Division Four

Preston Capes 'A' v Willoughby 'A'

Willoughby ‘A’ (176 for 9 – 20 pts) beat Preston Capes ‘A’ (119 all out – 7 pts) by 57 runs

Willoughby ‘A’: Isbar Ali 35, Gurjit Rupal 20, Kashif Choudhry 23, Henry Spencer 4-39,

Ben Packman 2-32

Preston Capes ‘A’: Richard Bull 22, Alan Rumbelow 4-37, Martin Nichols 3-12

All eyes were on Willoughby 'A's trip to Preston Capes in the potentially 'do or die' promotion clash.

With a point seperating the two sides at the start of play - Willoughby in second, Capes in third, the outcome would go someway as to deciding who may be promoted, and Willoughby batting first having lost the toss set a good target for the hosts to chase. They reached 176 for 9 with Isbar Ali (35), Gurjit Rupal (20) and Kashif Choudhry (23) the chief run-makers.

In reply, Capes could only get to 119 before they were bowled out. Alan Rumbelow returned figures of 4 for 37 and Martin Nichols 3 for 12 as the visitors took a crucial step to returning back to Division 3 at the first time of asking.

The maths for this weekend's final game appear simple. A return of 7 points will see Willoughby elevated, although their opponents at The Green - the rapidly improving Charlton, lying in fourth spot, still have an outside mathematical chance of going up ahead of both WCC and Capes.