THE rain relented just in time for Ramsbottom and Todmorden to play the minimum required 30 overs a side match on Saturday and the few supporters that hung around were treated to an excellent game.

Put into bat, Nick Riley and sub professional Majid Saeed gave the Rams a brilliant start with a 113 partnership off 24 overs, both batsmen passing the half century mark.

The Pakistani paid man was then well held on the boundary and when Riley followed shortly afterwards the rest of the batting had to resort to do-or-die tactics to see the score up to 149.

This target was always going to be difficult to defend on the best batting strip in the league and with the Tod professional having hit four centuries in his last six knocks.

With the score on 34 for no wicket in the sixth over things looked bleak but out of the blue Read deceived Arothe with a slower delivery and Harrison gleefully held onto the catch at cover.

Skipper Price immediately brought himself into the attack to bowl in tandem with Read and they slowly but surely put the brakes on the home side's scoring.

Wickets started to fall at regular intervals and Todmorden gradually fell behind the required run rate.

When the fifth wicket fell at 91 in the 22nd over the Rams were firm favourites but a quick 38 partnership between P. Brierley and Priestley swung the game the other way.

It then turned back in Ramsbottom's favour when Priestley went for a big hit, Horrocks dived forward in a valiant attempt for a catch, but having failed to cling onto the ball recovered quickly enough to return it to Price who ran out Brierley.

When Priestley was caught on the edge in the next over it was game over and the Rams collected the 10 points for a win.

Twenty-four hours later Bacup were duly crown champions for a third successive year after comprehensively outpointing the Rams at Acre Bottom.

The Rams had the services of Tonge professional Adil Nijar but even this prolific run scorer found it difficult against the nagging length and swing of professional Young and leading amateur wicket taker Ormerod.

None of the Ramsbottom batsmen could really come to terms with the Bacup bowling and a score of 93 was never going to be a challenge.

Still, they spurned a great chance to make a better game of it when Young was dropped off a relatively easy catch at point when he had only scored one.

After that it was a case of sensible batting all the way until the winning runs were scored in the 37th over and the champagne was cracked open.

TODMORDEN v RAMSBOTTOM

RAMSBOTTOM

Majid Saeed c Oddy b Arothe...55

N. Riley b Arothe...58

S. Read c Oddy b Arothe...6

B. Horrocks run out...8

D. Bell run out...2

J. Harrison not out...7

L. Daggett not out...2

Extras...12

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Total (for 5) 149

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30 overs

S. Oddy 15-0-66-0; J. Summerscales 8-0-41-0; T. Arothe 7-0-35-3.

TODMORDEN

J. Summerscales b Read...14

T. Arothe c Harrison b Read...13

M. Brierley st Hevingham b Read...16

G. Weir c Majid Saeed b Price...10

P. Brierley run out...30

N. Hunter c Horrocks b Read...8

S. Priestley c Horrocks b Price...16

D. Whitehead not out...3

S. Oddy not out...5

Extras...25

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Total (for 7) 139

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30 overs

C. Eardley 3-0-18-0; S. Read 15-0-65-4; M. Price 12-1-44-2.

RAMSBOTTOM v BACUP

RAMSBOTTOM

A. Nisar c Young b Ormerod...17

N. Riley lbw Young...0

S. Read lbw Young...0

D. Bell b Young...12

J. Harrison b Young...15

M. Price c Thompson b Ormerod...98

L. Daggett b Lord...20

A. Bell b Ormerod...9

B. Horrocks lbw Lord...0

R. Hevingham c Chapman b Ormerod...3

C. Eardley not out...6

Extras...3

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Total 93

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49.5 overs

S. Young 17-5-38-4; D. Ormerod 19.5-6-43-4; T. Lord 3-1-9-2.

BACUP

P. Thompson not out...36

D. Ayres c D. Bell b Price...0

S. Young not out...53

Extras...7

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Total (for 1) 96

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36.1 overs

S. Read 5-0-17-0; M. Price 18--36-1; A. Nijar 11-1-26-0; C. Eardley 2.1-0-11-0.