Ledbury II 169-4, Hereford City 126 all out.

A CAREER-best bowling performance of 5-18 by young pace bowler Simon Ritchie was enough to see Ledbury to victory by 43 runs in their Marches Division Four home clash with Hereford City.

Chasing 169, the Herefordians were well placed at the second drinks interval with their captain Tony Pennicooke (46) going well. However, in his second spell, Ritchie lured Pennicooke into driving to mid-on where he was superbly caught low down by Paddy Merryman. He then swiftly bowled Ram with a slower ball before taking the last wicket and achieving his first five-wicket haul in senior cricket.

The ever-reliable Clive Jones chipped in with a wicket, Merryman claimed his first senior wicket and Steve Evans mixed it up to and was amongst the wickets as Herefordians scored 126.

Earlier, Ledbury had won the toss on the sultry afternoon and accumulated a competitive 169-4 on the slow wicket with Rob Yeoman scoring 59 not out and Steve Evans 40.