SOLIHULL Blossomfield slipped to their first defeat of 2016 after losing to promotion rivals Moseley Ashfield by 83 runs.
Despite their heavy loss, Bloss still remain 17 points clear of second place Ashfield at the half-way point of the season.
Visitors Solihull won the toss and with some rain around they decided to bowl first.
Openers Nathan Myers & Harvey Satterthwaite who took three wickets apiece, had the hosts on the back foot from the word go and at 31 for 5 the ball was firmly in Bloss’ court.
However, the fifth wicket saw Richard Brown arrive at the crease and his 110 very quickly shifted the momentum in Ashfields favour and helped the hosts reach a more than respectable 196 all out.
Bloss had 54 overs to reach their victory target but some excellent new ball bowling from Noel Hall & Ian Carey quickly saw Bloss retreat into defence mode. Wickets fell at regular intervals around Richard Weaver (21) who batted for an astounding 43 overs but it did seem as though Bloss would hang on for a losing draw until Hall returned to end his long stay at the crease.
Ashfields hero with the bat Brown was then thrown the ball. He removed two of the Blossomfield tail to win the match for his side, the final wicket coming with only 7 balls remaining in the match to secure a potentially pivotal 24 points for the home side.
Bloss will aim to bounce back from this rare slip up when they host Hunningham on Widney Lane this Saturday.
