ASTWOOD Bank's bid for promotion from Birmingham League Division Three was washed away by the wet weather when their crunch game against second placed Pershore was abandoned after 15 overs.

By that stage Pershore had progressed to 80 for three before the players were forced to retreat from the rain.

The outcome means Pershore remain 43 points clear of Astwood Bank and with just two games remaining, cannot be caught.

Astwood Bank skipper Steve Adshead said: "Because of the wet weather, we didn't start until 3.30pm and I had no problem with that. But I thought there was a period when we could have gone back on again.

"Yes it was frustrating, but third place is probably where we deserve to finish. We've lost too many games this season to finish in the top two, but we remain determined to finish third."

Astwood Bank entertain Shropshire side Worfield this Saturday before completing the season with a trip to fourth place Streetly who are just eight points behind Andrzej Jagielski and Alex Robinson look set to miss the match with Worfield but should return for the trip to Streetly.