A FINE innings from opener Sam Edwards allowed Ludlow to secure a morale boosting 53 run win over Cound.

After being put into bat, Edwards soon set about the home attack with some excellent hitting bringing him 13 fours. However he ultimately fell for 98, just two runs short of his century.

He was removed by the pick of the Cound bowlers in Iwan Morgan who returned figures of 6 for 37.

The fact that the second highest scorer for Ludlow was extras (38) showed what a difficult day it was for the home attack.

Wicket keeper Gareth Parker caught the eye with a quickfire 25 before he too was removed by Morgan, as Ludlow set an imposing total of 210.

Cound captain Farrell Waters started well and enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Jack Case with the duo scoring 46 and 29 respectively. But when they fell there was little resistance. Four wickets for Joe Williams saw Cound restricted to 157 all out in 41 overs.

Ludlow 2nds couldn’t replicate the victory as they took on Cound 2nds, falling to a comprehensive defeat. They finished on 165 all out with William Wood scoring a fine 58, but failed to take a single wicket as Cound openers Martin Ruff and Greg Lawrence reached the total themselves in just over 25 overs.

Ludlow 3rds also suffered a heavy defeat as they lost by 117 runs away at Montgomery. Andrew Barker top scored for the home side with 57, with the pick of the Ludlow bowlers Adam Bowen with 4 for 45.

And it was also a loss for Ludlow 4ths who went down by 134 runs at Bomere Heath.