STOURBRIDGE CC chairman Harilal Patel believes youth has been a secret weapon this season.

Patel feels the relative youth of the club’s first XI, with the majority being aged under 25, has meant they have been under-estimated this term while he also compared their campaign in Birmingham League Division Three to David-versus-Goliath.

With the season at the midway point, Stour sit third in the table but were frustrated along with the rest of the league on Saturday as the awful weather brought about another washout.

Patel believes they can still claim a dream promotion.

He said: “David and Goliath springs to mind when our boys are engaged in battle against most teams.

“I am sure opponents first react to the Stourbridge team as a bunch of teenagers.

“It is always a bonus to be under-estimated in that fashion. What opponents do discover is Stourbridge is a cohesive team with bags of energy and enthusiasm.”

Meanwhile, skipper Richard Bradley has warned his side cannot afford to slack off during the second half of the campaign, with four of the division’s 12 sides facing relegation at the end of the campaign.

He said: “That’s always going to be a bit of a worry in the back of your mind.

“We are one win from challenging the top two but probably only three bad results from being in the relegation battle.”

He added: “Certainly at the midway point of the season we would have taken being third in the league.

“Our first priority was to stay in the division and we are at the right end at present.

“We have played some good cricket at the start of the season and then got caught out against a couple of teams.

“But I think we will be fine if we continue to play near our best.”