Rob Foster stars with the bat as Shrewsbury edge to victory

The London Road outfit looked destined for a third straight Premier One defeat when they slumped to 71-7 after winning the toss and choosing to bat, visiting seamer Matt Davison ripping through the top order on his way to figures of 6-45.

But Rob Foster stood firm to compile 83 from 107 balls and help his team eventually reach 225, Tom Winchester (28) and Lewis Evans (23) providing valuable lower-order contributions.

Harry Darley then removed Leamington opener Harrison Smith for a golden duck but Jamie Treasure (56) and Luke De Souza (52) dragged momentum back the way of the visitors by putting on 109 for the second wicket.

At 154-2 there only looked like being one winner but when Jean-Pierre Erasmus removed De Souza the scoring dried up. Davison almost added a final twist with 25 from just 12 balls but it was not enough as Leamington ended on 222-7.

Shifnal suffered their first defeat of the season as they went down by five wickets at Moseley.

Skipper Chris Murrall’s 50 and 41 from Shaun Lorimer helped rescue an innings which was faltering badly when the visitors sat on 108-6, having chosen to bat first.

But their total of 206-9 still proved insufficient, Abraash Khan hitting 81 from 90 balls as Moseley reached the target with three overs to spare.

In Division Two, Bridgnorth also saw their perfect start to the season ended by a 32-run defeat at Bromsgrove.

The home side’s imposing total of 272-5 was set up by an opening century stand between Lewis Cordes (47) and Jayden Levitt (47), before Alex Milton’s unbeaten 90 from 93 balls added further impetus.

Opener Ryan Lockley’s 80 laid the foundation for what could have been a successful chase with Mike Hill (40) and Matt Martin (30) also making contributions at the top of the order.

But from 176-2, the departures of Hill and Lockley in quick succession halted momentum and the visitors were eventually all out for 240.

Wem had a day to forget as they were beaten by 131 runs at early season pacesetters Harborne.

Alex Ollerenshaw and Andrew Harrison took three wickets apiece for the visitors but runs flowed steadily for the hosts, who finished on 294-9, Tejas Weggle scoring 111.

The target always looked like being beyond Wem, who were spared a heavier defeat thanks to Ollerenshaw (61 from 45 balls) putting on 68 for the final wicket with James Astley.

Worfield’s search for a first win of the season continues after they went down by 78 runs at home to Dorridge.

Two wickets each for Will Weir and Matthew Rees couldn’t prevent the visitors from reaching 237-7.

In reply, Basit Zaman top scored with 33 as Worfield were bowled out for 159.