Report: 1s win at home but 2s and 3s end up on wrong side of tight finishes

The 1st XI continued their strong season in Premier 2 with a 6 wicket win at home to bottom side Monton. The visitors won the toss and batted first and were 29-3 after the first 14 overs with the top 3 all out - Alex Breckin getting the openers and Nathan Ramsay running out Junaid Riaz. Youngster Benjamin Marsden batted well for the best part of 30 overs for his 32, but Sam Nolan-Massey wripped through the middle and lower order, taking 5 of the last 6 wickets to finish with figures of 14-3-24-5, and Monton were all out for 125.

Bury were given a scare at the start of their innings, finding themselves at 15-3 in the 6th over, with U13 George Brown getting the wickets of 3 key Bury batsman. Alex Breckin, Ammar Baig and extras put on 70 runs for the next wicket to calm any nerves of the home support, and captain Gary Garner ensured there would be no further drama - Ammar Baig finishing the game with a maximum and a boundary to reach 50 from 82 deliveries, meaning Bury won by 6 wickets and remain in a healthy league position going into the final 7 weekends. (Scorecard)

The 2nd XI welcomed South West Manchester to Unsworth and batted first. Syed Hashmi's fine 42 from 41 balls got the runs flowing early doors, and Bury were 90-5 with just over half of their overs remaining. However the lower order offered little resistance to South West's bowling and added just a further 5 runs for the remaining 5 wickets - Abdulmazid Master taking 5/33.

Despite the collapse, Matt Metcalfe (5/21) and Lee Halliwell (3/38) brought Bury back on top in the game with superb opening spells, and SWM were 67-9 after 21 overs. However, a resilient partnership between the number 9 and 11 batsman saw the game home with 29 for the last wicket to take home the 5 points - Bury taking one losing bonus point to stay top of the table. (Scorecard)

The 3rd XI were involved in a similarly tight game away at Sunday Premier leaders Whalley Range. A collapse looked on the cards at 28-3 as Bury batter first, but Sohale Khan and Sajad Safi (28) struck a fine balance between attack and defence to put on 67 for the 4 wicket in 12 overs. Bury continued to move towards a strong total, but the lower order collapse struck again once Khan had departed for 64, falling from 144-4 with 10 overs remaining to 161 all out.

Bury took regular wickets in the first 15 overs, mainly thanks to Mohammed Bilal's opening spill with Whalley Range 69-4. The 5th wicket partnership of 55 looked to have swung the momentum to the home side, but Mohammed Usman removed both set batsman in his return to the bowling attack, and with 4 overs to go, the score was 137-8. Home captain Mudassar Iqbal played well for his 20*, and it was number 10 Ralf Syrett who hit the winning runs with 5 balls remaining to take a 2 wicket win. (Scorecard)

The 4th XI enjoyed a trip to Rainhill. An enjoyable game ended in a victory for Bury - Will Moore was man of the match with 50 runs and a strong bowling performance.

Rainhill CC: