PROMOTED Barnards Green under 12s began their Worcestershire Premier Lea-gue campaign with a win at Pedmore on a chilly morning.

Skipper Ben Sutton won the toss and decided to bat first in heavy dew.

Green started confidently, despite losing Sutton early to one of the few balls that kept low all game.

Ollie Halion accumulated steadily while Josh Dickenson played powerful cut shots to move the total to 60-1 after 10 overs.

Following Dickenson’s retirement on 32 not out, Halion stepped up the pace and soon joined him, leaving George Blannin and Jack Sampson to accelerate towards the end.

Sampson, having suffered a run of bad luck at the end of last season, started confidently and was soon striking the ball powerfully, including a flat six over mid-wicket and a flurry of boundaries.

Pedmore’s seamers struggled to control the run-rate as Green finished on 119-2.

The first over of the second innings set the tone for Pedmore’s reply with a dropped catch letting down Lewis Regan, who bowled four tidy overs without any reward.

Coupled with opening partner Halion, who picked up a wicket in his first over, Pedmore were soon behind the required rate.

Green’s spinners Dickenson, with four wickets, and Sutton and Callum Morris, with one each, strangled the Pedmore innings.

Despite a below-par fielding performance and a late flurry of boundaries, Pedmore finished on 113-8.