FOLLOWING a most disappointing batting collapse Bewdley went down to rivals Belbroughton by 20 runs in Worcestershire County League Division One.

Bewdley elected to bowl first on a very damp pitch, and their rivals found runs hard to come by.

Andy Platt bowled his 10 overs for a mere 13 runs, and Martyn Carr (3-55), Jack Mills (2-30) and particularly Robert Crane (2-28) also bowled well.

However, Belbroughton showed no inclination to throw their wickets away, and although their top score was only 34, their final total of 196 looked competitive.

In reply, Bewdley lost an early wicket, but then a fine partnership between Connor Franklin (58) and Dan Platt (31) took them to 108-1 after 25 overs.

Things then started to go wrong, batsmen came and went, Belbroughton caught well, and an impregnable position turned into a procession.

The only bright spot was a return to form from Robert Combes who followed a fine wicket-keeping display with a breezy 27. Bewdley, who are fourth from bottom, entertain Cookley on Saturday.

In Division Two, Chaddesley Corbett were frustrated when their clash against Bromyard was rained off. That meant leaders Redditch extended their lead over the second-placed side to 27 points.

Chaddesley are at home to Evesham on Saturday (noon start).