OULTON Park waited until the final over to hit the winning runs in their Division One clash with Bredbury St Marks.

Maintaining the chase of undefeated league leaders Brooklands, Oulton made it three wins out of four after the reduced overs contest in which Bredbury took to the crease first.

Braces for both Guy Emmett, 2 for 35, and Andrew Hards, 2 for 45, reduced the visitors to 194 for 5 in their 39 overs, with Peter Zybrands top scoring with 61.

Oulton’s chase of the healthy total took them to the wire, with Nick James reaching 99 not out before his batting partner Craig Douglas hit a winning six with five balls of the match remaining to deny him a century and take his side to 195 for 6.

Last year’s Division Two champions Middlewich climbed into fourth place following a nail-biting finish against Cheadle Hulme.

Stuart Price’s 4 for 22 and Phil Parry’s 3 for 36 had Cheadle running scared, with the visitors reaching only 113 as a result.

Unfortunately Middlewich found Aussie paceman Kris Nissen similarly hard to handle, but despite his figures of 4 for 54 the final pairing of Stuart Price and Nigel Stubbs managed to drag them over the line for 114 for 9.

Phil Parry was again the star of the show with the bat, top scoring with 28.

Middlewich take on unbeaten league leaders Brooklands on Saturday, hoping to end their four-match winning streak.

In Division Two, Weaverham earned a well-deserved winning draw after a superb stint with the bat.

Huge scores for Steve Woods, 88, James Lewis, 84, and Wilden Cornwall, also 84, helped them on their way to a healthy 293 for 6 before declaring, thinking that would be enough to earn them their first win of the new season.

But it was not to be, as despite Stuart Heyes’ best efforts of 4 for 22 Irby held on for 160 for 7 and a share of the points.

Fellow newcomers Davenham lost by five wickets at Poynton, but still managed to pick up 10 useful points.

James Loveridge’s knock of 82 helped his side reach a total of 168 for 8, but Poynton got home on 172 for 5 in the 38th over.

Rob Massey’s 2 for 60 was the pick of Davenham’s bowling.