COUNTIES CRICKET Western Division round-up July 28, 2026
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- Created on Tuesday, 28 July 2026 19:10
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 28 July 2026 19:10
- Published on Tuesday, 28 July 2026 19:10
- Written by PAUL BOLTON Cricket Correspondent
Oxfordshire seamer Jack Warner claimed a five wicket haul on his Championship debut to finish with impressive match figures of nine for 66 to dismiss Devon for 188.
But Warner was trumped by Thorverton seamer George Daldorph who bowled Devon to victory with five for 34 in just his second Championship match.
Daldorph bowled Amorgh Karpe, who made 99 in the first innings, with the first ball of Oxfordshire’s second innings when they set off in pursuit of a target of 210.
Julian Laird got Oxfordshire back on track but the innings quickly unravelled after he was bowled by slow left-armer Callum Harvey for 26. Daldorph then accounted for George Tait, Sravan Konidena and Max Mannering in the space of ten balls as Oxfordshire slipped from 79 for four to 81 for eight.
Luke Hayes delayed the inevitable before he was last man out for 37 but Devon banked another win to go 23 points clear at the top of the division although they have played one more game than both Wiltshire and Berkshire.
Wiltshire marked their return to Western Division One after a five-year absence by beating Herefordshire by 233 runs at Eastnor.
Half centuries from Luke Powell (89) and Ben Chapman-Lilley (74) made Wiltshire wait for victory but seamer Sam Freestone, who finished with four for 76, struck a decisive blow when he had Chapman LBW and broke a stubborn fifth wicket partnership of 55 with Luke Tulacz.
Powell provided the entertainment with five sixes and ten fours in his breezy 72-ball innings before he was last out, trying to sweep Charan Chahal for another six as Herefordshire, like Oxfordshire, suffered a second successive defeat.
Shropshire secured their first Championship victory in two years but were made to work hard for their six wickets success by Wales NC on the final day at Bridgnorth in Western Division Two.
A maiden Championship century from Rhodri Lewis and a composed career-best 89 from former Surrey all-rounder Luke Griffiths made Shropshire wait until almost lunch for the first of the five wickets they needed to wrap up Wales’ second innings.
Roman Walker made the breakthrough and broke a sixth wicket partnership of 146 when Griffiths popped a return catch and Alex Russell quickly followed. But Wales’ captain Cameron Herring, batting down the order because of a gashed had sustained fielding, gave Lewis further valuable support before last man Matthew Marriott struck a quickfire 26 to stretch the innings to half an hour before tea.
Shropshire were left to chase 170 in a minimum of 47 overs but they needed only 28 of them with Joe Johnson (64) and Seb Scott (58 not out from 28 balls) adding 51 for the fourth wicket.
Johnson, who launched the chase by pulling seamer Jonathan Davies for successive huge sixes, is now set to join Sussex on a short-term contract for the remainder of their Metro Bank Cup campaign.
Dorset and Cheshire fought out a tense draw in the other Western Division Two match at Wimborne.
Cheshire captain David Wainwright led a solid second innings batting display with an unbeaten half-century with supporting innings from Luke McCoy (46), Sam Perry (41) and Liam Clorley (35).
Wainwright’s declaration set Dorset a stiff target of 344 from what would have been 49 overs which they showed little interest in pursuing.
But Cheshire briefly glimpsed victory when Dorset slipped from 67 for two to 74 for five following the loss of Dylan Church for 40. But Ed Bartlett and Mo Abbas blocked out seven consecutive maidens at the start of the final hour to close the door on Cheshire.
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