CAPTAIN Scott Greaves admitted it was about time he was the match-winner for Rishton as he helped them boost their bid for a top six spot.

The skipper hit his first six of the season off the penultimate ball to seal a four wicket win for the Blackburn Road outfit against title hopefuls Nelson.

"I have had a pretty low key season so it is about time I did something," said Greaves. "We needed ten off the last over. I missed with the first ball, then got one, then Michael Winkley got one, and I then got two.

"It meant with two balls left we needed six and it was a woeful toss and I just hit it. The ground was pretty packed and there was a group sponsoring the match who had had a few drinks to I think they enjoyed it!"

The last ditch win went a tiny way to getting rid of some of the hurt from their Worsley Cup semi-final loss to Todmorden when Tod needed a six off the final ball - and got it. They, however, lost the final to Ramsbottom on Sunday.

But Rishton were all smiles after Saturday's league win and Peter Sleep's 84 means he is well on course to break his club's amateur batting record. The former Aussie Test star has 772 runs and, with eight games left, is out to reach 1069 set in 1990.

"I will back Sleepy to do that, 100 per cent" said his captain. "He is a confident guy and is a quality batsman so he will believe in himself."

Rishton have been hit and miss recently as, after a good run, they slipped up against Todmorden and Lowerhouse in the league.

But, despite Nelson making 231-5, Sleep's 10 boundaries and pro Kumar Dharmasena's 75, helped by Sam Hacking's 24 and Greaves' late show gave them the morale boost they needed.

"We needed to get back on track and now we have caught the middle group in the league and want to move on," continued the captain.

"The aim was to catch Church first and we have done that and now Nelson, in fourth place, are only 18 points ahead of us.

"With 12 points for a win and eight games left anything can happen. We know we need a good run and other sides to falter but we believe we can do it."

They do, though, face a tough game against Burnley on Sunday as other sides have found to their costs. Last season, the Turf Moor outfit finished bottom but the introduction of former Baxenden professional Jonathan Harvey has turned them around.

"Jon is a quality player and he has helped Burnley a lot. He has helped instil confidence into the side. They played some good cricket last season but got battered but this season, Jon has had a steadying influence. We will have to play well to beat them," added Greaves.

And CHURCH found out how strong Burnley are on Saturday. Church finished runners-up last season and their strengths were their strong batting line-up but they have struggled this year - despite pro Ruven Peiris being the joint top run scorer in the league.

The other batsman have failed to deliver on vital occasions and Chris Maudsley top scored with just 24 in their 115 all out - they were 50-5 at one point - as Lancashire prospect Jonathan Clare took 5-37.

Burnley were always in charge and Clare (46) and Ben Law (30) set them on their way to a six wicket win in the 21st over.

Church travel to East Lancs on Sunday looking to get their season going again and some revenge on East Lancs after a close defeat earlier on in the season.

And bottom club Accrington couldn't make is a hat-trick of wins as title-chasing Lowerhouse's pro Andy McDonald seems unstoppable at the moment.

The Australian made 116 in their 251-4 and, although Accrington opener Moshin Ahmed made an impressive 60, the rest couldn't make a huge impact and they fell 89 runs short.

Matt Wilson's side will be hoping to bounce back against Bacup on Sunday, who are third from bottom of the table.

And Enfield continued to falter as another of the title favourites, Ramsbottom, saw them off with ease.

Enfield have struggled with the bat this season and have depended on pro Alviro Petersen, who is joint top run scorer with Peiris. But he made just five as the only person to get in double figures was Neil Holmes with 43 of their 70. Without Holmes' contribution it would have been much worse with Enfield 11-6 at one stage and 28-8 at another.

Ramsbottom didn't have it all their own way with the loss of early wickets but they managed to secure the twelve points with a six wicket win.