WOODBANK got their first points on the board in the Premier Division after holding out for a two-wicket win at fellow promoted side Bamford Fieldhouse.

Anthony Harris’s men survived a late fightback to seal a welcome victory after kicking off their top-tier campaign with defeat at Roe Green.

The Woodbank skipper put the result down to a well-drilled team performance.

He said: “Teams win leagues, not individuals, and this was a really good team effort.

“It’s not about one player scoring 50 runs and taking five wickets, it is about everyone mucking in and contributing, and that’s what we did at Bamford.

“We drummed into the players during the winter and pre-season the importance of starting games well.

“We did that really well and while Bamford came back into the game, we showed we can bat deep down the order.

“Everyone knows there are no easy wins to be had at Bamford, so it is great to get our campaign up and running and we will all take a lot of confidence from that.”

Woodbank laid the foundations for their debut victory with a tight bowling performance.

Bamford Fieldhouse initially recovered well after opener Mitchell Renwick was sent back to the pavilion for a golden duck.

Ex-Greenmount all-rounder Ryan Senior (37) and former Lancashire and England player Chris Schofield (35) combined well to take them to 72-1.

But once Schofield was removed lbw by Chris Read, Bamford lost their final eight wickets for just 63 runs.

Woodbank spinners Read, who took 2-28, and Nick Kennedy got through 30 overs between them as they pinned the home side down and eventually removed them for 135 with just two balls of the innings remaining.

Kennedy claimed the key wicket of Senior on his way to figures of 4-31, which included five maidens. Read also bowled five maidens, as did 18-year-old Ryan Barker, who, after getting the ball rolling with Renwick’s dismissal, came back to mop up the tail as he took 3-21 from 9.4 overs.

Only Melbourne Austin threatened to cut loose for Bamford, with an unbeaten 31 from 42 deliveries.

Woodbank struggled to capitalise on the good work done by their bowlers, but despite Lee Ingham top scoring with only 22, they managed to make it past their target.

Babar Khan (4-33) and Adil Mustafa (3-31) did their best to set up a tight finish, and could easily have saved the match but for stubborn resistance from Ingham and Tom Murphy (21), who put on 37 for the seventh wicket.

After both men were dismissed, wicketkeeper Domanic Gowers and Kennedy stuck around long enough to see Woodbank over the line.

Bury and Walshaw, meanwhile, continue to search for their opening wins.

Visitors Denton West bowled Bury out for 191 on their home ground before passing their target with seven wickets in hand.

Mohammed Jamal (36) and Cosmond Walters (48) looked well set to help Bury post a decent total after taking the Racecourse men to 143-3.

But once their 74-partnership was broken, the innings petered out under pressure from Stephen Oddy (5-42) and pro Semila Seyibokwe (3-18).

Bury pro Kasun Adikari (3-56) took all three Denton West wickets, but a splendid unbeaten 104 from 91 balls by opener Hamish Dunlop took the game away from the home side.

Walshaw’s struggles with the bat continued as they lost by 123 runs at Denton St Lawrence.

After being bowled out for 97 in their opening-day defeat at Flixton, Mikey Watt’s men were dismissed for 105 on Saturday as they attempted to chase down home side DSL’s target of 228-9. Scott Kirwin’s 70 underpinned the hosts’ innings, but Walshaw managed to keep the asking rate down to 4.5-an-over thanks to good bowling from Nick Murphy (4-52) and overseas amateur Dylan Blignaut (3-50).

Three quick wickets from St Lawrence’s Ben Tighe (3-25) reduced Walshaw to 24-3. And while opener Jack McClung scored 43, Kyle O’Reilly’s 5-35 ensured the visitors were back in the pavilion with 14 overs left.

GREENMOUNT maintained their winning start to the Greater Manchester League Division One season with a 50-run victory at home to Dukinfield.

Indian pro Kaustub Pawar starred with 91 on his debut to underpin their total of 217-9, although fellow opener Saad Khan (25) was the only other player to make it past 20.

Dukinfield’s reply was also dependent on one man, with Karl Mayne scoring 67 after coming in at number three.

Once Mayne was bowled by youngster Cameron Smith their chances went with him. Smith and captain Phil Heaton both took three wickets, while Pawar capped his debut with 2-24.

Unsworth had a day to forget at home to Woodhouses, losing a low-scoring game by 18 runs.

Ian Hall put them on the road to victory with 6-26 as the visitors were all out for 92, but the home batsmen were unable to capitalise as they were swept aside.

The three local sides in Division Two all won again, repeating their opening-day hat-trick. Elton’s middle order batsmen showed their mettle to lead them to an 80-run victory at home to Glossop 2nd XI. Chris Murray, coming in at number six, faced 112 balls in his unbeaten 47. He put on 37 for the fifth wicket with Mike Hall (35) and 75 for the sixth with Calum Roberts (32) as Elton finished on 189-6.

All five Elton bowlers took a wicket as Glossop were dismissed inside 32 overs. Gareth Edwards (3-30) and pro Anwar Ul Haq (3-43) posted the best figures.

Harry Fallon hit 31 in Edenfield’s modest total of 117 before Andrew Ruston and Paul Gallagher shared eight wickets to lead them to a 15-run win at Swinton Moorside.

Moshin Iqbal (5-30) and David Schierhout (4-16) set up Brooksbottom for a low-scoring victory against Whalley Range, while opener Paul Hopton (42 not out) steered them past their target of 92 with four wickets left.

Results and fixtures

GMCL Premier Division: Bamford Fieldhouse 135, Woodbank 136-8. Woodbank won by 2 wkts. Bury 191 Denton West 195-3, Denton West won by 7 wkts. Denton St Lawrence 228-9 Walshaw 105, DSL won by 123 runs.

Division One: Greenmount 217-9 Dukinfield 167. Greenmount won by 50 runs. Unsworth 74 Woodhouses 92, Woodhouses won by 18 runs.

Division Two: Elton 189-6 Glossop 2nd XI 109, Elton won by 80 runs. Swinton Moorside 102 Edenfield 117, Edenfield won by 15 runs. Whalley Range 92 Brooksbottom 93-6, Brooksbottom won by 4 wkts.

Division Three: Elton Vale 148 Astley and Tyldesley 2nd XI 149-5. A&T 2nd XI won by 5 wkts. Irlam 76 Radcliffe 78-0, Radcliffe won by 10 wkts.

Division Four West: Flixton 2nd XI 151 ELPM 335-6, ELPM won by 184 runs. Tottington St Johns 278-4 Bury 2nd XI 152, TSJ won by 126 runs.

Lancashire League: Ramsbottom 253-6 Accrington 120, Ramsbottom won by 133 runs.

Fixtures

Saturday

GMCL Premier Division: Walshaw v Roe Green, Woodbank v Bury.

Division One: Denton v Greenmount, Heywood v Unsworth.

Division Two: Brooksbottom v Swinton Moorside, Droylsden v Elton, Edenfield v Wythenshawe.

Division Three: Radcliffe v Clifton 2nd XI, Whalley Range 2nd XI v Elton Vale.

Division Four West: ELPM v Blackley, Winton 2nd XI v Tottington St Johns.

Lancashire League: Ramsbottom v Todmorden.