Duo stand-out in Shrewsbury's victory

Rob Foster's men are now just two points behind Birmingham & District League Premier Division table-toppers Berkswell.

Leach's 124 from 155 balls set the platform for a 112-run victory over former leaders Kidderminster.

And Barnard produced a vital all-round display, making a crucial 48 with the bat before blowing away Kidderminster's top order on his way to 4-46.

Senior player Ed Foster said: "There is nothing to choose between the top three teams, at the moment.

"We're a bit disappointed that we've had two games abandoned already this season and the other two have only had one.

"Hopefully, that will even itself out and there will be days to come when we play and others don't, but we've put ourselves in the mix at the halfway stage and that's all we could have asked for.

"We're in contention and hopefully we can push on now in the second half of the season."

Leach steered Shrewsbury to 245-7 in their 55 overs, despite the loss of key early wickets.

They slumped from 33-0 to 63-4, but Leach and Barnard compiled a partnership of 94 to dig their side out of trouble.

Leach then shared a stand of 45 with Alex Blofield with Gareth Williams (3-36) the pick of the Kidderminster bowlers.

Steve Barnard then claimed four of Kidderminster's first five wickets, with brother Mike taking the other as they were reduced to 55-5 before being dismissed for 133.

Spinner Charlie Morris claimed 2-22 for Shrewsbury in 13 overs. Will Parton then picked up 2-7 in his five overs to help clean up the Kidderminster tail, with Mike Barnard and Sam Griffiths taking a wicket each.

Ed Foster said: "Steve Leach's innings was one of the best you will see in the league this season.

"When you consider we lost early wickets, he took responsibility and got us to a good total and was assisted well by Steve Barnard, who produced a really important innings for us.

"Then Steve Barnard is such a good strike bowler, and because of him we took early wickets ."

All-rounder Jamie Miller starred with bat and ball as Wellington pulled off a vital win near the foot of Division One.

The Zimbabwe-born former Hampshire second-team player claimed 4-34 with his leg-spin, before hitting an unbeaten 100 as his side eased to a seven-wicket victory over Bromsgrove.

Wendell Wagner's men remain second from bottom in the table, but just 10 points separate them from the three teams immediately above them.

And Saturday's success left them just 20 points adrift of a mid-table spot. Miller claimed four vital wickets in the middle and lower order as Bromsgrove were dismissed for 175 in 54.2 overs.

Trevor Garwe picked up two early wickets and ended with 2-41 while Dan Lloyd finished with 2-19 from 11.2 overs. Tom Green was the only half-centurion for Bromsgrove with 56.

Wellington were reduced to 55-2 with the dismissal of openers Steve Lamb and Neil Edwards.

But Miller hit 100 not out in 113 balls, including 14 fours and two sixes, as his side made 176-3 in 44.4 overs with Wagner 16 not out at the end.

A batting collapse meant Oswestry suffered an 85-run defeat to Barnards Green, despite a 91-run partnership from their openers.

Alex Muxley scored 91 and Warrick Fynn 48 to give their side an ideal start, as they chased a daunting 309 for victory.

But their pursuit of quick runs saw them lose regular wickets and they slumped from 145-2 to 223 all out.

No fewer than four Oswestry batsmen made ducks, with a further two dismissed for single figures. Barnards Green posted 308-7.

Sam Whitnet and James Ralph claimed four wickets each as Bridgnorth bagged a five-wicket win at Tamworth to keep up the pressure on Division Two leaders Sutton Coldfield.

Whitney and captain Ralph led the way with the ball, as follow promotion hopefuls Tamworth were dismissed for 180 in 53.4 overs.

Bridgnorth then reached 183-5 in 44.4 overs as they stayed within two points of Sutton Coldfield, who held on to top spot with a 126-run win against Halesowen.

Whitney dismissed all of Tamworth's top four, as the home side collapsed having at one stage been a 145-3.

Shropshire skipper Ralph chipped in with four middle and lower-order wickets as Tamworth's innings subsided with the aid of two run-outs from Bridgnorth.

Ryan Lockley then top-scored in Bridgnorth's reply, making 47. Simon Gregory (30), David Exall (26) and Karl Quiney (21) all made useful runs for the visitors.

At the halfway stage in the season, Bridgnorth are well-placed to mount a promotion challenge after opening up a 19-point advantage over Saturday's opponents, who are currently third.

David Woollatt's new-ball burst of 6-60 could not save Shifnal from a 95-run defeat at Penkridge.

Woollatt, who also claimed a run-out, reduced Penkridge to 68-6 but Rana Hassan struck an unbeaten 131 in 160 balls to anchor a recovery for the hosts.

He shared in a 104-run stand for the seventh wicket with Tom Morris (33) that took the game away from Shifnal as Penkridge finally posted 233-8.

Shifnal's top order were blown away as they slumped to 17-3 and 44-7. And 87 in 80 balls from Chris Murrall could not save Tom Collins' side, who were dismissed for 138 in 32.1 overs.

A four-wicket burst from Vansh Bajaj secured Whitchurch a 39-run win against Kings Heath and moved them into the top half of the table.

Bajaj led the way as Kings Heath were dismissed for 142 chasing 182 for victory. Whitchurch won the toss and elected to bat but lost regular wickets as they were reduced to 96-4.

But Ijaz Yousuf top-scored with 47 to guide them towards a competitive total.

He came to the wicket with his side 127-5 and was the last man out, as Whitchurch were dismissed for 181 from 54.4 overs.

Wicketkeeper Andy Jones (38) and Yaqoob Yousuf (32) were the other key contributors with the bat for Maisam Hasnain Jaffri's side.

The skipper then took the new ball and helped reduce Kings Heath to 41-4 on his way to figures of 3-48.

And Bajaj then cleaned up the lower order as Kings Heath were dismissed in 44.3 overs.

Whitchurch moved to sixth in the table and now lie 13 points clear of the four-team relegation zone and 29 points behind joint leaders Stratford-upon-Avon and Cannock & Rugeley Hawks.

Worfield remain third from bottom and in the drop zone after they lost out by three wickets to Astwood Bank, who leapfrogged Nick Hudson's side.

That was despite a big-hitting 83 from opener Patrick Butler, whose innings included 15 fours and came from 109 balls.

Butler was the only Worfield batsman to pass 50 with Oliver Plank (34) the side's next highest scorer, as they were dismissed for 218 in 47.2 overs.

New-ball bowler Will Cook then claimed 4-50 for Worfield, but could not prevent Astwood Bank from reaching a winning 221-7 in 47 overs with opener Matthew Macdonald top-scoring with 63.

Astwood Bank's successful chase was aided by 30 extras, including 13 no balls from Worfield's bowlers.

Butler, James Parker and Gagandeep Singh chipped in with a wicket apiece, while Butler's all-round display also included two catches.