STEVE Robins and David Perry are the first winners of the Evening News/Fearnley Factory Shop Cricketer of the Week awards for the new season.

The new-look award now sees prizes awarded for the best batsman and best bowler of the week.

And outstanding performances by Robins with the bat for Kempsey, and Perry with the ball for Chaddesley Corbett seconds, have seen them land the honours.

Robins took the batting award for hitting an unbeaten 96 out of a Kempsey total of just 148 all out in a friendly at Hewell.

The 36-year-old skipper led by example as he scored almost two-thirds of his team's runs on a tricky wicket and helped inspire his side to an unlikely 50-run victory.

He came in at the fall of the third wicket and never looked back after striking 19 runs off his first over, eventually striking seven sixes and seven fours to help his side recover from 56-4.

Robins said: "It was seaming around a bit and it was a bit of a pudding of a pitch.

"Sometimes the ball sat up, but I just waited for the ball and everything seemed to come off the middle of the bat which was very pleasing. If the ball was in my half I would have a go at it."

Sadly he ran out of partners just four runs short of what would have been only the second century of his career.

But victory in the match made up for that, helped by a career-best bowling display of 5-27 from team-mate Will Perry as Hewell were bowled out for 98 in reply.

The bowling prize went to Chaddesley's experienced left-arm spinner Perry, who bagged 6-65 as his team drew with Kington in the second team section of the Crusader Worcestershire County League Division One.

But the 53-year-old preferred to give most of the credit to his team-mates as his bowling forced a strong Kington side to collapse from 132-1 to 248 all out.

Chaddesley just held on for a draw in reply, finishing on 143-9.

"It was a team effort really," he said. "You don't take six wickets unless you have good fielders and a good wicketkeeper to take catches for you.

"We put a lot of work into getting the game on, and they had a couple of very good first-team players who scored the majority of their runs. But once those two got out it became more like a normal second team game of cricket."

Both players win £30 vouchers to be spent at Fearnley Factory Shop cricket equipment specialists, the new name for Duncan Fearnley Cricket Sales Ltd., based at Unit 10 Sherriff Street, Worcester (telephone 01905-612981, fax 01905-25684, e-mail fearnley@fearnley cricket.co.uk