CHADDESLEY Corbett put Stourport to the sword to close in on Worcestershire County Premiership leaders Stourbridge.

Stourport were dismissed for just 70 at Chaddesley while Stourbridge picked up a winning draw against a stubborn Old Hill side which means the gap between the top two is just seven points.

Astwood Bank beat relegated Feckenham and move to 17 points behind Stourbridge.

The other team in with a chance of winning the league is Redditch who are twenty one points behind after being on the wrong end of a draw at Bewdley.

The game of the day next week will be at Stourbridge where the leaders welcome Redditch.

Old Elizabethans relegated Evesham by dismissing them for 142 and Worcester defeated Pershore.

In division one the last five matches will be played under the win/lose/draw format.

Colwall maintained top spot with a maximum points win against Oldswinford and second placed Bromyard kept up the pressure to remain just eighteen points adrift after Zahid Saeed took (6-22) in the second innings to bowl out visiting Cookley.

Last week's third placed team Hagley lost for the second week in a row, this time to relegation-threatened Droitwich Spa.

This result helped Burghill move to third by putting a dent in the promotion hopes of Belbroughton with a four wicket home win.

Pedmore gained a winning draw against Coombs Wood whose poor form continues, Worcester Nomads made the trip to Bredon and came away with a vital win to stay just above the drop zone.

Following a comfortable eight wicket victory at Halesowen, Ombersley stretched their lead to sixty three points over second placed Lye who were beaten for the second week in a row, this time at Enville whose Alex Craven took 6 for 60 off 13.4 overs.

Himley who are now in third after D Jeavons (7-35) secured victory at Himbleton and Barnt Green, who are fourth after a maximum point winning draw against a gritty Bromsgrove who proved hard to beat,

Kidderminster moved in to fifth after beating Bartestree and Astwood Bank defeated lowly Brockhampton.

In Division Three second placed Barnards Green blew the title race wide open as they made the trip to leaders Netherton and won by a narrow six run margin, a win that reduces the gap between the top two to just twenty points.

Just thirty one points separate the top six teams which ensures an intriguing finale with just four matches remaining.

Third placed Old Hill remain just four points off the promotion places as Fahad Mahmood (97) and Iftikar Ali (86) helped chase down Rushwicks first innings (239-9) for whom Phil Hamilton (104) top scored.

Old Vigornians are fourth, a further four points adrift after Osman Fiaz (77) top scored in a maximum point winning draw against a stubborn Martley side led by James Ganderton (68). Just one point behind in fifth are Kempsey whose up and down season continued when they beat basement side Pershore comfortably and Redditch make up the half dozen who are in with a chance of winning the title as Haleem Basharatt took (4-13) in the first innings to ensure the points at Stourbridge and remain just eleven points off the promotion places.

In the other match played in the division Old Elizabethans gained a winning draw over Avoncroft which means both remain in the lower half of the table

With just four matches remaining Harborne won a close battle by two runs against Eastnor to cement their position at the top of division four and ensure the title is almost a done deal as they are now forty five points clear of second placed Worcester who beat third placed Alvechurch by three wickets which in turn extends their lead over their closest rivals to thirty five points.

The battle for promotion places is now likely to be contested between the top three as both fourth and fifth placed Stourport and Bewdley both lost on Saturday to Astwood Bank (who are making a fight of it at the bottom) and Coombs Wood respectively which puts them both over forty points adrift of second.

In other matches, Five Ways Old Edwardians climbed in to mid division by beating Romsley & Hunnington by eight wickets and Chris Burford (6-16) bowled Bromsgrove to a maximum points win against Halesowen who will now find it almost impossible to avoid the drop.

In Division Five the top three teams all posted victories to the status quo.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first Chaddesley Captain Anoup Nandra (93) along with contributions from Holden Whittaker (72) and Mohammed Husnain (51) ensured the leaders maintained their four point lead at the summit with a maximum points win at Whitegates Farm against Worcester Nomads.

In a similar vein, second placed Lye ensured they kept up with the pace when an excellent first innings effort from E Shafqat (85) and a fine all round performance from Mohammed Ishtiaq (54 and 5-38) helped them secure maximum points against visiting Colwall and third placed Netherton completed the trio of wins with a much tighter two wicket win at fourth placed West Malvern when Arbaaz Mahmmood returned first innings figures of (6-20).

Elsewhere, fifth placed Claverley and sixth placed Malvern recorded winning draws against Droitwich Spa and Hagley respectively and the match between Feckenham (who are now mathematically relegated) and Hanley Castle & Upton who should be safe in seventh position was abandoned due to the wet conditions.

The race is on at both ends of the table with just thirty one points separating the top three and just two points between the team in 8th (Droitwich Spa) and the team in 11th (Colwall).