MALVERN suffered a shock four-wicket defeat at rockbottom Himley in their latest Worcestershire League Division Three outing.

Going into the clash, the hosts had failed to win a match all season, while Malvern were targeting a place in the divisional promotion places.

Batting first, Malvern made a solid start, before George Lacey departed for 15.

Once again, the cornerstone of the innings was provided by another excellent contribution from skipper Anthony Arnold, who looked set for a second consecutive hundred before falling for 87.

However, the lower order were not able to add anything significant and Malvern were bowled out for 176 all out, yet again failing to bat their 50 overs, which would later have repercussions in the Himley innings.

Himley’s innings was a stop-start affair with no batsmen ever really taking control and Malvern were continually in the game as they chipped away at the home side.

Wickets fell regularly, but Wall’s unbeaten 41 proved to be vital for Himley who finally reached their target in the fourth extra over they had received due to Malvern not having batted out their full allocation.

Malvern, as ever, bowled with spirit and enthusiasm, the wickets being shared evenly among the attack.

But it was another disappointing defeat for Malvern who travel to table-toppers Lye tomorrow.

  • Eastnor improved their position in Birmingham League Division Two with a winning draw at Harborne.

After being invited to bat, Eastnor scored steadily in the early stages with Atiq ur Rehman (58) and Andrew Fisher (33) leading the way.

But the later stages of the innings saw the rate step up dramatically with Shahid Ahmed (42 not out) and Jabran Khalid (17no) lashing 43 from the last four overs.

Early wickets for Shahid (2-33) and Mohammad Adeel (1-27) set the home side back.

And with spinners Atiq (0- 30 from 12 overs) and Jabran (4-35) applying the brakes still further, the home side concluded on 149-8.

  • Greg Leighton has returned to Bromyard after a short stint with Birmingham League and District League outfit Ombersley.

“It didn’t work out,” admitted Leighton. “I played for the first-team but didn’t really perform.

“I feel like I didn’t get much of a chance as I didn’t bowl that many overs and was low down the batting order, but at the same time I wasn’t producing the goods,” added Leighton, who studies agriculture at the University of Reading. “It’s nice to be back playing at Bromyard.”