CAPTAIN Josh Banks felt his side deserved more from their clash with title challengers Stratford but was quick to take the positives as their unbeaten run continued.

Stour had to settle for a winning draw against title challengers Stratford after failing to bag the final wicket to seal a big away win.

Team effort contributed to Stour racking up 300 after winning the toss on a placid pitch.

Opener Jujhar Johal (38), Matt Bradley (49), Marverick Perry (68), number six Nathan Crudeli (50), Dwayne Crossgill (31), and from the final overs Jitesh Jivan-Patel’s 18 not out brought up the 300 mark. Spinner James Urquhart’s 14 overs cost 79 runs for three wickets.

The two contributions from Stratford’s John Price (48) and Christopher Whelan (74) fell well short of the target.

It was the blocking strategy that frustrated the Stour bowlers as they toiled hard in the heat one to fall a wicket short of success.

An outright victory for Stour was foiled by the last pair of Sam Douthwaite and Richard Smith as they successfully blocked out 26 balls to depriving their rivals of the maximum points.

Dan Such and Nathan Crudeli took three wickets each as the visitors pushed for victory.

Stour extended their lead by 16 points at the top of Division Three but Banks still felt his side deserved to come away with more.

He said: "I thought we would have fully deserved to get that final wicket. We'd played the better cricket all afternoon and it was disappointing that we didn't manage it.

"After the dust settled it was clear that there were a lot of positives to take and it was a really good performance.

"We have now played the second-placed side two weeks in a row and got the better of both of them.

"We chased down 280 the week before and now got 300 this week so I'm really happy with how things are going.

"I'm the sort of person that is always looking for a bit more but there are a lot of positives at the moment for us.

"Nathan Crudeli should be back at full pace this weekend too after doing well despite struggling with an injury, so that will make us even stronger.

"We've got half way now and seen all the sides and have remained unbeaten."

Stourbridge will look to continue their fine form this season when they take on Old Elizabethans at the War Memorial Ground this Saturday (noon start).