EXCELLENT Astwood Bank held their nerve to secure a slender eight run win over fellow title chasers Lichfield in Birmingham League Division Three thanks to a bit of help from the Duckworth Lewis System.

The Bank had been bowled out for 155 but their innings included a break for rain.

On resumption, Lichfield were asked to chase down 162 from 44 overs, but fell short on 153 for eight.

Bank skipper Steve Adshead said: "We were put into bat on a poor wicket where 160 would have been a good score.

"The fact we reached 155 from a reduced number of overs was a really good score and I was always confident we could win with that total."

So it proved as Lichfield fell short, which means Astwood Bank have now climbed above them into second spot - just seven points adrift of leaders Streetly.

Tom Pedley with 42 and Tom Underhill on 44 laid the foundation for the Bank's total.

Then accurate bowling by Tom Harris ( two for 41), Jake Price (two for 30), Dan Taylor (two for 14 ) and Andrzej Jagielski (two for 29) kept Lichfield behind the asking rate.

There's no let-up for Astwood Bank who entertain Sentinel on Saturday and then travel to league leaders Streetly on Bank Holiday Monday in what could prove a crunch game.

Adshead has the luxury of having his strongest side available for both games and said: "It's all very tight. You still have teams like Stourbridge and Milford Hall who believe they can get back into the title race - but it's in our own hands and there's no reason why we can't win every game remaining."