ASTWOOD Bank under-9s clinched the Worcestershire County Cricket softball title on Sunday with another polished display at host club Ombersley.

Bank saw off the winners of the county leagues over three round-robin matches to take the title.

In the first game, Astwood started slowly with their normal strong bowling not firing but some impressive last pair batting from Matt Harland and Elliot Dennis saw the Bank home to win by seven runs.

The second game looked tough on paper as Ombersley had won 12 out of 12 games before finals day.

The Astwood lads bowled a very good line and length with James Browning taking two early wickets to rock the home team.

Chasing 239 to win, the boys gave their best performance of the summer with the bat scoring 256 runs.

Alfie Armstrong and Browning gave the innings a great start, which was backed up by Padraig Duggan and Billy Brind who both hit two sixes which sealed victory for the visitors.

In the final game, Astwood lost their first game of the summer when going down by four runs to a spirited Stourbridge team.

While losing their unbeaten record the boys played well with Jude Hill looking like a good prospect for future years.

With two wins and one loss, Astwood Bank took the county title because of a superior record against Wombourne.

Astwood become the first winners of the title from east Worcestershire after finishing second last year.

Club captains Duggan and Alfie Armstrong collected the trophy from ex-Worcestershire player Gavin Haynes.

Back row (left to right): Toby Cooke, Matt Harland, Jude Hill , Padraig Duggan, Josh Maddocks (Coach), Alfie Armstrong, Elliot Dennis, James Browning. Front row: Billy Brind, Dan Davies, Josh Greaves, Lochlan Yarnold, Luke Barber.