HEREFORDSHIRE took a step nearer the quarter-finals of the ECB 38 County Cup after brushing aside Wales by 118 runs at Luctonians for their third straight win in the competition on Sunday.

They head Group 4 by a good margin and a victory in their final pool match against Warwickshire Board on July 9 would ensure progression to the next round.

Only Shropshire can catch the county, but they would have to rely on a large victory over Wales and a heavy Herefordshire defeat to have even a chance of bettering the leaders on run rate.

Harshad Patel led Herefordshire to their 118-run triumph in a result that erased memories of a Welsh victory at the same stage last season. He crafted a captain's innings of 98, including nine fours, in a huge total of 304-6 from 50 overs.

He shared an opening stand of 58 with Rob Hughes, who made eight, and then Ravi Nagra hit 37 and combined with his skipper to push the score along to 123.

Chris Boroughs followed Nagra back to the pavilion for just eight, but ex-Glamorgan wicket-keeper Ismail Dawood kept the score charging onwards with 59.

Patel departed at 202-4, which left Dawood and Nathan Round (45) to smash a further 98 runs before they were dismissed in the final over.

In reply, Wales quickly fell behind their stiff target of over six an over, steadily losing wickets before succumbing in the 47th over at 186.

Opener Ryan Sylvester managed 22, while other top-order batsmen Mike Newbold and James Langworth each hit 16, but Paul Humphries and Aamir Farooque soon set about demolishing the Welsh resistance.

Humphries took the scalps of Sylvester and Newbold, while spinner Farooque more than compensated for the loss of young spin/seam bowler John Shaw, forced out with a knee injury.

He had Langworth caught behind by Dawood and clean bowled both Roger Clitheroe and Ian Bird to finish with 3-33 from 10 overs.

However, the Welsh tail still had life with resistance from number eight Lyndon Jones, who top scored with an unbeaten 34.

Colin Metson (22) also dug in but he was caught by Farooque and became Humphries' third victim.

Humphries finished with 3-43 from his 10 overs and then completed the win when he caught last man Davies off the bowling of Luctonians' Karl Pearson.

l Seam bowler Kevin Cooper will make his first Minor Counties Championship start of the season for Herefordshire against Devon at Kington on Sunday and Monday. Also hoping to be fit is John Shaw, but seam bowler James Brinkley is unavailable.

Herefordshire (from): Harshad Patel, Kevin Cooper, Ravi Nagra, Chris Boroughs, Ismail Dawood, Nathan Round, John Shaw, Paul Humphries, Karl Pearson, Rob Hughes, Aamir Farooque, Neeraj Prabhu.