An 11-wicket haul over the weekend gives Imran Abid the bragging rights over his fellow bowlers at Oswaldtwistle Immanuel.

The skipper took five wickets in Immanuel’s loss to Whalley on Saturday and followed it up by claiming six scalps in their win over Salesbury on Sunday which takes him to 57 league wickets for the season.

It puts him first in the amateur bowling ranks - in fifth place overall in the league - with team-mate Gerard Metcalf not far behind with 53 league wickets.

If only Ossie had got their batting going, then they could have been up among the front runners in the league.

Batting pro Chris Cook-Martin had hit something of a lean spell but bounced back with 41 from 51 balls including eight fours in the victory over Salesbury which moves him onto 735 league runs for the season.

But runs have been hard to come by at times in the campaign, leaving Immanuel aiming for mid-table in the last four games of the season.

BAXENDEN are 24 points behind leaders Clitheroe and it looks too much for them to reclaim their crown with games running out. They did tie their clash with the league leaders on Saturday - but should have won.

Fifth place Bash got Clitheroe out for 154 with pro Baber Naeem taking six wickets and would have thought they stood a great chance with the big hitters in their team.

However, that total looked out of reach when Ian Austin’s side slumped to 15-4 before Mark Rishton’s 65 off 108 balls took the game to the wire.

Bash needed three off nine balls and then just one off the final over but, in one final twist, Clitheroe dismissed Callum Dunne to gain nine vital points in a rare Ribblesdale League tie.

On Sunday, Baxenden did find their form to see off Earby by a staggering 90 runs considering they only made 152.

Gary Sudworth celebrated six wicket with his best figures of the season in 6-14 and Naeem’s three took him to 71 wickets for the season as they ripped through Earby’s order.

GREAT HARWOOD were hoping to move up the table but instead suffered a double loss weekend and slipped back into the bottom three.

They couldn’t make a big impact against Ribblesdale Wanderers despite trying seven different bowlers as Wanderers made 233, David Howard with 106. Harwood’s batsmen couldn’t get anywhere near that total with pro Raouf Akbar batting at number 11 as he battled with a lacerated thumb which needed five stitches, picked up after he dropped a catch earlier in the game.

And Harwood came up against Barnoldswick pro Jaffer Nazir in superb form on Sunday as destroyed them with nine wickets - he now tops the bowling charts with 82 wickets for the season.

Harwood were reliant on sub pro Amila Weththasinghe but he couldn’t make a big impression with two wickets and a duck as Harwood’s batsmen struggled to just 55, aiming for 117.

Bowler Jason Kayley, however, did celebrate his first five wicket haul of the season with Akbar expected to be back for the double header weekend despite the injury to his left hand.

Meanwhile, Clitheroe’s failure to win either of their weekend double header games leaves title race wide open.

After their tie against Bash, Clitheroe then lost to third placed Padiham on Sunday, leaving the way open for Read and Padiham to make their bid in what could be a vital double header weekend to decide the destiny of the title this season.