BOLTON’S intermediate team overcame their Bury rivals in an exciting climax to the home interleague programme at Westhoughton Cricket Club.

The girls, aged 18-25, won by 10 runs in a hotly contested affair to complete a clean sweep of wins for Bolton in their home games, also involving the senior and junior teams, ahead of the return fixtures in Bury.

Bolton got off to a poor start, losing three batters without scoring, before settling into their stride with five rounders, eight threes and a string of singles to finish the first innings with a respectable 99 runs.

Emma Truffas emerged the hosts top scorer with 20 and a final flourish of two rounders.

The visitors lost one batter, but after four rounds, which included a couple of rounders, they were reduced to just four batters.

However, they proved stubborn and hit seven rounders and 81 runs to push the Bury total to 119 and a 20-run lead, thanks largley to Claire O’Reilly who top scored on 28 with four rounders and four ones.

In the second innings, all the home side survived the first batting round and Truffas hit a rounder before being out at first base next time. The rest of the Bolton side settled for mostly safe ones and twos, but substitute Amy Leonard took every chance going and scored a magnificent 40, including three rounders and five threes.

Bolton’s cause was aided by 22 bad balls, considerably more than in the first innings, ending with 136 and a match total of 235.

Bury only needed to match their first innings score for victory, but the Bolton fielders had other ideas.

All the batters survived the first round and scored three rounders in the innings, but were all out for 106, leaving the home side 235-225 winners. The juniors, intermediates and seniors teams will now meet again at Elton Vale Cricket Club on the next three Fridays, starting tomorrow.

The most remarkable performance of the week was in the league programme was by Astley Bridge Ladies in Section K against P Arthur Autos.

Historically, there have been low scores, but nobody can remember a match card with a complete column of zeros for an innings.

Zoe McCardle (bowler), Sophie McCardle (Backstop) and Ann Marie Holt (first base) achieved the remarkable feat of 11 batters dismissed for no score, and no bad balls.