DAISY Hill skipper Steven Chilton says their three-wicket victory against Kearsley on Saturday was down to fantastic fielding.

The Springfield Road side had Faisil Iqbal to thank for knocking 99 not out as they posted a total of 189-5. Stephen Hodgkinson did the most damage with the ball, taking two wickets.

Professional Adnan Raees scored 65 and Sam Pendlebury added 61 as the former Bolton Association side chased down the target with three wickets and 10 overs to spare.

Despite only taking five Kearsley wickets, Chilton says tight bowling and fine fielding laid down the foundation for victory.

“We fielded very well and although we didn't take a lot of wickets we showed that you can play well and win without taking a lot,” he said.

“Their pro got 99 on his own so that means the rest of their team got about 90 between them which shows just how well we fielded.

“They had a competitive score and it gave their bowlers something to defend which is never that easy to chase down.

“Stephen Hodgkinson was very good with both the bat and ball and supported our pro well.

“We have been on a bad run of form and quite a few of our games have been weather affected but we walked it on Saturday.”

Daisy are one of three former Bolton Association sides, alongside Lostock and Atherton, who sit in the top half of the table.

And Chilton believes the established Bolton League sides still expect to beat those who joined when the two leagues merged earlier this year.

He added: “There is no longer any animosity between the two leagues but the Bolton League sides always expect to beat the former Bolton Association clubs.

“At the start of the season we were under no illusions. Our aim has always been to finish in the top half and we have been there for most of the season and long may it continue.”

Blackrod are another former Association club who defeated a League side with a 42-run victory over Astley Bridge.

Thushendra De Zoysa scored 76 runs from as many balls as the Vicarage Road outfit racked up a tally of 191 before they were bowled out.

Syd De Silva spearheaded the bowling attack taking 6-29 inside eight overs.

Soyab Taylor opened with 28 in reply and wicketkeeper Richard Northrop added 36. Yasir Rashid pitched in with a late 29 but with four overs remaining Astley Bridge collapsed and were bowled out for 149 – De Zoysa (4-71) and Joe Speak (5-36) dealt the damage with the ball.

Elsewhere, Jaydyn Simmons (40) and Peter Flanagan (44) scored high as Lostock were bowled out for 220 against Little Hulton. Adam Newton took 3-35 with the ball.

Imran Butt and Anwar ul-Haq hit 64 and 63 respectively but Rob Holgate (5-37) and David Flanagan (3-52) led a bowling attack which dismissed Little Hulton for 163.

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YOUNG bowlers are the future for Tonge after they put in a strong performance with the ball in their defeat to second-placed Walkden.

Taylor Hayes (24), Aman Arora (32) and Hasnain Abbas (34) all scored high as Walkden were bowled out for 137 - Ali Imran Usmani took 5-11 and Mohammad Arif bowled 3-19.

Tonge struggled with the bat and only Zaheer Ali (27) put up any sort of resistance to the bowling of Jonathan Fowler (5-20) and Tahir Maqsood (4-40) as the visitors were dismissed for 67.

But despite the defeat, it is building a team for the future that has skipper Danny Delvard brimming with excitement.

“I keep telling everybody that we are building a team around good, exciting, young bowlers so it's no surprise when we bowl a team out for a low total,” Delvard said.

“Each week I try to get us to bowl first to that we get a real chance of making a game of it. There's no hiding that our batting is our Achilles heel.

“Walkden are a very good side with some very strong batsmen. It will do our bowlers' confidence the world of good to have bowled them all out.”

At the beginning of the season Tonge struggled to field 11 players, but the club have come on leaps and bounds since then and are now looking to strengthen for next season.

“We have come a long way in the last few months,” Delvard admitted. “We struggled to get 11 players at the beginning of the season and now we are putting out 11 for our first and second teams.

“In the next few weeks we will be looking to bring in a few batsmen for next year, ones who are batting really well at second-team level and not getting chance in the first team, or ones who are in the first time and batting higher up.”

Elsewhere on Saturday, Farnworth Social Circle avoided a scare as they squeezed past Heaton by 15 runs.

Joe Ducker bowled 4-47 and Mustafa Bashir, Ahmed Matloob and Haroon Farhat all took two wickets apiece as the Piggott Park outfit were bowled out for 141.

Jake Scicluna (28) and Andrew Lane (36 not out) were the top scorers with the bat.

In reply, Oliver Sutcliffe knocked 28 before Farhat added 33. However, a late collapse when the last four batsmen fell for a total of two runs meant Social Circle recorded a narrow win.

Chris Barrow (5-21) and Dave Mather (3-61) did the damage with the ball.

Danny Naylor starred with the bat as Westhoughton eased past Darcy Lever.

Skipper Rob Houghton (40), Qaiser Abbas (73), Mike King (43) and Naylor (88) all batted well to post a score of 267-4.

The daunting target proved too much for Darcy who were bowled out with Freddie Olvier top scoring with 20.

The damage was done by Oliver Newby and Charlie Honour who took three wickets apiece.

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BRENTON Parchment starred with the bat and ball as Atherton leapfrogged opponents Golborne with their fourth win of the season.

Muzammil Nizam knocked 25 and Jake Waterworth struck 30 as Golborne were bowled out for 119.

Professional Parchment did the most damage with the ball taking four wickets for as many runs, while Josh Gilluley took 3-18.

When Parchment turned his hand to the bat he hit 58 as Atherton replied with two wickets remaining. Waterworth was the most notable bowler with figures of 3-32.

Meanwhile, Phil Ingram starred for Horwich as they cruised past Standish.

Ingram (8-32) tore through the batting line up taking 8-32 as the visitors were bowled out for 68, before turning his hand to the bat and scoring 34.

Tom Billington added 25 not out before Brett Pelser made his long-awaited return from injury and saw them over the line with a knock of four not out.

Farnworth ended Little Lever's terrific run of form with a seven-wicket victory.

Andrew Worden top scored with 21 as the Victory Road outfit were bowled out for 82. Chris Wilson (4-23) and Imran Mirza (3-28) starred with the ball.

Opener Adil Nisar hit 19 in reply before Jack Horrocks knocked 27 as Farnworth bounced back from last weekend's shock defeat to Lostock in perfect style.

Bradshaw are well on their way to a top-half finish after they defeated mid-table rivals Adlington.

Atiq Uz-Zaman spearheaded The Rigbys outfit's batting, knocking 87. Uz-Zaman put on an 116-run opening partnership with Tom Liversedge (36) as the hosts stormed into a commanding position.

Skipper Nick Lester added 47 soon after as Bradshaw ran up a tally of 216-7. Majid Majeed was the most notable bowler, taking 4-96.

Majeed then top scored with the bat hitting 58no but Adlington were bowled out for 129. Uz-Zaman was the main threat with the ball, taking 6-47.

Saturday's results

Atherton 114-8, Golborne 113. Atherton won by 2 wkts.

Blackrod 191-9, Astley Bridge 149. Blackrod won by 42 runs.

Bradshaw 216-7, Adlington 129. Bradshaw won by 87 runs.

Daisy Hill 190-7, Kearsley 189-5. Daisy Hill won by 3 wkts.

Farnworth Social Circle 141, Heaton 125. Farnworth Social Circle won by 16 runs.

Horwich 70-1, Standish 68. Horwich won by 9 wkts.

Little Lever 82, Farnworth 83-3. Farnworth won by 7 wkts.

Lostock 220, Little Hulton 163. Lostock won by 57 runs.

Walkden 137, Tonge 67. Walkden won by 70 runs.

Westhoughton 267-4, Darcy Lever 98. Westhoughton won by 169 runs.