BARNT Green were forced to batten down the hatches before salvaging a losing draw against Birmingham League title chasers West Bromwich Dartmouth.

Second placed Dartmouth arrived at Cherry Hill road in confident mood and soon started to pile on the runs.

The Green bowlers were given a torrid time as Dartmouth raced to 170 for one at one stage as Omar Masood with 47, Amit John on 70 and skipper Kadeer Ali who struck 69 all proving in full flow.

Barnt Green skipper Andy Sutton said: "They played well and gave their middle order the chance to flourish. We dropped a couple of catches, which you cannot afford to do at this level."

Dartmouth went onto post an imposing total of 281 for nine, the Green's academy prospect Jacques Banton picking up four for 25 at the death, while Warwickshire's Josh Poysden finished with three for 89 from 17 overs.

Sutton added: "Stats and figures don't always tell the full story and Josh could have easily picked up more wickets himself.

"At the moment we've got players whose confidence is ebbing and flowing. It was similar to the game with Ombersley, where we needed to show some grit and determination in batting to get a losing draw."

The Green were given a solid platform through opening bat Jamie Harrison who scored 75. But the Green got themselves tied down against Dartmouth's accurate bowling attack.

Sutton said: "We didn't start as spritely as Dartmouth did with the bat. They had two very good spinners who made it tough to score runs during the second period of the innings. We were looking to reach 220 for the extra batting bonus point but we couldn't put their bowlers under any pressure and we had to dig in at the death."

The Green eventually closed on 178 for seven, Jacques Banton repelling Dartmouth with 30 not out off 56 balls.

This result means the Green remain in the relegation zone and life doesn't get any easier this week when they travel to defending champions Knowle and Dorridge.

Sutton is hopeful of having Warwickshire's Ed Pollock available but is well aware of the threat Knowle and Dorridge's New Zealand opening bat George Worker poses.

He added: "Worker's wicket will be paramount to the outcome of the game. His presence is worth the entry money alone.

"We need to try and pick up as many points as we possibly can during a tough sequence of fixtures, but I remain confident that we can stave off relegation."