SATURDAY was a day of achievement in the Bolton League with personal milestones being reached - as well as one or two suprises.

Tonge's game at Farnworth Social Circle ended in a 17-run win for the Castle Hill side but Iqbal Sikander's figures of 5-80 was the 86th time in his seven-year career with the club that he has taken five wickets in a match.

Added to that, Ian Taylor, the other half of the Tonge bowling success of recent years, claimed his 1,000th Bolton League wicket as he snapped up the other five wickets for 58.

For the record Tonge scored 167-8 with Simon Anderton hitting 52, Rick Northrop 48 and Kevin Darlington taking 4-55. Circle were bowled out for 151.

Over at Bradshaw, Ian Nuttall also claimed his 1,000th wicket in league cricket in his figures of 4-56 but that could not prevent his side going down to something of a shock defeat against Farnworth.

Chasing Bradshaw's 159-7, with Dave Morris hitting 51, Farnworth snatched a two-wicket win with one ball to spare -- Stuart Anderson top scoring with 41.

Greenmount have set a few batting records this season but one performance they will want to forget is their collapse from 70-0 to 111 all out and a 42-run defeat by Walkden.

Bernard Reidy claimed the bowling honours for Walkden with 5-28 and Phil Ingram picked up 3-45 while in their innings of 153-8, Tony Keays was unbeaten on 66.

Greenmount's only consolation was a knock of 52 from Mike O'Rourke and Saeed Anwar's 5-71.

Kearsley have shown they possess one of the major characteristics to make them a championship outfit with players in the side coming in to produce winning performances when others fail.

Things were not going to plan against an Eagley side who shouldn't have caused the leaders too much trouble but at 124-7 the prospect of a reasonable total to defend looked some way off.

Fortunately skipper Simon Thomson was still at the wicket when he was joined by Mel Whittle, a bowler seldom called on to produce heroics with the bat.

But those two turned what looked to be a disappointing total into one that gave their bowlers hopes of success with an eighth wicket partnership of 66 to lift the total to a very creditable 190-7.

Thomson provided the bulk of those runs with an unbeaten 77 but Whittle produced the necessary solid support with 19 not out.

Earlier, Jason Swift had added to the total with 46 that took him past the 1,000 runs for the season.

In reply, Eagley lost the early wicket of Nigel Franklyn and decided that chasing a target of 190 instead of the 140 or so they expected at one stage was not for them.

After 34 overs they had reached only 60-2 and that was how the game died, Eagley ending the day on 125-6.

Egerton made up some ground in second place by inflicting an 82-run defeat on Little Lever after bowling out the home club for a disappointing 71.

Tim Barry with 5-13 off nine overs and pro Neil McGarrell with 3-7 off 10 were the main tormentors with only Lee Baldwin showing any resistance with the bat, hitting 24.

Earlier Little Lever had restricted Egerton to 153-9. Paul Rayment claiming 5-63 and Baldwin 3-45 while Anthony Clegg 28 and 26 apiece from Nigel Partington and Tim Barry made up the bulk of Egerton's runs. Long all-round GRANT Long was an all-round hero as Horwich piled on the misery for bottom club Astley Bridge.

First he produced six devastating overs that brought him four wickets for 16 runs which, allied to David White's haul of 6-46 off 22 overs, reduced Bridge to 118 all out.

Long then picked up the bat and made early inroads into the target, hitting an unbeaten 47 as Horwich raced to a six-wicket win.

The only crumbs of comfort for Bridge were pro Sher Ali's 50 that included two 6s and four 4s and James Shuttleworth's supportive knock of 22. Parida's century Heaton professional Rashmi Parida hit 139 against Westhoughton, his century containing three sixes and 20 fours.

With Tim Barrow adding 45, Heaton's 248-5 total always looked too much for the visitors, who claimed a draw with the last pair at the wicket.

Top bowlers for Heaton were the West brothers, Jon claiming 3-40 and Simon 3-75 in Westhoughton's 167-9.