EGERTON continued their upsurge in form by securing a vital win against relegation rivals Prestwich in the Premier Division of the Greater Manchester Cricket League.

Knowing that the loser would drop into the bottom four, both sides had to be at the top of their game from the off.

Prestwich opened the batting with Gihahn Cloete scoring 34 and Ryan Stanbury knocking 28.

Tom Gibson chipped in with 28 in the middle order but Amal Dalugoda cranked up the pressure with the ball, taking 5-50.

Ramiz Patel also bowled 3-30 as Prestwich were dismissed for 144.

Egerton skipper Will Halton led by example in reply with an opening knock of 36 before Mahela Udawatte added 40.

Daniel Partington (44 not out) and Anthony Clegg (17no) then impressed with the bat to lead their side home to a seven-wicket victory.

The win moves Egerton one point and one place above Prestwich, who occupy the final relegation spot.

Elsewhere, Astley and Tyldesley surrendered their cushion at the top of the Division Two table after suffering defeat at home to Whalley Range.

The Gin Pit outfit remain top on games won, but they are now level on points with second-placed Thornham.

A&T impressed with the bat in the first innings as opening batsman Jimmy Cutt and Dean Petrie scored 68 and 27, respectively.

Nathan McDonnell added his usual high knock of 42 and David Harrison then struck 47no off 29 balls to post a score of 220-7.

Usman Saleem was the only bowler of note, taking 3-56.

Amazingly, Whalley Range were not fazed by the big target and began the chase with Faizan Ahmad (55) and Dale Kinsey (40) scoring high.

McDonnell did his best to stop the visitors’ momentum by bowling 4-66, but Janaid Maqsood spearheaded the reply, scoring 52no – wrapping up the win with only three balls to spare.

In Division One, Edgworth moved to within two points of a promotion spot after beating Winton by nine runs.

Results

Egerton 145-3 Prestwich 144, Egerton won by 7 wkts.

Edgworth 179-7 Winton 170, Edgworth won by 9 runs.

Astley and Tyldesley 220-7 Whalley Range 221-6, Whalley Range won by 4 wkts.