RYAN BLAKEMORE’S patient half-century was not enough to rescue struggling Astwood Bank from defeat to Water Orton.
Blakemore hit 54 off 121 balls but late order pair Andrew Alexander (18) and Andrzej Jagielski (15) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures.
Chasing Water Orton’s 216-9, Bank were all out for 117 in the 36th over.
The result leaves Bank third from bottom in Birmingham League Division Three and they will be looking to find their form when they travel to Fordhouses on Saturday.
Vivian Paver top scored with 92 for Water Orton as his partnerships with Stephen Bevan and Gary Crouch were worth 85 runs and 55 runs for the third and fourth wickets respectively.
Grant Roscorla continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over with 44 off 46 balls as the hosts reached 216-9.
Jagielski (3-39) and Jon Summers (3-56) battled to stem the flow of runs while Tom Harris dismissed both openers as he ended with 2-65.
In reply, Bank had a positive start with 24 being put on for the first wicket before Matt MacDonald fell for eight.
However, wickets continued to tumble, as only Blakemore managed to sustain his innings into a meaningful score.
From 47-5, Blakemore and Alexander hinted at a recovery to take the score to 83, but Paver dismissed both as he finished with 5-41 off his 17 overs.
