Clifton hosted 2nd-placed Stretford on Saturday, looking toincrease the 19-point gap between the two sides and move one step closer towinning the league.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat. As usual, Roband Tom opened the bowling, but unusually, neither managed to pick up a wicketearly on, with both Stretford openers settling in well. Dan Jones also bowled atight spell, but again, it went wicketless.
Finally, the introduction of captain Liam Dorsey got thebreakthrough. He dismissed both openers in quick succession, clean bowlingthem, to leave the visitors at 75-2. It wasn't long before Liam struck again,picking up two more wickets, including one caught by Jordan Higham. Lewis thenchipped in with a run-out after some poor calling between the batsmen, linkingup well with Steve.
Liam claimed his well-deserved fifth wicket as the visitorsbegan to collapse. The introduction of second spinner Owen Hogben paid off too,as he cleaned up the tail with three wickets, one caught by Sam and another byDan. Captain Fantastic then wrapped up the innings with his sixth wicket,finishing with excellent figures of 13.1–3–35–6.
Clifton's target was set: 140 runs to win.
The chase started shakily, with Sam unfortunately having toreturn to the pavilion in the first over without facing a ball. In at number 3came the ever-reliable Dan Jones. His early positivity set the tone for theinnings, punishing loose deliveries all around the ground and bringing up asolid 50-run partnership with Steve.
Shortly after, Steve was dismissed LBW, and Jordan Highamjoined Dan at the crease. The pair batted with real class, taking the scorefrom 58-2 to 142-2, earning Clifton another bonus point. While the partnershipwas a joy to watch, it was Dan Jones who truly stood out, finishing with anexcellent 79*, edging closer to 1,000 runs for the season. Jordy alsobatted nicely, finishing with a composed 36*.
Clifton now sit just one 6-point win away fromclinching the league title, as they travel to Blackley next weekend.