LITTLE Lever made up for missing out on the Section A title by beating newly-crowned champions Rupert Ladies A 121-110 to win the Chadwick Cup.

In a repeat of last year's final, the tie at Bolton Club Club on Friday turned out to be a classic in front of around 300 spectators.

Batting first, Little Lever scored seven singles and a three – by Helen Roocroft – on the first round, but had Zoe Bluer caught out and Rachel Costello hit out.

Three more batters were dismissed on the second round – one at first base and two caught – but Roocroft and Deb Wood scored rounders to prove Little Lever XI were a match for the excellent Rupert fielders.

Julie Bluer was hit out on the third round but Jenny Burrows immediately scored a rounder and after another rounder on the third round, Wood was dismissed at first base leaving just three batters.

A second rounder by Burrows made her top scorer with 17, while Roocroft and Wood finished with 13 each and last batter Angie Peake was denned for 12 to give Little Lever XI a first innings total of 69.

Excellent Little Lever fielding saw Joanne Blackshaw, Mandy Makin and Lisa Latona caught out and Kerry Anderton and Anne Truffas dismissed at first base while Jo Mullard failed to score.

On the plus side, Ashley Minion scored a rounder, Alison Saunders three and Heather White two, but Saunders, White and Mullard all failed to reach first base on the second round.

With 19 runs scored and only three batters left, Rupert dug in and Julie McCann scored three rounders before being dismissed at first base as top scorer for 26, while Justine Whealing included a rounder in her 19 and last batter Minion was denned for 23 with two rounders to take Rupert to 80 and an 11-run lead.

With a slender lead to protect, Rupert dismissed four batters on the first round, had Roocroft out a first base on the second and did a good containing job on Julie Bluer, Burrows and Costello who were restricted to five, six and six singles respectively.

Zoe Bluer was the only Little Lever batter to reach double figures with two threes, a two and a rounder before being out for obstruction, but Little Lever had added 52 for a match total of 121, which set Rupert a target of 42 to win.

Having lost their league title to their opponents, Little Lever were determined not to lose the cup as well and dismissed first innings high scorers McCann and Whealing at first base, having already dismissed Saunders and Makin, but Mullard excited the crowd with a rounder, followed by a three.

Learning from their mistakes of the first innings, the Little Lever team kept their opponents in check and with only three bad balls, had Rupert all out for 30 to again lift the Chadwick Cup by an 11-run margin.

Sunday sees the last finals of the season when the Handicap matches take place at Darcy Lever Cricket Club.

First up is the Dorothy Clarke Cup match at 1pm between Blades Barbers, with a 20-minute time limit, and Darcy Lever C&SC D with a 90-run start. Jackie Wright will referee the game.

This is followed at 2.30pm by the Festival Trophy final between Section A side Darcy Lever C&SC A and Davies XI of Section C who will have a 120-run handicap start. Russell Seddon is the referee.

The league tables are not yet finalised as there are three outstanding league fixtures scheduled for Tuesday with four play-off games on the same night.

Because four teams have tied for second place in Section O there will be two more play-offs for that section on Wednesday and again on Thursday.

A win for Top Bull Diamonds on Tuesday will put them in a play-off with Wallys Dollys on Thursday for Section J, otherwise, Wallys will be champions. Darcy Lever C&SC A and Little Lever XI will play off for second in Section A on Thursday. All play-off games are at Bolton Cricket Club.