FARNWORTH Social Circle captain Richard Dempster has hailed the work ethic of his young squad after continuing their excellent start to the new season with a seven-wicket win against Premiership newcomers Atherton on Saturday.

Social Circle travelled to Higham Park, restricted their opponents to 175-9 having been invited to field and knocked the runs off with 17.2 overs remaining to secure their third win from four and move second – a point behind leaders Farnworth.

Dempster claimed two wickets alongside new-ball partner Ryan Ayres, while Jay Chhana later matched his fellow seamers.

In pursuit, David Tonge opened with 54 before professional Imran Butt usurped him with 55. They shared 71 for the second wicket, advancing from 44-1 in the 11th over.

Saturday’s results mean the top five teams in the Premiership are separated by just two points from leaders Farnworth to fifth-placed Horwich, with Social Circle, Bradshaw and Walkden in between.

And Dempster is delighted to be in the thick of the title shake-up.

“I’m massively pleased because we’ve played some good cricket,” said the skipper.

“We’re a young team, I think everybody knows that, and I’ve been very impressed with how we’ve gone about things.

“The lads are putting the time in and are training really well in midweek. They deserve what they’re getting.

“For me, our start isn’t a shock.

“We were very unlucky in the game we lost against Kearsley as well. Their pro did his job, but we could have easily won that one.

“It’s a young squad with a couple of new signings, so it was difficult to know exactly what to expect before the season started. We’ll take it week by week.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and get carried away, even though it’s a good start.”

Saturday’s win was achieved with some comfort, and it was done without talismanic all-rounder Chris Barrow, who was unavailable for one weekend.

Barrow has started the season with 220 runs from five matches, including a Peter Stafford Trophy fixture, at an average of 55 and 11 wickets with his left-arm spinners.

His standout performance came in the win against Daisy Hill a couple of rounds ago when he smashed 92 off just 28 balls.

Dempster said: “Chris has started like a house on fire.

“To be honest, he’s rescued us in a couple of games where we’ve been in trouble. His experience is massive, but we knew we needed others to stand up and do it for us. That’s what we spoke about before the game, and thankfully we did it.

“The experience he has, having pretty much done everything in the league, is vital. It’s the same with David Tonge.

“There will be certain times when we struggle and need those guys to step in and help us, and so far they’ve been great.

“David showed that on Saturday with a 50. He batted brilliantly.

“But we have plenty of good players. Will Shuttleworth, who has joined from Eagley, is one. He looks a fine asset.”

Shuttleworth struck once with the ball and finished 25 not out alongside unbeaten Butt.