EGERTON stormed to an emphatic 10-wicket victory at Royton and then sat back and watched on as a result elsewhere secured their safety in the GMCL’s Premier Division on Saturday.

Adam Patel and captain Will Halton shared seven wickets to bowl the Oldham side out for just 80 before reaching their target in 15 overs.

Professional Janith Liyanage top-scored with an unbeaten 54, while 15-year-old Lancashire age-group opener, Cian Dickinson, supported him with 19 not out.

At the time, achieving their aim with less than three wickets down was the primary target to secure a bonus point.

But, later in the day, it proved irrelevant as rivals Woodhouses were beaten by Monton, who chased down an unlikely 260 to win a two-wicket thriller.

It means Egerton are now eight points clear of the bottom four teams with only six available.

They can now enjoy Saturday’s season finale at home to champions Denton St Lawrence.

“If I’m honest, staying up this season was probably the aim, and we’re delighted,” said team manager Dave Tattersall.

“We didn’t know how good the pro was going to be. That was an unknown.

“But he’s proved to be a diamond, and we’ve signed him again for next season.

“It’s also good we’ve had a pro who’s played every game. That makes such a difference.”

Sri Lankan Liyanage, aged 24, has scored seven 50s in his 670 runs.

Tattersall continued: “The pro batted really well. So did Cian. We just said to him: ‘Be there at the end’. He did a great job.

“Cian’s a very handy cricketer. He bowls good leg-spin and googlies as well.

“He was 14 for a good portion of the season and is 15 now.

“He’s playing at a really good standard, and this season will benefit him massively when it comes to next year with us.

“From a club point of view, it’s been a good year because the seconds are challenging for their title and the thirds are top of their division.

“We also had a decent run in the National Village Knockout, but we should have won the game (Houghton Main in the quarter-finals in July) we lost over in Barnsley. We really blew that game.”

Against Royton, Patel struck four times, while skipper Halton returned impressive figures of 3-2 from four overs of off-spin after the hosts elected to bat.

“We would have bowled first,” added Tattersall. “The pitch looked damp, and we thought it would be slow and low. But there was a fair bit of bounce in it.

“We bowled well, and they didn’t bat very well.

“It was a bit ‘six-and-out’ type cricket. In their 80, I bet there were only 10 to 15 runs scored in singles.

“Adam went for 16 in his first three balls. I don’t know what happened because he’s been very consistent. Those three balls were a blip. He bowled really well after that. Will was the best bowler by a mile.

“We spoke at halfway about doing everything we could to make sure we didn’t lose three wickets because it was important to get the extra point. It was a great win.”