BURY Thirds clinched the North Manchester Cricket League Division Four title with a final-day win against Walshaw Thirds.

With the Edgworth v Bury match abandoned the previous week, it came down to the Radcliffe Road side’s final game of the season against their neighbours.

In the event, Bury beat Walshaw by four wickets on a beautiful late summer afternoon in a match switched to Sycamore Road because of work starting at Radcliffe Road.

Walshaw openers Hardman and Asif made a steady start against some accurate seam bowling from Majid Mohammed and particularly Sohail Younus who began his spell with four maiden overs. When Younus broke the partnership in the eighth over the home side were on 14 and only four runs were added before Younus took his second, with Hardman (14) well caught by skipper and keeper Stuart Mulvaney.

With M Davies batting solidly, Chris Potts ripped the middle order apart bowling three consecutive wicket maidens to leave Walshaw at 28-6 C Davies then joined him at the crease and things settled down for a while until Sam Massey clean bowled M Davies for 18.

Massey took a further two wickets and Potts took one more before a fine catch on the boundary by Michael Conn, off the bowling of Joe Mitchell, saw the innings close on 50.

With only a modest target, Bury went out to bat full of confidence but young seam bowler Godsell put the cat among the pigeons with an aggressive nine-over spell which saw him go for less than two runs per over and also claim the scalps of Danny McCaffery and Paul Morris. Mulvaney went soon after, caught by Collinson off the bowling of M Davies and when Ikki Gorsi was run out with a brilliant direct hit, Bury were rocking at 23-4.

But Adam Hilton (18) settled things down, batting patiently at first and when the bowlers changed, he upped the rate and saw the visitors through to 47 before unluckily pulling the ball on to his stumps.

Younus had the last say in the game when he scored the winning runs with a powerful pull for six and after a shaky period the celebrations started.