MARKLAND Hill marched on in search of promotion from Section C of the Bolton Badminton League with a dominant display at Sharples C.

The second-placed side beat the team occupying fifth spot in the table by a convincing 14-4 margin.

The opening games were shared when Kate Birley and Chris Ball – Markland Hill’s second pairing – won the first 21-14, and Linzi Casey and Steve Duckworth reciprocated by taking the second 21-14.

Markland Hill's first couple, Jayne Smith and Bill Walsh claimed the first of their games against Eileen Beeney and Nick Hitchen 21-14 before the Sharples duo took the second 23-21.

In the clash of the third couples, Markland Hill’s Hafsa Ashraf and Chris Kattakam won both games, 21-14, 21-16, against Marion Anderson and Liam McMahon.

Markland Hill then took both games when the first couples met, Smith and Walsh beating Casey and Duckworth 26-24 in a hard-fought first, and 21-18 in the second.

The second couples' games were shared, Sharples’ Beeney and Hitchen winning the first 21-19, and Birley and Ball claiming the second 21-14.

Going into the level doubles Markland Hill were ahead 7-3, and the margin was unchanged after the first pair of ladies’ games in which Sharples’ Anderson and Casey won the first 21-15 and Ashraf and Smith took the second 21-18.

At the start of the first pair of men’s games Markland Hill had reached the draw position. And that turned into a winning one when Kattakam and Walsh claimed both their men’s games 21-16, 21-18, against McMahon and Duckworth.

Although Sharples fought hard in the final four games with some very close scores, Markland Hill claimed all the games.

Ashraft and Birley won the second pair of ladies’ games 21-17, 21-18 against Anderson and Beeney, and Kattaram and Ball took the final men’s games 21-15, 22-20 in another nail-biter against McMahon and Hitchen.