DESPITE a good fight-back with both bat and ball, Kington slipped to a narrow two-wicket defeat away to Wolverhampton-based opponents Fordhouses.

This was their sixth defeat of the season in the Birmingham and District Premier League Division 2 (West) and was made all the worse as bottom-team Wheaton Aston recorded their first win of the campaign to overtake them.

Kington batted first and were soon in trouble against fast bowler Imran Jamshed. Possessing a very quick yorker in his repertoire, he accounted for four of the top five, including three clean bowled and, with Steve Caple (15) falling to Fenton, the visitors were in deep trouble at 60-5.

At this point Steve Williams was joined by Edward Price and the pair staged a partial recovery to take the score to 92 before Williams (21) was stumped off the bowling of Chapman.

Roger Chilman (40) then helped Price to build a competitive total with a stand of 62 before succumbing to Jamshed. After Price was run out for 49, Adam Herbert (13 no) added useful runs at the end of the innings. They were all out in the final over for 185, with Jamshed including six clean bowled victims in his final tally of 7-51.

Consistent batting down the order put the Staffordshire side in a strong position and at 179-4 they looked to be strolling to a comfortable victory.

Dwayne Smith and Chris Powell then produced a dramatic collapse, taking four wickets for the addition of just one run. But Jamshed was not about to see his good work with the ball undone and steered his side home without further loss. Smith finished with 3-41 and Chris Powell, 4-65, with his leg-spinners.