Wanstead Cricket Club, the Essex club with which new England wicket-keeper James Foster is associated, won the Sun Bank Under-15 Club Championship yesterday after beating Worcester Nomads Cricket Club in the national final by 18 runs.

At the May's Bounty Ground in Basingstoke, Wanstead batted first in the 20-over match, posted a score of 162 for eight wickets, with Ramesh Gunalan contributing 39 runs, and then restricted Worcester Nomads to 144 despite a captain's innings of 64 from opening batsman Kieren Reece.

It was Wanstead's first victory in the tournament since achieving success in 1993.

Earlier in the day, Wanstead had beaten Tynemouth Cricket Club in the semi-finals by five wickets, with Worcester Nomads overcoming narrowly St Fagans Cricket Club, the 1998 champions, in the second semi-final by just two wickets with five balls of the match remaining.

St Fagans finished third in the competition after defeating Tynemouth by six wickets in the play-off.

A record entry of 1,481 teams took part in the 2001 Sun Bank Under-15 Club Championship, and a number of current cricketers were among the 750-strong crowd to watch the culmination of the competition - current England captain, Nasser Hussain, Warwickshire and England's Ashley Giles and former West Indian captain Jimmy Adams.

During the lunch interval Tim Lamb, Chief Executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, said: "I would like to thank Sun Bank, sponsors of this wonderful competition for no less than 17 years, during which time it has gone from strength to strength.

Nearly 1,500 clubs took part this year, which means that over 16,000 boys have benefited from this expanding competition. Each year the competition provides the perfect stage for aspiring junior cricketers to show their skills and the ECB is extemely grateful to Sun Bank for their outstanding contribution to the grass roots of the game."

The tournament, initiated by the Lord's Taverners in 1972 and administered by the England and Wales Cricket Board, is seen as a breeding ground for aspiring cricketers, having helped develop the early talents of current England cricketers Nasser Hussain, Marcus Trescothick, Mark Ramprakash and Graham Thorpe.

Semi-finals

1. Tynemouth 119-5 (I. Purdy 31, A. Patel 3-27) lost to Wanstead 120-5 (A. Patel 35) by five wickets

2. St Fagans 104-4 (T. Merilaht 31) lost to Worcester Nomads 106-8 (S. Cullen 36) by two wickets

Play-off

Tynemouth 130-3 (I. Purdy 41, B. Osbnan 37) lost to St Fagans 131-4 (T. Merilaht 59*) by six wickets

Final

Wanstead 162-8 (H. Ejaz 36, R. Gunalan 39, L. Wilson 32, A. Griffiths 3-27) beat Worcester Nomads 144-8 (K. Reece 64, S. Cullen 22) by 18 runs

© ECB