A TEAM of talented young cricketers from Bancroft's School have been crowned champions of Essex after beating one of their greatest rivals.

The school's under-12s turned the record book on its head to defeat Brentwood School in the Essex Cup final.

The youngsters ended up winning a tense game with just two balls to spare - and will now go on to represent the county at the national under-13s championships next year.

Their achievement was all the more impressive given that Brentwood had gone 24 games unbeaten beforehand and boasted five players who have represented Essex.

School spokeswoman, Karen Rogers said: "It turned into a pulsating cup final. Brentwood won the toss and elected to bat.

"The Brentwood openers batted well, amassing a century opening partnership. At the end of their innings Brentwood had posted a challenging total of 161-4 off 30 overs.

"We started slowly and with just seven balls to spare we were still three runs short of their victory target.

"In a tense finish our boys secured the trophy with two balls to spare.

"This was a fine match - and our team now go on to represent Essex in the National U13 County Champions knock-out in 2010."