A HUNDRED from Alex Hepburn helped Barnards Green move up to second in Division One of the Birmingham League as they notched up 15 points in their draw at Shifnal.
Hepburn scored 102 off only 123 balls as Green ended their 55 overs on 234-6, but a rain interruption for just under an hour meant they couldn’t claim an outright victory.
After captain Andy Ford won the toss and chose to bat first, openers Adam Dovey and George Rhodes set a good foundation for the innings with a partnership of 38.
When Dovey was dismissed for 11, Shifnal almost added another as Hepburn edged his first ball through the slips. He and Rhodes then put on 38 before the latter was bowled by overseas spinner Muhamed Ayub for 43.
A flurry of runs from Andrew Curtis took the visitors past 100 as the debutant and Hepburn combined to rack up 56 more runs.
Ayub claimed two further scalps as Curtis and Jamie Tapper fell victim to the spinner, but skipper Ford and Hepburn steadied the ship with some aggressive batting before Ford was caught.
After securing his century, Hepburn was clean bowled in the final over as Green set the hosts a target of 235 to win.
The visitors started well in the field as Rishe Umasuthan took a wicket in the first over, while Hepburn was causing Simon Gregory and George Collins problems.
But when the rain came down, Green’s chance of racking up another league victory were dealt a blow. However, they still had the opportunity to claim a winning draw if they prevented Shifnal from making more than 130 runs.
Shifnal’s batsmen started more confidently after the break as they hit boundaries. But a fine piece of fielding by Tapper who knocked down the stumps with a direct hit before Gregory could make ground.
Ford then came to the fore as he had Collins caught by Dovey before the Green’s skipper claimed a good catch at slip to dismiss Graeme Cessford.
Dovey grabbed his second wicket and Rhodes took another as Shifnal finished on 125-6, which gave Green 10 points for the winning draw plus their bonus points.