REIGNING champions Arnside suffered their first defeat of the season as Shireshead returned home with a seven-wicket victory as their bright start to the campaign continued.

After being invited to bat, the home side made a positive start, reaching 28 without loss from five overs before James Rafferty and Danny Wilkinson removed both openers.

Struggling at 45-5, Alex Davidson and Chris Barron stabilised the innings with a partnership of 30 before both were removed by Uzair Shah who finished with 2-16.

Raffery was the pick of the Shireshead bowlers and returned figures of 6-42 as Wilkinson posted 2-34, with Arnside all out for 98.

Skipper Paul Yates and Liam Parkinson started the reply well while cameos from Peter Wilson and Simon Gould ensured the hosts reached 59-2.

Three quick-fire wickets had Shireshead wobbling before Steve Yates led the Clifton Park club home with an unbeaten 29, as Adrian Lee claimed 3-32 with the ball.

At Carr Lane, Sedgwick overcame Heysham to record their second victory of the summer after dismissing the home side for 156.

Reduced to 35-5 at one stage, James Whincup top scored with 46 while contributions of 26 and 21 from Stefan Dixon and Jamie Antcliffe respectively pushed the Heysham score to 156.

Joe Portmann was the pick of the bowlers with 4-32 as Jonny Matthews posted 3-27, with Sedgwick reaching their victory target for the loss of five wickets.

Former Ibis batsman Mike Robinson top scored with 34 while Simon Willacy added 33 towards the end of the innings to guide Sedgwick home.

Warton claimed 15 points after cantering to a nine-wicket win against bottom of the table Bolton le Sands at Hyning Park, completing their run chase in just 24 overs.

Graeme Crowther once again proved the pick of the Warton bowlers, claiming 4-31 from 17 overs as Bolton le Sands struggled to 127-9.

Despite losing Tony Barrow for 12, Ryan Nelson stole the show with a classy half century, finishing on 73 not out while the returning Dan Dixon batted sensibly for an unbeaten 29.

Westgate were the only other top flight team to win on Saturday and surged to the top of the league thanks to an 85-run success at Windermere’s Queen’s Park.

Andy Hill was Westgate’s most eminent batsman with a knock of 71 as the visitors were dismissed for 158 – their highest score of the season to date.

In reply, Windermere could only muster 73, with no team yet to reach three figures against the Cross Hill Park outfit so far this year.

Ambleside secured their second losing draw of the season after batting out their 45-over allocation against Milthorpe, who racked up 194-4 in their innings.

Steve Bowman top scored with 79 while fellow opener Mike Wills hit 52 and Phil Bovis 34 as Oli Wileman claimed 2-56 with the ball.

Oli Wileman, Hugh Tyson, Greg Weddell and Rob Griffiths all made starts for Ambleside but failed to convert into big scores, with the Rydal Road club eight wickets down at the close.

Sam Mason and Alistair Gage were the not out batsmen as the Milnthorpe bowling attack was spearheaded by Wills and Bob Baldwin who took three wickets apiece.

At Ellergreen Park, Burneside and Silverdale also played out a draw with the home side setting 139-8 after winning the toss and electing to bat.

David Batty provided the main resistance with 43, while Paul Moffatt was the pick of the bowlers with 5-59 as Jon Mason chipped in with 3-50,

After losing four early wickets, the Silverdale ship was steadied with 41 by James Greenall and Graham Dodds’ 36 although both fell in quick succession.

David Mason and Eddie Letcher were the unbeaten batsmen as Silverdale finished on 118-8 to claim three points from the clash, as Buneside picked up nine.

In Division Two, Holme maintained their position at the league’s summit with victory over Westgate, who posted 153-8 before dismissing Westgate for 134.

There were also wins for Shireshead, Bare, Heysham, Burneside and Trimpell, with the standout performances coming from Heysham’s Luke Pearson who scored 127 not out and Bare’s John Moller who also hit a century.

Carnforth and Milnthorpe are tied at the summit of Division Three after victories against Ambleside and Galgate respectively.

Carnforth lead the way in the fourth tier as well after defeating Shireshead while Morecambe remain the team to beat in Division Five following a powerful performance against Cartmel.