CAPTAIN Max Harland was the hero as Pickering Community Junior School pulled out all the stops to win the Ryedale & Whitby Sports Partnership Kwik Cricket competition.

Harland took three wickets in the last over as Pickering edged Rillington Primary School at the end of a tense final, and will now go on to represent the area at the North Yorkshire School Finals on June 24 at York Cricket Club.

Pickering topped their group by beating Airy Hill, Hovingham and Malton primary schools, to go through to the final.

Batting first, Pickering faced some tough bowling and lost five wickets costing them 25 runs under kwik cricket rules. This restricted them to their lowest score of the tournament, with Rillington looking strong contenders for a win.

Rillington then batted strongly at the start of their innings, but Pickering's teamwork and excellent fielding slowed down the scoring rate, with some great catches putting the batting team under pressure.

As the scores grew closer a tense last over decided the game.

With four balls to go, Rillington took the lead by one run, but Pickering captain Max Harland then took a decisive wicket to put Pickering ahead - only for them to lose the advantage by conceding four runs from a bye.

He then saved the day taking two wickets off the last two balls to put Pickering into the next round.