One feature of a so far low-scoring game this week at Lord's was Worcestershire’s teenage spinner Josh Baker yesterday claiming his maiden first-class half-century.

It turns out that not only is this the 18-year-old Worcestershire-born Malvern College pupil's first game at the home of cricket, he had never actually been as a spectator either.

“I’ve never been to Lord’s before,” Baker told BBC Hereford & Worcester. “So it’s really nice to get a first-class fifty and do it here, of all places."

Image source, Rex Features

After finishing 11 not out overnight on Sunday, he went on to finish unbeaten on 61. And that was a massive improvement on the total of 18 he had managed in his previous four innings . . . 12*, 5, 0, 1.

It improved his career average from 6.00 to 26.33 in one knock!

“I was trying to play positively and be proactive after a couple of weeks of getting ducks and stuff," added Baker, who made his Pears debut shortly after leaving school in June, after sitting his A levels. "So I changed it up a bit.”

Former conjoined twins from Birmingham have launched a fundraiser for the children's hospital that carried out surgery to separate them.

Image source, The Mowatt Family

The operation on three-month-old Sanchia and Eman Mowatt took place at Birmingham Children's Hospital in 2001 - the first time such a procedure had been carried out in the UK.

The pair celebrated their 20th birthday yesterday and, along with sister Damaris, 19, have embarked on a fundraising scheme aiming to raise £10,000 by December.

Image source, The Mowatt Family

"We left the children's part of the NHS two years ago now, but we didn't get to say goodbye because of the pandemic, so we were 'how are we going to say thank you'? So then we came up with fundraising," said Eman.

The sisters have been holding online "singathons" to help raise money for the physiotherapy and the urology departments.

Mobile recycling centres recently launched in Birmingham have collected more than 118 tonnes of waste.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Two of four planned projects have been operating since mid-July and comprise three vehicles - one for recycling, another for items for landfill and a van for furniture.

Rubbish collected includes 5.5 tonnes of paper and card as well as 2.7 tonnes of textiles, said the city council.

A cardiac surgeon's specialist operating glasses were snatched from his car outside the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on Saturday.

Stephen Rooney's "loupes" are necessary for him to perform life-saving surgery, says West Midlands Police.

The glasses are custom-designed for him to carry out intricate heart procedures and are of no use to anyone else, the force adds.

It has launched an appeal to find them.

They have a black frame with Mr Rooney's name engraved in the arms and were in a black and aluminium box when they were taken.

With heavy rainfall expected across the West Midlands, there's the chance of localised flooding later, the Met Office is warning.

Travel could be disrupted as rain moves northeastwards across much of the country, with thunder also expected.

Some places could see up to 40mm of rain, and intense rain of up to 70mm possible in a few places.

A yellow warning, external is in place until the end of the day.

The company is told to take action to control vermin and prevent landfill gas outside its boundary.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

It will be a wet day with heavy rain at times and highs of 17°C (63°F).

Police say the man is suspected of being a high-ranking member of a people-smuggling network.

Division Two leaders Essex continue their dominance of Surrey while Durham's lower order set landmarks at Northants.

Jessica Crane enters her plea following the death of Janet Mason whose body was discovered in March.

Yorkshire lose England's Dawid Malan late on as their low-scoring contest with Warwickshire swings the Bears' way at Headingley.

Peter Corr says he was saved by "guardian angels" after suffering a cardiac arrest while running.

Small businesses and social enterprises in Telford and Wrekin are going to be offered a chance to get grants to help them recover from the pandemic.

The council said, external applicants will have to show they have been or continue to be badly affected by Covid-19 and the restrictions around it.

Grants will range from £2,000 to £10,000 with more details to be released on Tuesday and applications opening a week later.

The council said applications will be assessed on a "first come, first served basis".

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A trial lane closure planned for next month outside Shrewsbury railway station has been postponed.

Shropshire Council had intended to bring in the temporary measure in a bid to combat pollution. The authority now says it needs more time to weigh up the benefits and potential impacts of the scheme.

The right-hand lane closure was designed to reduce the amount of traffic pollution reaching nearby properties and was set to be the first intervention trialled as part of a plan in the Shrewsbury Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) to cut overall nitrogen dioxide levels to below legal limits.

Image source, Google

Councillor Dean Carroll, board chairman and cabinet member for public health, said he wanted to see more work done to investigate the proposed measures.

He said: "There are some suggested proposals made in the report that we feel actually need further consultation and engagement with stakeholders and with internal colleagues as to how they have a knock-on impact on other plans and policies of the council.

"I think it's right that we take all of that on board first before we ask health and wellbeing board to endorse that as an approach."

Members agreed to defer consideration of the report to a future meeting.

Wolverhampton's old Elephant and Castle pub will form part of a £23m museum expansion.

Stuart Devereux says he was keen to take part after losing family members to the disease.

More than 20,000 jobs have so far been created as part of the HS2 high speed rail link project, the company behind it says.

Image source, HS2 Ltd

It is 12 months since the Prime Minister announced the formal start of construction on phase one between London and Birmingham, through Warwickshire.

Work in the county includes a giant boring machine being used to create a tunnel under Long Itchington Woods.

Image source, HS2 Ltd

Contracts have been awarded to more than 2,200 businesses, with further opportunities worth a total of £25bn expected over the coming years, says HS2 Ltd.

But the project has not been without criticism, including complaints on environmental grounds.

Their roles at GKN in Erdington are due to be carried out in Poland and France when the site shuts.

Ashley Sumner, 31, is accused of killing an 80-year-old man in St Martins, near Oswestry.

Police are appealing for help to find a "machete attacker" who left a man critically ill in August.

The 31-year-old was hurt in East Park Way near to the junction of Willenhall Road in Wolverhampton at about 11:45 on 20 August. He's currently in a coma, West Midlands Police says., external

"At this stage we don’t know why the man was attacked but we’re doing everything we can to find the person responsible," a statement said.