ASTWOOD Bank captain Steve Adshead has urged his team to build on a narrow defeat against Eastnor in the Birmingham League Division Three.

The Redditch outfit were five runs away from victory as they chased down a Duckworth-Lewis method revised total of 257.

Bank are still waiting for their first win of the season, but there were plenty of positives in a high-scoring clash.

The away side won the toss and opted to put field first, but their bowlers toiled as Eastnor notched up an impressive 285-9, with Atiq Ur Rehman scoring 108 runs from 109 balls.

Andrzej Jagielski (3-38) was Astwood’s main wicket taker.

Bank suffered a setback in reply when Tom Pedley was trapped lbw by Shahid Ahmed. But the away side rallied and Adshead scored 84 runs from 61 balls to guide them to 162-4. Sam Thomas’s patient 60 also guided the batting order while Muhammad Safyan made 27. After a break for rain, Astwood reached 252-9 in 42 overs.

“I think both teams will say that the bowling was not the best,” commented Adshead. “Rushall were scoring runs at six an over, which I felt was far too much and 285 was a bit too much. But we responded well and Sam Thomas put together the sort of middle order innings you don’t often see at our level.

“I was disappointed not to make a century, it was the different between winning the losing.

“It was frustrating, to be honest, because we nearly won the game.”

Astwood take on Newport at home in the league on Saturday (1pm start).

The captain added: “We have to use this performance to spur us on.

“When we were losing games last year we weren’t scoring any runs, but now we’re actually getting bonus points which puts us mid-table.

“We need our first win, but the signs are good.”