KIDDERMINSTER Victoria CC made a losing start to the Birmingham and District League Premier Division with a six-wicket loss to Knowle and Dorridge on Saturday.

The Walshes Meadow outfit struggled on a wet wicket as Knowle’s bowlers ruled the day.

After a rain delay, KVCC were invited to bat but struggled to forge a telling partnership on a bowler-friendly surface.

The score had reached 22 when opener Craig Wood paid the price for not standing his ground.

Matt Pardoe had found his shot diverted by a bowler onto his fellow opener's unprotected wicket.

Pardoe and Neil Pinner took the score to 51 but Pardoe, having scored 30, was caught by Alec Baker off the bowling of Neil Coley.

Only five more runs had been added when Attik Chishti struck, when he had Pinner caught by Will Mottram for 11 runs.

The wickets continued to tumble and James Ralph only scored five before being caught by David Smith off Chishti's bowling.

With the score at 60 runs, KVCC were struggling but a 69 partnership forged by captain Jonathan Wright and Andrew Kimberlin got them on track.

Wright went onto the attack and was out for 52, caught by Richard Johnson and bowled by Luke Parker, hitting three boundaries and four sixes in the process.

Richard Kimberlin was caught by Tom McNeilly and bowled by Chishti for a first ball duck and he was followed by Mark Mansell (8) who was also bowled by Parker.

Despite the wickets still tumbling, Andrew Kimberlin continued to add runs, scoring 29 off 47 balls during a determined 80 minute spell, before he was finally run out as KVCC ended their innings on 158-8 in a reduced 40 overs.

With only four runs per over needed to secure victory, Knowle and Dorridge made light work of their task, with Parker (49), Johnson (41) and Chishti (33) guiding them to 160-4.

Wright (2-25) and Pardoe (2-27) were the wicket-takers, but all of KVCC's bowlers performed reasonably well, with the highlight of the innings was the superb catch on the boundary by John Rowan.