St Georges catch the eye with a run riot

Chris Miller and Jamie Griffiths were the star turns in a power-packed 177-run Premier Division victory.

Miller plundered a superb 161 and Griffiths was unbeaten on 130 as the duo shared a 272-run stand for the third wicket to help St Georges post a daunting 392-4.

Ben Miller then claimed 5-74 as Cound were bowled out for 215 despite some resistance from Calum Bennett-Morris (66) and Andy Harrison (49).

But despite the resounding success, St Georges skipper Ben Byram insists there is more to come.

"It was a pleasing victory and Chris and Jamie batted superbly," said Byram. "We are looking through the books as that might be a club record partnership.

"But there are still certain areas that we can improve on and we will be talking about that before what will be a tough game against Ludlow on Saturday."

Broseley and Ludlow also matched St George's maximum points haul. Broseley's bowlers hit their straps to fire their side to a 105-run success against Frankton.

Gavin Jones (64) and Richard Frimstone (58) were the chief contributors in Broseley's 218-9, Harry Stow the pick of the Frankton attack with 4-40.

Chris Lewis and Gavin Daniel then bagged three wickets each while Neill Jordan and Kieran Osbourne each claimed two as Frankton were dismissed for 113.

Kevin Hinton and Will Gough starred with the bat as Ludlow overcame a shaky start to beat Bomere Heath by 41 runs. Ludlow were 18-3 and 60-4 before Hinton (67) and Gough (52) put on 110 for the fifth wicket and helped their side reach 224-9.

Chris Stevens and Ian Gillespie picked up three wickets each for Bomere.

Llyr Thomas led Bomere's reply with 91, but his departure when eighth man out signalled the end despite an unbeaten 31 from Sam Bloor.

Hinton capped a fine game by bagging 4-50 while Richard Taylor took 3-36.

Wem's Martyn Davies was another century-maker as his side claimed the winning draw and 17 points against Newport. Davies (102) and Matthew Cohen (87) steered Wem to 282-5.

Some tight bowling then held Newport to 172-7 – Ed Fowler (49) and Tom Newnes (43 not out) the pick of the batsmen while Richard Maree picked up 3-46 with the ball.

Meanwhile, Reman Services launched their planned push for glory on a winning note.

After finishing second to Worfield last season, the Shrewsbury-based club are among the favourites to challenge for Premier Division honours.

But they had to fight for their opening day victory against newly-promoted Madeley before securing a four-wicket success.

"It was a good start to the season, but we were made to work hard," said skipper Ed Ashlin. "Madeley were very competitive and I think that's the way the league will be this season. A lot of sides have strengthened and it will be competitive."

After being put in, Madeley made a strong start with their top three Stephen Pugh (41), Thomas Dangarembizi (39) and Andrew Laycock (25) laying a promising platform.

But the introduction of spinners Dominic Bradburne and Garry Williams checked their progress.

Bradburne took 4-58 while Williams went for just 28 from his 15 overs, also picking up a wicket, as Madeley were restricted to 176-6.

Reman overcame a middle-order wobble to claim the points with David Laird top scoring with 48.

Malcolm Serplet (31) and Philip Claude (25 not out) saw their side home after openers Ashlin (22) and Jamie Wear (33) had made an encouraging start.

Quatt came up just short against Wroxeter Grove on their return to the Shropshire County League following a two-season stint in the Birmingham League.

An impressive display led by skipper Adrian Evans saw Quatt take advantage of a good batting wicket. Evans top-scored with 68 while Craig Jones also passed 50 and Elliott Parker (34), Terry Hughes (34) and Craig Harris (31) made solid contributions to Quatt's 300-7.

In reply, the visitors ended on 233-8 with Nick Bevan scoring 67 and Bryan Jones 48. Jonathan Edwards picked up three wickets for Quatt.

"We batted quite well and put a good total on the board," said skipper Evans.

"We had a bit of rain later in the afternoon and that basically killed the ball and made things difficult for the bowlers.

"The seamers couldn't get it to shine and it was hard for the spinners to grip. But we picked up 17 points and it was a solid performance."