HIMLEY have slipped to fourth in the Birmingham Premier League after a third successive defeat at Kidderminster.

Batting first in an attempt to get 24 points, Himley lost an early wicket when Chris Tranter (17) was caught by James Ralph, bowled Richard Kimberlin.

A stand of 105 between Greg Wright and Ben Smith looked to be setting Himley up for a big total, but with Smith on 49, Kimberlin struck again, with Neil Pinner taking an excellent catch.

Three wickets then fell for the addition of just two runs. Oliver Wright (0) became Kimberlin’s second scalp when out leg before, and Jamie Harris (1) was out to a similar decision, bowled by Gareth Williams.

At 134-5, it needed some good batting for Himley to get a big score. Unfortunately, Greg Wright, having reached 80, was out to another good catch by Ralph.

The Himley score stood at 167-6 but once again there was another batting collapse, as they were eventually bowled out for 176.

KVCC opened their innings with Matt Pardoe and Craig Wood (44) and they put on 81 before being parted by Shafiq Ahmed.

A second wicket fell with only nine more runs added. The Richard Jones-Ahmed partnership dismissed Neil Pinner for 4.

When the hosts reached 114, two further wickets fell. Pardoe having scored 49 (eight fours), was caught by keeper Dhillon bowled Dan Smith. Then James Ralph (12) gave Ahmed his third wicket with Ben Smith taking the catch.

Andrew Kimberlin and Zac Turley steadied the ship for the hosts and took the score to 160. Despite the loss of two more wickets - Himley could not save the game.