HILLTOP Ladies maintained their 100 per cent record with victory over CMB to remain Section Q’s early-season pacesetters.

They have won all five games so far, with their three closest rivals all four points behind after winning three and losing two.

BCC Girls are bottom after losing all five matches, three of them in a busy week and two within a few hours on Sunday.

They lost to CMB Ladies by an innings in the first of that double-header, in a game in which 574 runs were scored.

CMB crashed back down to earth three days later when they lost by an innings to Hilltop who dismissed them for less than 60 runs in each innings.

After winning four straight matches in Section P, Hunter Ladies discovered they could not take victory for granted when they lost to Walkden CC Juniors.

Hunter led 136-92 after the first innings, but Walkden scored a remarkable 244 in the second innings with substitute A Walker contributing 65.

Hunter were then dismissed for 105 and no doubt regretted having just nine players for the match against the team that now shares top spot.

HSL Ladies, in Section N, have struggled to field a full team and finish matches, but they came good with a vengeance last week when they fielded a full team and beat bottom side Sweet Green B by an innings. They scored 414 runs in the innings against 148 for the match by their opponents.

Sweet Green scored 58 in the first innings and 88 in the second, but HSL’s R Fletcher scored 86 on her own, K Roberts 83 and A Jackson 69.

In Section H, Darcy Blues won their third match in four, but only just, and had to recover from a poor first innings against Impression Ladies.

Trailing 74-45, Darcy Blues fought back after the break to win by just three runs, thanks to 28 runs from their secretary Vicki Byrne.

The Section F match between Party Perfections and Heaton Ladies had a closer finish with just one run separating them.

Party Perfections were 126-71 behind after the first innings and staged a valiant fightback, scoring 114 and dismissing Heaton for 60. But they fell just short of the perfect finish.

The Inter-league series of four matches against the Bury League starts on the last Friday in May and the teams have started selection and practice.

The juniors will practise on Sunday, May 22, and Saturday, May 28, at 11am at Darcy Lever CC while the seniors will be at Barlow Park from 7pm on Monday, May 23, followed by Thursdays June 2 and 9.

The Over-45s will practise on Sunday at 11am on Darcy Lever CC. The intermediates have the following practices: 1pm, Sunday; and 11am, Saturday, May 28, at Hulton Lane; and 7pm, Thursday, June 9, at Barlow Park.