Cannock and Rugeley skipper Aqil Ahmed was left bemoaning a middle order collapse as his side failed to finish off new leaders Beacon.

After restricting Beacon to 234-9 on a batsman-friendly surface, Ahmed had to be content with a losing draw as C & R collapsed from 190-3 to 223-9.

Ashley Perry top-scored with 63, Ahmed hit 60 and Mark Humphries 58 but their form didn’t rub off on the lower order, much to Ahmed’s disappointment.

The C & R skipper said: “We could have had 20 points, because when you are 190-3 you expect to get 40 runs in 12 overs.”

Todd Henderson top-scored with 91 for Beacon, with Martin Weston claiming three wickets for C&R and Ahmed and Adam Birch both taking two.

Henderson capped a superb all-round display by bagging five wickets to undermine their reply.

The winning draw saw Beacon climb back into pole position, with skipper Craig Jones claiming the next two weeks will shape the season.

They host third-placed Brewood this weekend, before facing second-placed Pelsall a week later.

He said: “We’ve played the lower teams and, no disrespect to them, when we play Brewood and Pelsall they will shape how the season is going to go.”