MARTLEY decamped to Fladbury with the Jewry Field hosting the annual village show and dodged the showers to pick up 17 points against Kidderminster thirds.

The visitors won the toss in Worcestershire League Division Four and asked Martley to bat on a dry, worn wicket.

Despite some uneven bounce, they were sitting pretty at 158-2 off 38 overs thanks to a season’s-best from David Soothill (80).

Richard Birchley (32) and Alexander Basford (31) provided good support but Martley subsided to 188-8, with batsmen discovering the full toss can be a cunning ball.

But with a wag from the tail, Martley mustered 227-9 to gain maximum batting points.

Looking to bowl the visitors out on the wearing pitch, Martley had to wait until the score reached 50 when a fine diving catch from Basford broke through.

The run flow was reduced to a trickle as wickets were whittled out with the only exciting moment coming off the last ball with four required to get more points.

Dan Johnson bowled a dot ball, ensuring a 17-point winning draw haul from a low-key game with Kidderminster closing on 165-7.

Mark Johnson (2-44) and Pete Gardner (2-28) were the pick of the Martley bowlers.

Martley are 46 points clear of third place with four games of the season left to play.

The seconds’ game with Kidderminster fourths was abandoned without a ball being bowled.