AN EMBARRASSING defeat to bottom club Hagley kept Redditch CC in the thick of the Birmingham Two West relegation picture.

The Bromsgrove Road side have seen a Hagley team marooned 43 points adrift at the foot of the table get the double over them this season - the only two wins Hagley have recorded this year.

And with Redditch picking up just five points from the disappointing result they remain only eight points clear of the expected four team drop zone.

Results elsewhere softened the blow with St George's match at Pelsall abandoned and Ombersley and Penkridge on the wrong end of losing draws.

But Redditch captain Guy Muspratt knows a defeat on Saturday to fellow strugglers Lichfield (12.30pm start) could dump his side second from bottom with only doomed Hagley below them.

After a mid-season mini revival last year's Worcestershire League champions have dropped vital points in crucial relegation dogfights against Penkridge and Hagley and have to pick up points against Saturday's opponents who sit second from bottom.