EASTNOR became the third Herefordshire side to win Division 1 of the Crusader Worcestershire County League in consecutive seasons when the heavy rain last weekend caused the final round of fixtures to be called off without a ball being bowled.
They follow in the footsteps of Kington and Brockhampton, finishing nine points clear of runners-up Stourbridge.
In what was generally a good season for Herefordshire clubs, Colwall are crowned champions in Division 2, and Burghill and Tillington finished runners-up in Division 4 South, and may well gain promotion in their second season in the league.
Eastnor were spared an anxious final fixture at Pershore, the only side to beat them in the league this season, when the game was called off early on Saturday morning.
Their waiting was not over, however, as Bromyard and Stourbridge were going to attempt to play their game at that stage. Those attempts proved fruitless and Eastnor were presented with the cup.
The weather may have been in their favour on the final day, but this was not the case throughout the season. Eastnor had five games totally washed out and a further three abandoned before a result could be achieved, three more than rivals Stourbridge.
In the final analysis Stourbridge were their own worst enemies, being penalised a total of 28 points throughout the course of the season.
Eastnor captain Jabran Khalid paid tribute to the team spirit and all-round performances from his squad who have contributed towards a small club achieving a big success. He said it was a fitting reward that Eastnor would, subject to a league audit, be spending their 125-year anniversary season in the Birmingham League.
While the performances of professional Atiq and the bowling of Shahid in the latter part of the season were the cornerstone of the success, he said everyone had chipped in with match-winning and points-earning displays throughout the campaign.
Going into the season, Bromyard’s captain Zahid Saeed was aiming for a top-three finish. The town side achieved this objective quite comfortably, but will still feel some disappointment at the final outcome.
For the majority of the season they were neck-and-neck with Stourbridge at the top of the table, and, at one point, it looked as if the final day fixture between the two sides at Flaggoners Green might well decide the outcome of the league.
Bromyard’s form deserted them in the crucial run-in, and they were already assured of a third place going into it.
Their disappointment at missing out on league honours will be partially tempered by their success in the midweek cup. They beat Romsley & Hunnington with one ball to spare in a tense final at Kidderminster Cricket Club to lift the cup.
Colwall left the West of England League system three seasons ago with the ambition of making it into the Birmingham League set-up.
After faltering in their first season, mainly due to the weather, they are now back on track in their objective following back-to-back league successes.
Colwall followed up their Division 3 success in 2007 by winning the Division 2 title in 2008.
They were in pole position for most of the season, but recovered their composure after stuttering in the run-in, and finished up 12 points clear of second-placed Coombs Wood.
Colwall will now join Division 1 with the chance to complete their objective next summer.
After finishing seventh in their first season in Division 2 in 2007, Monmouth went one better this year. They secured 45 more points this time and finished just 11 points behind third-placed Malvern.
Monmouth had a good start to the season, but their chances of finishing in the top two evaporated when they failed to win a game in June.
They recovered in the second half of the season, but drew too many games to re-ignite their promotion drive.
After being relegated last season, Wormelow managed to halt their slide following their bright start to life in Worcestershire cricket. With three sides facing relegation the weather spared them a tense final day fixture with Birlingham at Kennel Field last Saturday, Wormelow finished up in eighth place, but just 12 points clear of Enville who occupied that final relegation spot. Their prospects looked a lot bleaker midway through the season, however, but a late rally saw them do enough to steer clear of trouble.
After a steady start, Burghill & Tillington, in their first season in the Worcestershire pyramid, came through with a late run to take the runners-up spot in Division 4 South. They were due to meet Stourbridge 3rd at Tenbury in a play-off for promotion last weekend but the weather intervened.
They will try again at Tenbury on Saturday. But if Kington avoid relegation from the Birmingham League this weekend then it is likely that both Burghill & Tillington and Stourbridge 3rd will both be promoted.
Ross-on-Wye and Canon Frome, both in their second season in this division, struggled to make any impact. Ross picked up 16 points fewer than in 2007 and dropped a couple of places to eighth place, while Canon Frome picked up 40 more points, but it failed to reflect in their ninth-place finish.
In the second team divisions Colwall and Bromyard finished just outside the promotion places in Division 2, finishing third and fourth respectively.
Wormelow finished fourth in Division 3 with Eastnor trailing them by three places.
Burghill and Canon Frome were both locked in mid-table in Division 4 South, but Ross struggled home in bottom place.
