Birmingham League: Worfield on the brink after Shifnal defeat

Worfield stand on the brink of being relegated from the Birmingham League following Shropshire derby defeat at Shifnal.

The six-wicket loss leaves them 54 points of safety with just three Division Two fixtures remaining and their fate is likely to be sealed this weekend.

Skipper Ross Aucott struck an impressive century to give his team a chance of claiming just their third win of the summer but the home side, who still have a mathematical chance of promotion, ultimately proved too strong.

After Worfield had been put in to bat, Aucott scored precisely 100 from 103 balls as he and Will Cook (63 from 50 balls) put on a century stand for the fifth wicket which had been wobbling at 82-4.

Yet when both departed in quick succession momentum was lost and the final total of 250-9 from 50 overs proved below par.

Shifnal opener Joe Johnson took a big chunk out of the chase when he hit seven sixes on route to scoring 133 from just 103 balls, before an unbeaten half century from Rahul Kaushal saw the hosts over the line with seven overs to spare.

Victory left them in fifth place, 31 points behind a second-placed Berkswell team who are struggling down the stretch.

Worfield know even winning their final three fixtures will not be enough to avoid the drop. They host Kidderminster on Saturday, with Shifnal going to Old Hill.

In Division One, Zimbabwe seamer Dustin Melton continued his excellent form to help Shrewsbury to a comfortable six-wicket win over already relegated Moseley.

Melton finished with superb figures of 5-19 after tearing through the top order to leave the home side 41-5.

The one member of the top six he didn’t remove, Ali Awan, went on to score 93 but Moseley’s total of 168 never looked like a winning one.

Shrewsbury opener George Hargrave helped break the back of the chase by sharing in a second-wicket stand of 96 with Rhodri Evans (50).

Hargrave finished unbeaten on 66 as the visitors claimed victory with more than 20 overs to spare.