LAST week's cup action produced few surprises.

In the Warburton Cup, three of the matches featured the three top Premier teams came out on top against the three top teams from Division One.

Ramsbottom A the current leaders in the Premier Division with only two of their regular players available, gave Little Lever C three points start, and still ran out comfortable 5-2 winners, with three wins from Mike Moir and two by Andy Jackson.

Division One team Heaton A on plus three, entertained Tonge A from the Premier Division, but, despite four of the sets going to the fifth game, the Tonge team ran out 9-0 winners, which included trebles by Darren Howarth, Dave Griffith and Tim Hatton.

Premier team Little Lever A scored a comfortable 5-2 win against Burning Desire B who are currently second in the First Division.

The other Premier team through to the semi finals are Radcliffe Cricket Club, who gave Ladybridge B from the Third Division five points start, but recorded an 8-1 win which featured three wins by Jim Chadwick and Mick Dore, plus two by Steve Rowe.

In the Brian Gittins Cup, which is the competition for Premier and Division One teams, the three teams who won through to the semi final are all from the First Division with two of them winning through against teams from the higher Division.

Perhaps the best win was by Heaton A, who used their three points start to beat Wharton A 6-3, which included three wins by Paul Ward, two by Barry Dobbins and one by Paul McCormick.

Burning Desire B, with two start, won a close match with Lostock in which five of the sets were decided in the fifth game. They came back from 4-1 down to record a 5-4 win, with Kim Barnard and Vinny Croft winning two sets and Ian Boyle one.

A treble by Kavan Orton and two wins by Steve Williams gave YMCA their 5-4 win against fellow First Division team, Hilton B.

Played off scratch, YMCA established an early 5-2 lead to go into the semi final. The outstanding match is between the two top Premier teams, Ramsbottom A and Tonge A, which will give the Premier Division one representative in the semi final.

In the George Yates Shield for Division Two and Three teams, Hilton I, had three points and three sets start because their Second Division opponents, Hilton D, could only muster two players.

Hilton I took full advantage as they ran out comfortable 6-3 winners with three wins by Andy Harris, two by Eamon McEntee and one by Gilbert Wilkinson.

Ellesmere A, one of the top teams in Division Three, entertained one of the Second Division top teams Hilton E. The Ellesmere team, on three points start, lost the first two sets but came back strongly, and the match was poised when the score reached 4-4.

The ninth set went the full distance before being won by Paul Pover, who beat Lee Davenport 11-9 in the last game to give Ellesmere their 5-4 win.

Pover and Dennis Hough won two apiece and Paul Jackson one for the winners, with Siful Khan unbeaten for the losers.

Teams should check their Easter fixtures to ensure these dates do not pose problems. If so, teams should re-arrange their games, preferably by bringing matches forward.

Warburton Cup Semi Final (wc March 21): Ramsbottom A v Little Lever A; Radcliffe CC v Tonge A.

George Yates Shield Semi Final: Ellesmere A v Hilton J or Hilton C; Walkden Meths or Ladybridge B v Hilton I.

Ron Hindle Trophy Semi Final: BEN B v Bolton YMCA; Ladybridge C v Heaton F.

Brian Gittins Cup Semi Final: YMCA V Ramsbottom A or Tonge A; Burning Desire B v Heaton A.