Green pulled themselves up the table on Saturday as a superb knock from Ryan Tongue saw the Malvern side cruise to a nine wicket victory over strugglers Wem.
The visitors won the toss and batted first at North End Lane and posted a reasonable score of 210 all out from 52 overs.
Phil Harris (4-35) and George Rhodes (4-58) both took four wickets each, whilst youngster Josh Dickenson also got himself a wicket.
But openers Tongue and Rehaan Edavalath proved too difficult to crack, with Tongue doing the majority of the damage.
Wem's Graham Wagg did remove Edavalath but that was as good as it got for the away side as Tongue reached his century and Ollie Rogoff came in and raced to a quickfire 45 off 47 balls to see Green over the line.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here