Wolves bowlers are let down by batsmen

James Hammond’s side skittled the table-toppers for 144 – thanks mainly to seamer Aaron Patel’s 7-62 – but then could not get to grips with the bat as they were bowled out for 70 in reply.

Only Adam Lawley 933) and Tom Fell (14) reached double figures as Wolverhampton slipped to second-bottom.

West Bromwich-Dartmouth lost ground on Shrewsbury after being held to a winning draw by Kenilworth Wardens.

Jay Parmar suffered the agony of being bowled on 99 in their innings of 273-9, but Wardens clung on at 169-6, despite Kasir Shah’s 4-28.

Smethwick were three-wicket winners at Dorridge, with Mohammed Sheikh (5-36) and Waqar Saleem (80) the star men, while Walsall suffered a three-wicket defeat against Knowle & Dorridge.

Himley slipped off the top of the First Division after a losing draw at Bridgnorth, while Kidderminster lost to Shifnal by six wickets, despite the best efforts of Ben Twohig (67).

Opener Ed Kilbee’s 145 helped Halesowen to a 78-run win over Bromsgrove, with Eddie Rhodes, Dylan Ross-Watt and Charles Hartley taking three wickets each.

Five wickets from David Hemming helped Wombourne jump to the top of the Second Division with a win over Sutton Coldfield by 144 runs.

Will Cook (59), Alexander Roy (56) and Daniel Bassett (53) all scored half-centuries.

There were also wins for Cannock & Rugeley Hawks and Fordhouses – at Astwood Bank and Pershore, respectively.

Valeed Butt struck 51 for Hawks, while Steven Sandhu (54) and Sanjay Ramaswamy (51) starred for Fordhouses.

There were defeats for Streetly – bowled out for 56 by Coventry NW – and Penkridge – away at Walmley.

Stourbridge kept the pressure up on leaders Rugby with a five-wicket win at Old Hill, with Daniel Such taking 6-20.

Pelsall bowled Old Elizabethans out for 78 on their way to an eight-wicket win, Todd Henderson taking 7-35.

However, Milford Hall and Lichfield both suffered losses.