Kobe clobbers 150 to help Dartmouth edge a thriller

The young Australian’s unbeaten 150 from 141 balls helped Dartmouth chase down a challenging target of 236 with four balls to spare, earning a victory which helped them pull away from the danger zone in Birmingham League Division Two.

Herft held his nerve after the fall of four wickets for just three runs, which saw West Bromwich fall from 177-4 to 180-8, appeared to have tilted the match in Lichfield’s favour.

Skipper Ian Stevenson finished unbeaten on six from 31 balls as Herft kept the score moving, cracking the final two balls for four to seal victory.

While Dartmouth celebrated, Walsall remain in trouble after being bowled out for just 89 chasing 154 at third-placed Bromsgrove.

Wolverhampton remain top of Division Two after a crushing eight-wicket win at home to struggling Wem.

The visitors were bowled out for just 44 at Danescourt as Worcestershire seamer Adam Finish claimed 4-14 and Aqab Ali and Brad Fallon three wickets apiece. Despite losing Warrick Fynn and Tom Fell in the chase, Wolverhampton needed only 99 balls to reach the target.

Despite the win, they remain only five points ahead of second-placed Harborne and just six clear of Bromsgrove.

Himley sit fourth, far from out of the picture, after a six-wicket win away at Bridgnorth. Matt Jeavons’ five wicket haul helped dismiss the hosts for just 133, James Lunn also claiming three victims.

Opener Callum Lea then struck 46 to keep Himley’s chase moving, with skipper Oliver Westbury also contributing a valuable 28 as the target was reached inside 34 overs.

An impressive 80 from Kadeer Ali helped Smethwick claim a winning draw against Halesowen and extend their lead at the top of the Division One.

Ali shared 119 with skipper Rawait Khan for the fourth wicket after Smethwick, put into bat by their visitors at Broomfield, had been reduced to 32-3.

Khan finished unbeaten on 75 as his side compiled 228-5 from their 55 overs, before a downpour of rain reduced Halesowen’s reply to 31 overs.

Set 166 for the winning draw, the 11th-placed visitors made a fine fist of it and needed 13 from the final two overs with Simon Gregory and Wes Griffiths at the crease.

But Gregory was bowled by Gurinder Singh for 37 with Yasir Ali then dismissing James Rudge and running out Harry Kitchen in the final over as Halesowen fell five runs short on 161-8.

They could at least take heart in becoming the first team this season to deny Smethwick outright victory, with the home side now 22 points clear of Barnt Green at the top of Division One after the latter could only manage a losing draw at home to Kidderminster.

The frustration for the latter was a failure to not claim more than 13 points from their Worcestershire rivals.

In a low-scoring contest, Kidderminster skipper Matt Pardoe’s 38 helped his team post 137 after being put into bat, Barnt Green seamer Andrew Sutton finishing with figures of 5-33.

It was a total which looked more than sufficient when the hosts were reduced to 87-9 thanks to a brilliant spell from Liam Weston, who claimed superb figures of 6-28.

But Sutton and No.11 Matt Hines promptly dug in to survive the final 18.4 overs and earn their team a losing draw.