ONLY two sides in the Cotswold Hills League have yet to record a win this summer and relegation would appear an odds-on certainty for Alcester and Ragley's senior side and Shipston's second string.

The former were in Premier Divi-sion action at London Road and were thwarted in their bid to break their duck by an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 44 between the experienced pairing of Neil Harper and Roger Wickson.

Their efforts steered Shipston to 200-6 in the 43rd over and a four-wicket win after Alcester and Rag-ley had totalled 199-9 with Dipple top scoring with 46 and helping Clark add 57 for the fifth wicket before another "old-timer" Dave Murphy removed the latter.

The win kept Shipston in fifth place but they moved level on points with Stratford Bards in the tussle for runners-up spot behind runaway leaders Exhall and Wix-ford.

Bards lost against Overbury who are now in third spot eight points adrift of Moreton-in-Marsh who overcame Tanworth.

Exhall, meanwhile, made it ten wins in 11 games after rattling up 231-3 against Twyning who replied gamely with 189-8. Simon Hollands continued his prolific season with the bat with 78, while Scott Car-michael was undefeated with 62 against his name at tea.

While Exhall boast a 53-point advantage, Shipston's second team are 62 points adrift of Norton Lindsey in Division Two.

Both sides lost last weekend in vastly differing circumstances with Shipston being shot out for 98 in reply to the 219-9 posted by Cath-erine-de-Barnes.

Norton Lindsey, though, must have harboured victory hopes when they went into tea leaving Elmley Castle to score 257 for victory - a target they passed for the loss of five wickets with Cawson hitting a ton.

Exhall's second team featured in another high-scoring contest in the same section but they fell 15 runs short of overhauling Chipping Campden's 252-8.

Bretforton were another side to easily pass 200 and their 45-over total of 240-6, in which Barber 64 and Heyneke 66 were the chief contributors, proved too many for Wellesbourne, whose reply of 183 sees them drop down to third in the first division with their conquerors now second just two points adrift of Winchcombe.

The new leaders were comfortable seven-wicket winners over Ashton thanks to 103 from Huggett, while bottom two Bidford and Stratford both lost but the eight points collected helped their cause as Warwick CC Staff could only pick up a solitary point in a ten-wicket reverse at Norton Lindsey.

Fladbury and Cookhill in Divisions Five and Six respectively are two more sides holding healthy leads at the summit.

The latter saw their advantage cut despite 105 not out from Harris after slipping to a first defeat of the campaign following a 32-run loss at Bretforton for whom Keith Mitchell scored 109.

Blockley, for whom opener Shaun Williams carried his bat for 138, moved within 28 points after an emphatic win over Claverdon but there was a setback for Broadway who became only Welford's second victims of the summer.

Fladbury have a 29-point cushion at the top of Division Five after easily accounting for Henley's second string, while Ashorne made second spot their own after a six-wicket triumph at Ashton.

Woodbourne and temple Grafton have almost wrapped up the Div-ision Four promotion race but the title is still up for grabs with only seven points between the top two.

There are new leaders in Division following Long Itchington's amazing fourth straight defeat.

Leamington have taken over top spot but only 13 points separate the top trio with third-placed Welles-bourne waiting for the leading pair to slip up.