THE two top places in the Premier Division remain unchanged, but last season's champions Farnworth Social Circle A moved into joint-second place following their 5-4 win at Ramsbottom B.

This was mainly due to a treble from Darren Howarth who is also the new leader of the top ten.

Horwich Hilton A jumped from second bottom to a comfortable mid-table position after winning two matches, 6-3 against Farnworth SC B and 9-0 against bottom team Mosses, trebles in these matches for Bill Russell, Phil Biggs and George Brennand.

Cricketers also moved up three places after winning 6-3 at Farnworth SC B, a treble here for Jim Chadwick. All three Lostock players won two sets in their 6-3 win at Horwich Sports, and Steve McNicholas scored a treble for Little Lever A in their win against Wharton A.

Horwich Hilton B moved to the top of Division One swapping places with Wharton B, Chris Byrne trebled for Horwich in their 7-2 win at Little Lever C. This gives them a three-point lead over Wharton who lost 5-4 to Chorley Old Road despite a treble by Brian Doxey.

Withins A, who are in third place one point adrift recorded a comfortable 7-2 win over Doe Hey which included three wins by Phil Myers. Nomads B went down 5-4 at home to Ladybridge A but moved off the bottom of the table and are now one point ahead of Wingates who have two matches in hand, George Simpson trebled for Ladybridge.

Richard Simmons scored three wins for Little Lever B which helped them to a 5-4 win at Heaton, and Chris Byrne retains the top spot in the top ten. Horwich RMI jump to second place in Division Two. They scored a very good win over table-toppers Horwich Hilton C 5-4 thanks to three excellent wins by Phil Bakker but lost by the same score-line on their visit to Withins. Three wins here by Alan Hardman for Withins.

These results have not affected the lead the H/Hilton side have at the top of the table. Eddie Lee scored three wins for Wingates in their 5-4 win over Hilton C, as did Mel Brooks for Black Dog in their 7-2 win over bottom team Bolton Road. Peter Bladen and Ian Wheeldon both trebled for Hilton B in their 7-2 win over Heaton C.

Maximum points

The two teams on the top of Division Three both won by a 7-2 scoreline -- leaders Meadow Hill A on their visit to Memorial Church, which included a treble by the unbeaten Glen Phoenix, and second-placed Ladybridge over Withins C, which included a treble by John Birchall. John Kori scored three wins for Farnworth SC C in their 6-3 defeat by Heaton D which gives him a two-wins advantage as top ten leader. Brian Hall's three wins and two by Frank Davies gave Hilton E a narrow 5-4 win over Little Lever D, and Hilton D scored maximum points against Hilton F.

Division Four leaders Halliwell Road Meths scored a comfortable 8-1 win over Meadow Hill B which gives them a 12-point advantage over Memorial Road in second place. Richard Hannant scored his usual three wins for the Memorial team in their 6-3 win at Ladybridge C.

Richard remains unbeaten and is joint top ten leader with Ian Bateson on 27 wins. BEN B move into third place on the strength of their 8-1 win at YMCA which included trebles by Alan Hodgert and Kirit Chauhan.

All three Ainsworth players won one set each in their 6-3 defeat at Heaton C but they remain in bottom place in the table, trebles in the match for Fred Martindale and Glen Roberts.

Craig Bradbury lost his first set of the season to Roger Bolton who trebled for Jubilee A in their 6-3 win over Hilton G, and in a close match Hilton I beat their H team 5-4 which included two wins each for Neil Dunn and George Laks plus one from Bill Dunn for the I team, and two wins each for Andy Harris and Mike Smart for the H team.

Meadow Hill C and Ladybridge D are the joint leaders of Division Five on 64 points but the Meadow Hill team have played one match less. They jumped up the table following maximum points wins against Jubilee C and Ladybridge E and a 5-4 loss to Heaton F.