Kearsley continued their unbeaten record at the top of the Bolton League but the performance of the day was achieved by Eagley.

Last year's wooden spoonists went to Walkden, where they recovered from 3-2 to pull off a shock 65 run win.

The Smith brothers of Walkden, John and David, had the Eagley batsmen in heaps of trouble and there looked little chance of them reaching three figures when reduced to 96-9.

But Steve Shepley 45 and Steve Powers 16 not out defiantly stayed at the crease and they put on 57 in a reasonable total of 157-8. David Smith finished with figures of 4-45 and John Smith 4-51.

Eagley's South African bowling pairing of Dirkie De Voss and Andre Claassen then inspired the side to victory. Pro De Voss had 5-52 and Claassen 4-37 as Walkden slumped from 20-0 to 88 all out.

Meanwhile Kearsley remain the team to beat. They beat Farnworth Social Circle by six wickets, Paul Berry unbeaten on 79 out of a winning total of 159-4. Earlier Circle had been restricted to 157-8, David Tattersall taking 4-50.

Scott Walters picked up five wickets for nine runs as Bradshaw dismissed Horwich for 114. That target was not quite as easy to reach as Bradshaw first thought as David Blake picked up 4-44 before the home side finally got home with 116-8.

Egerton were the top scorers of the day and Aussie Michael O'Rourke was unbeaten on 114. With pro Tinus Enslin adding 77 in a 164 partnership with O'Rourke, Egerton reached 255-4 and that was always too many for Greenmount who forced the draw at 144-7.

The other games were drawn but Little Lever almost had a century maker in Tony Settle, who hit 93. Jason Swift added 78 to give Little Lever a handsome 218-5 but they could not finish the job as Farnworth ended the game on 157-5, pro Brad Hodge 67.

Heaton also had a 200-plus score without the reward of winning points. A partnership of 120 from Tim Barry 66 and Lee Sutton 59 took them to 218-7 but Astley Bridge defied them at 179-9. They missed out on a bonus point by one run but Martin Seddon's 36 and Raquesh Patel's 23 at least staved off defeat.

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