COOKLEY lost their place at the top of the Worcestershire County League with a draw at Bewdley.

Bewdley had the better of a low-scoring draw on a rain-affected Lower Park pitch. The game was initially reduced to 46 overs a side, and with further rain threatening Cookley elected to field.

Run scoring was very difficult, and Cookley's bowlers gave little away, but Paul Beard in his first appearance of the season dug in for an invaluable 28.

Useful contributions also came from Rob Combes (24) and Rob Crane (20), and Dan Platt's 23 not out helped Bewdley to 140-9 in their 46 overs.

Gary Mills (3-45) and Danny Soley (3-17) were the pick of the bowlers.

Cookley's innings was reduced to 24 overs, and while reaching 141 for victory seemed out of the question, the winning draw target of 77 was well within reach. But Cookley's batsmen found life even more difficult than Bewdley's had, and Bewdley's bowling attack of Josh Freestone, Luke Groves, and Jack Mills all conceded less than three an over.

Paul Thomas raised Cookley's hopes with a steady 28, but wickets fell regularly, and in the end Cookley, at 65-8, were content to settle for a losing draw. Mills finished with outstanding figures of 6-20, but equal credit must go to the other two bowlers.

Bewdley entertain Droitwich on Saturday, and then have a National Village Knockout match against Exhall & Wixford on Sunday.

Cookley will look to hit back when they host Burghill, Tillington and Weobley.