Pete Clarke in his final match as 2nd team captain kept faith with the same 12 players that had beaten Derbyshire so handsomely at Maxstoke Park in September.

The opening foursomes pairing of Antony Gascoigne (Maxstoke Park) & Karl Smith (Handsworth) in a closely fought match took a 1 hole lead into the turn, from where they took control to close out comfortable 3 & 2 winners to get the 2nd's off to the perfect start.

Next on the course were Atherstone pair Gary Greenway & Paul Walker, a very tight match that never saw more than a 1 hole advantage to either pair would see a another half point gained. The Coventry Hearsall pairing (and 2009 Bainbridge Shield finalists) of Sam Foster & James Bromley with an early 2 hole lead played very solidly and closed out their match 3 & 1.

The all-Coventry pairing of Hearsall's Harry Ibbertson & Finham's Charlie Higgens raced into what looked a commanding lead when they were 4 up after 7 holes, then a fortuitous piece of golf and reversal of confidence would conspire to see them finish with an unlikely half point.

The fortuity arrived at the 12th hole a 194 yard par 3, Darren Smith the Worcestershire captain with the honour hooked his tee shot some 30 yards left of the green into what should have been heavy tree trouble. The golfing gods however were in his favour when his ball struck a tree and not only bounced out of trouble but much to the dismay of the Warwickshire players (and supporters) finished just 2 feet away from the hole.

On such moments matches can change and in this match it did, the Worcestershire pair saw a glimmer of hope and a mixture of their good golf and Harry & Charlie's indifferent golf the match eventually resulted in a half when both pairs nervously bogeyed the 18th hole.

Maxstoke Park's Steve Creed and his partner Shaun Young of Stoneleigh Deer Park in their own words 'couldn't get going' and despite a mini-fightback from 4 down after 11 holes they would finally succumb to a 3 & 1 loss.

The final Warwickshire pairing of Nev Gardner (Stoneleigh Deer Park) & Stuart Bloxham (Coventry Hearsall) were also somewhat unusually tardy and despite reaching the 14th hole all-square from an early 2 hole deficit they too would lose on the 17th green 2 & 1.

So lunch was taken with the match scores level at 3 points each, the title was within our grasp but this match was still very much anyone's for the taking.

Antony Gascoigne led out the singles and after being all-square through 7 holes he would win 3 holes on the bounce to take control of his match and close out a resounding 5 & 3 winner.

This put the 2nd's within a half point of the league title and the race was on to see which player would make the title winning putt.

Gary Greenway was up against a tough Worcestershire opponent and despite a valiant effort he would lose 2 & 1. The next 2 players in the singles order were Karl Smith and Sam Foster and with both of them being 5 up after 11 holes it was a case of which one of these two could close their match first to claim the title.

Captain Pete Clarke and his lucky mascot (President-elect John Powell) prowled the fairways and greens of the back-nine back and forth between these 2 matches in their now customary Ryder Cup style buggy in an effort to make sure that they would see the title winning putt.

First Karl lost a hole, then Sam lost a hole, then Karl lost another! It seemed like neither wanted to make 'that putt'!

Finally standing on the 15th tee at dormie 4 up and with his opponent in trouble off the tee Sam Foster drove imperiously the 277 yards onto the heart of the putting surface, surely this would be the opportunity to witness the title winning putt!

Alas there would be no winning putt, the Worcestershire player unable to make the green in 3 shots would miss his par-saving approach and thus offered his hand to Sam in the middle of the fairway and with this act the Midlands 2nd Team League title was secured.

Messr's Clarke, Powell, Gascoigne and Greenway jubilantly shook Sam's hand before heading swiftly off to see how the rest of the field were fairing.

Karl Smith closed his match out with an excellent birdie on the 16th green for a 3 & 2 victory. Next in line was Harry Ibbertson and in a topsy-turvy match he would lose 5 holes on the trot to go from 3 up to 2 down before losing 3 & 1. Paul Walker was up against one of Worcestershire's up and coming young stars Rob Aldred.

16 year old Rob is due to fly out to Rio de Janeiro shortly to contest the finals of The Faldo Series and is currently on a hot streak of form. Too hot for Paul who would lose 5 & 4, we wish Rob all the best for Rio.

So we reached the midway stage of the singles and the match was again evenly poised at 6 matches each.

Despite having now lost their title, reigning champions Worcestershire were clearly not going to lay down and let Warwickshire beat them on their home soil for the clean sweep they so obviously sought.

The Warwickshire tail therefore would have to wag!

Like a hungry dog being teased with a bone, the Warwickshire tail wagged not only vigorously and but also victoriously.

Very simply they went into overdrive, first Shaun Young won 2 & 1, followed closely by Charlie Higgens (2 &1) & Stuart Bloxham (3 & 2), it was then down to the shy, retiring, quietly spoken 'mercurial Mancunian' Steve Creed to emotionally punch the air towards the watching Warwickshire contingent as his 5 foot putt on the 18th green disappeared into the hole for him to win 1 up and the 2nd's to be undefeated for the season.

Nev Gardner showed his class in front of a now buoyant Warwickshire gallery by chipping in for birdie at the 14th hole before closing his match 4 & 3. This just left James Bromley as the last man on the golf course and with the pressure of knowing that he was in contention for possibly winning the 'Order of Merit' he confidently closed out his match on the 17th green for a 2 & 1 victory.

The final match score therefore was a 12 to 6 victory for the Warwickshire 2nd's.

The after-match meal concluded with some very kind words of congratulations from the Worcestershire 2nd team captain Darren Smith before Jim Dean (President of the Midlands Golf Union and ex-President of Warwickshire) presented the Midlands 2nd team League trophy to the jubilant Warwickshire 2nd team captain Pete Clarke.

In response Pete Clarke thanked Stourbridge Golf Club for their presentation of the golf course as well as their off-course hospitality before going on to thank all the Warwickshire players for their support throughout the two years of his captaincy and trusting them to do likewise for his more than worthwhile successor.

This title win is down to each and every one of the 18 players who have played for the 2nd team this season. It is down to their commitment, their willingness to represent the county, their togetherness, their never say die attitude, their fantastic team spirit, and their outstanding golf talent that they are unbeaten to all-comers this season.

The players were told what a good team they were and how the whole of Warwickshire were proud of them, they were also told that the hard work starts now and that if they wanted to transform themselves from a good team to a great team they have to go on and win back-to-back league titles (something this group of players are more than capable of).

The 2nd team would finally like to thank the following for taking the time to travel to Stourbridge and supporting the players, Jim Dean, Ernie Stene, John Stubbings, Graham Hargreaves and last but by no means least our ever-present 'lucky mascot' president-elect John Powell.