YOUTH CRICKET: CHIPPENHAM Under 13s continued their excellent season by winning the Wiltshire group of the ECB Under 13 Club Championship.

In the final played on Monday they overcame local rivals Biddestone by eight wickets.

Batting first, Biddestone got off to a solid start with John McIlhenney and Sam Boor putting on 41 for the first wicket in 11 overs. The spinners Tom Bowler (1 for 11 in 4 overs) and skipper Tim Rowson (1 for 5 in 4 overs) put the brake on Biddestone's progress and with Omar Ali Javed taking two wickets in his first two overs, Biddestone fell away to 48 for 4 in 16 overs.

Richie Stone (20) and Josh Barnes (11 not out including a six out of the ground) rescued the situation as they put on 33 in the last four overs to take Biddestone to 81-6 in their 20 overs.

In reply, Chippenham lost an early wicket to Chris Casey but then Rowson and Bowler gradually seized the initiative despite accurate bowling by McIlhenney (0 for 12 in 4 overs) and Boor (0 for 13 in 4 overs). Rowson reached 30 including five boundaries before he had to retire (rules of the competition) with the score on 67 in the 13th over.

Bowler (27 not out) then saw Chippenham home as they reached their target for the loss of two wickets with four overs to spare.

Stephen Hatcher, of the Wiltshire Cricket Board, made the presentations at the end of the game.

He complimented both sides on the high standard of cricket played and the excellent spirit in which the match was played.

Chippenham now play in the South West regional finals at Weston-Super-Mare where they will compete with Gorran (Cornwall), Bournemouth (Dorset), Bath (Somerset), and Mount Wise (Devon) to determine which team goes onto the National Finals in August.

Biddestone's youth co-ordinator Andrew Short felt Chippenham had deserved their victory.

He said: "Their top four are all county batsmen and that made the difference. They are very good players. But I thought we played to the best of our ability and overall it was a well contested and good spirited game."

On Sunday morning Sam Boor took five wickets for 14 runs as Biddestone booked their place in the final with a dramatic four-run win over Corsham .

Biddestone batted first and posted a score of 78 for nine from their 20 overs, Charlie Akin top scoring with an unbeaten 18. Corsham's hopes of victory were dented by Boor's performance with the ball, but reached the final over needing five runs with two wickets to spare. But the away side claimed the remaining two wickets for the loss of just one run, dismissing Corsham for 74 with one ball remaining.

Short said: "It was a pretty close game. The two clubs have a good understanding and it was an excellent contest."