BEWDLEY moved up to second in Worcestershire Division One after seeing off Belbroughton.

Belbroughton elected to bat, but were soon ruing this decision as Andy Platt and Joe Lucas, bowling with great control, reduced them to 60-6.

Lucas bowled his 17 overs unchanged and finished with 3-51, while Platt d was rewarded with 3-31 for his tight bowling.

Olly Hawker (48) batted well, but Jack Mills, having tucked into Colwall’s top order the previous week, feasted on Belbroughton’s tail, finishing with 4-23.

Bewdley’s catching and fielding were excellent throughout, with captain Matt Cowdery in particularly agile form behind the stumps.

A target of 130 seemed to be routine, but after the early loss of both openers Bewdley were indebted to debutant Adam Groves’s gutsy 33, and another decisive contribution of 48 from Rob Combes.

Combes fell at 94, and Gareth Lewis and the prolific Mike Harris went cheaply, but Bewdley got over the line without too many alarms. Redditch are the visitors to Lower Park on Saturday.