UNBEATEN Warton were forced to settle for a winning draw against Sedgwick at Hyning Park, despite a five-wicket haul from all-rounder Graeme Crowther.

After being invited to bat, the hosts initially struggled on a pitch offering swing and movement, with none of the Warton top order reaching double figures.

Reeling at 45-4, Dan Dixon and Gareth Finney joined forces to rebuild the home side’s innings, with the pair’s half century partnership proving crucial.

Finney cleared the boundary rope as Warton passed the 100-mark before the skipper edged behind for 30, with Dixon finishing unbeaten on 38.

Johnny Matthews was the pick of the Sedgwick bowlers, returning figures of 4-28 as the hosts posted 132-7 from their allocated overs.

In reply, Jack Brown claimed the crucial wicket of Adam Hornby as Crowther ripped through the Sedgwick batting line-up, bowling unchanged and claiming 5-31.

Brown finished with 3-30 as Sedgwick closed on 84-8, as Warton rescued the match in the first instance but failed to force the win, ultimately claiming nine points from the clash.                            

Heysham and league leaders Shireshead took eight points apiece after a tied match at Carr Lane – a game which burst into life in the final ten overs.

Collapsing from 39-1 to 61-5, Robert Skipworth and Sam Hilton steadied the Shireshead ship with a 27-run partnership before slipping to 100-9 with 13 overs remaining.

Uzair Shah and Dave Murphy both finished unbeaten on 27 and 22 respectively, striking eight boundaries in a partnership of 61, as Andrew Ideson claimed 5-59.

Chasing 162, Heysham were 81-4 after 35 overs of their reply – halfway to their target with ten overs remaining – as Andy Powers and Jamie Antcliffe accelerated the run chase.

Powers top scored with an unbeaten 70 as an onslaught of runs meant Heysham required 26 from 18 balls with wickets in hand, a target which became eight from Shah’s final over.

A boundary off the second ball made Heysham the clear favourites only for Shah to hold his nerve with a scrambled two off the final delivery salvaging a tie.

Meanwhile, Arnside claimed a comfortable home victory over basement boys Bolton le Sands, with the visitors bowled out for just 47 inside 30 overs.

Only two Bolton le Sands batsmen reached double figures as the returning Matt Brockbank did the lion’s share of the damage with 5-10.

Despite losing opener Oliver Richardson-Hogg early on, Arnside cantered to a nine-wicket victory in the tenth over with Craig Barron finishing unbeaten on 29.

There was an intriguing fixture at Queen’s Park where Silverdale’s batting problems once again came to the fore during a 24-run defeat to Windermere.

After inviting the hosts to bat, Jon Mason was the pick of the bowlers with 6-47 as Windermere were routed for 119, with Paul Moffatt claiming 4-59.

However, despite reaching 90-4, Silverdale inexplicably slumped to 95 all out with only Jack Hargreaves making an impression with the bat, scoring 45.

Steve Carruthers took 6-28 as Silverdale once again lacked the batting strength to take victory – their highest margin of defeat this season is only 31 runs.

At Park Road, Westgate claimed a winning draw against Milnthorpe after posting 136-9, with Steve Creed leading the charge with 56, as James Parkinson claimed 5-25.

In reply, Milnthorpe lost regular wickets with only Lee Illingworth, who scored 35, making much headway in the top order as Garry Tattersall and Andrew Hill took three wickets apiece.

Craig Postlethwaite and Bob Baldwin combined for a final wicket partnership as Milnthorpe batted out their overs to claim two points after finishing 104-9.

Burneside recorded their first win of the summer against Ambleside at Ellergreen Park after the Rydal Road club ended on 130-6, with Rob Griffiths finishing 51 not out.

After losing early wickets, Burneside chipped away at their victory target with Ben Leacock clearing the boundary ropes twice as the visitors picked up 12 points.

In Division Two, Bare enhanced their chances of an immediate return to the top flight with a nine-wicket success at Ingleton, taking full advantage of Holme’s defeat at Low Moor Hospital.

Carnforth remain the team to beat in the third tier after claiming an eight-wicket success at Barrow as Milnthorpe suffered a heavy defeat at Kirkby-in-Furness

Two unbeaten sides went head to head in Division Four, with Carnforth posting a massive 240-6 while Netherfield secured a losing draw after finishing 110-9.

Morecambe again flexed their muscle in Division Five with a 125-run with against Ingleton as second-placed Netherfield defeated Burneside by four wickets.