SMITHILLS Open Farm lifted this season's Pike Shield after beating Fernhill Farm Stables in Friday's final at Bolton Cricket Club.

With a good turnout in warm weather, J Section Fernhill batted first and managed an admirable 118 points despite Smithills, from K Section, fielding sharply by keeping eight players on single figure scores, thanks to batters Maddie Morgan (30), Georgia Tansey (28) and Nicola Brannon (39).

Smithills then batted well, with only three batters scoring less than 10.

Charlotte Fitzharris and Melissa Horrock both scored 26 points each giving Smithills an innings total of 150.

Fernhill returned for their second innings behind by 42 points so had a battle on their hands.

Once again, Smithills kept most batters to single figures resulting in a match total of 190 and giving them a target of just 31 points to win.

After four bats each, with only one batter out, Smithills declared with a match score of 237 to seal victory.

In the league, things are getting exciting now the season is coming to its last few games.

In Section A it looks like there is going to be an end-of-season battle between Rupert Ladies, Darcy Lever A and Little Lever XI who are all in the position of potentially winning the section.

The situation is the same in Section B with WMB Ladies, Leverhulme Ladies and Church Hotel.

In Section C, Moss Bank Ladies are the only team in the league who have won all their games so far and will be looking to maintain this record for their final three games.

In G and H sections, six teams are still in a position where they could win their division, which makes for a nerve-wracking three weeks for those sides.