Northern won a spectacular race against time to overhaul Southport & Birkdale and consolidate their position at the top of the ECB Premier Division.

A stunning stand of 112 in just 12 overs by Chris Laker and Justin Snow earned a six-wicket win - Laker finished five shy of his century as Snow battered the winning boundaries to end up with 86 from 51 balls.

Their task looked a forlorn one after the hosts, rocked by an early slump to 51/4 in a game they needed to milk for points at the other end of the table, understandably took the slow road.

A partnership of 107 between the experienced David Snellgrove and 16-year-old Jack Carney stemmed the tide, then Carney progressed to 81 alongside the lower order before Chris Cunningham finally called his side in at 239/9 in the 75th over.

There seemed barely time to change over - Laker and Snow had other ideas.

Ormskirk are making up ground on the chasing pack - they too pulled off an impressive run chase, hunting down 233 to earn a two-wicket win over Formby.

The first half of the game belonged to the visitors’ Calum Turner, whose 136 was 112 runs more than anyone else managed and came at a decent lick, off just 152 balls. It allowed James Seward to declare at 55 overs, batting points in the bag - when the hosts drooped from 86/1 to 129/5, it seemed like more could be in store.

“We bowled a little bit too full to Turner and let him get going,” said Ormskirk skipper Gary Knight. “By the time we’d dragged it back, he was into his 60s - I thought we gave him an extra 20-30 runs, which I wasn’t best pleased with.

“But I thought the declaration was well within our reach, if one or two of our top order batted well.”

Harvey Rankin and George Politis added 79 for the sixth wicket then, when Rankin fell for 73, the tail had enough to inch over the line.

Knight added: “It was really nice to see young lads have that power early in their career, against experienced players who thought they were on top.

“I said after the game, the teams we’ve had in the past when we’ve won the league, we’ve not been chasing 230 regularly against teams like that. So we can take loads from it.”

There was more to cheer for Knight on Sunday, when his side overcame Northern to reach the quarter-finals of the ECB National Club Championship.

Liam Grey’s 69 got the Crosby side off to a strong start, but Scott Lees and Harvey Rankin hauled them back, and their eventual total of 186 was under par.

In a response marred by a sickening injury to Grey while bowling - Knight was quick to wish him a speedy recovery - Alex Rankin’s 61 broke the back of the target, with victory achieved with six wickets and 11 balls to spare.

Up next is a home tie against South Northumberland.

Back in the league, second placed Rainhill saw off bottom side Sefton Park with four wickets to spare, after seamers Jack Lowrie and Liam O’Toole took four wickets each to dismiss the visitors for 144.

Firwood Bootle’s difficult season continued at the hands of Wallasey and Sumit Ruikar. The Indian left-armer took 6/20 to roll the 2019 champions for just 81 on their own patch; the chase was completed by early afternoon, with seven wickets to spare.

New Brighton’s David While took 5/24 to run through Leigh’s tail and leave his side a relatively straightforward chase of 113; skipper Matty Thompson’s unbeaten 75 ensured it was achieved with nine wickets to spare.

The big winners at the bottom of the table were Orrell Red Triangle, who caught up with a Covid cancellation and made it a two-win weekend to haul themselves out of danger. Duvindu Tillakaratne was their match-winner on both occasions - first, his 7/24 kept Wigan well short of the target of 208 set by Sam Heeley’s 61; the next day, he took 8/42 to dismiss New Brighton for 90. Heeley had again starred with the bat with an unbeaten 68 out of 202/9; Ashraf Nawab took 6/67 for the Rakers.

Southport & Birkdale's Jack Carney, watched by Northern's James Cole, on his way to 81

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Newton-le-Willows opened up some ground at the top of Division One with a 62-run win at St Helens Town.

From 124/7, some crucial late-order runs lifted the visitors to 193/8; similarly, the hosts rallies from 70/8 but still fell well short, with Zac Donohue claiming four wickets on his first appearance after joining from Leigh.

Ainsdale’s sporting declaration on 181/8 from 49 overs, after Mark Lucas’s 52, backfired at Northop Hall as the hosts knocked off the runs in double time, losing only four wickets.

Third-placed Rainford stayed in touch with the top two by winning by 67 runs against Birkenhead Park. Matthew Bailey’s 47 was the mainstay of the hosts’ 219, as Satyajeet Bachhav took 6/70; the gig was up as soon as Park slipped from 57/1 to 86/7.

Liverpool’s Liam Naylor finished unbeaten on 119 - his second century of the season - to help his side chase 189 for a five-wicket win over Fleetwood Hesketh, for whom Dean Skelton had struck his maiden first XI ton.

Former front-runners Highfield have slipped to fourth - they set 176 at Colwyn Bay thanks to Michael Farrell’s 52, but Bay knocked off the runs with three to spare thanks to Vishal Kushwah’s 79.

Lytham earned a seven-wicket win at Old Xaverians thanks to Tom Myerscough’s 5/22, which restricted the hosts to 126, followed by Guy Roberts’ unbeaten 51.

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It’s tight at the top in Division Two, where 13 points separate the top four.

Leaders Spring View came unstuck against third placed Southport Trinity, failing to defend 239 after Suleman Khan’s 94 and Nathan Ashford’s 50. Wim Van Der Walt saw the visitors home by five wickets with an unbeaten 85.

Cam Lawrenson’s unbeaten 74 was the crucial innings in Maghull’s 29-run win over Wavertree - it helped his side from 119/7 to 229 all out, before Lawrenson wrapped up the win himself with 5/54.

Alder’s stand-in skipper Josh Abley hit 95, aided by Greg Harvey’s unbeaten 77, to set up a total of 233/4 at Norley Hall. It proved too much for the league’s bottom side, who are now 59 points adrift of safety.

Sutton’s Joe Smith (91) and Jack York (71) put on 121 for the first wicket against Parkfield Liscard, part of an imposing 268/8; the Wirral hosts made it to 69/0 before fading fast.

Prestatyn chased 252 for a two-wicket win over Hightown St Mary’s, thanks to 67 from Sampath Perera and 60 from Sheil Sethi. Earlier, Matt Laybourne had top scored with 74 for the visitors.