DESPITE a spirited bowling effort, Warrington were beaten again on Saturday as Marple left Walton Lea with a one-wicket victory.

After losing the toss, Warrington were invited to bat first and early wickets left them in trouble at 41-3 before a partnership of 77 between Johan Els and Brad McIntosh steadied the ship.

McIntosh eventually fell for 36, but South African all-rounder Els passed the half-century mark before being dismissed for 61.

Skipper Richard Heaney added a valuable 25 as the hosts posted a respectable 218-9.

Ashley Scholes then took an early wicket as Warrington started their defence well, but Marple rebuilt and looked to be in control of their chase.

However, a flurry of wickets left the hosts sensing a crucial win, with Scholes taking a further two wickets to go with scalps for James Rudd, 3-52, Rob Batey, 2-37, and McIntosh, 1-24.

That left Marple needing nine runs from the final over with just one wicket remaining, but two boundaries allowed them to reach their victory target.

The seconds were also on the wrong end of the scoreline at Bowdon, who were victorious by 14 runs after making 155-8 batting first.

Simon Hewitt, Rishav Manta, Chia Gadepalli and Phil Whelan all took one wicket each, with four scalps falling to run-outs.

With the bat, Mark Ewing hit an unbeaten 68 but Warrington were dismissed for 141, their lowest total of the season so far.

The thirds were also beaten at Oxton in a low-scoring affair that saw the hosts winning by 24 runs despite being bowled out for just 110.

Harry Charvill led the way for Warrington with 5-10, with Mans Naseem, 2-9, Billy Gilbert, 1-27, and Bruce Jardene, 1-36, also contributing.

However, Tim Rothwell, 24, and Rohan Luthra, 16, were the only visiting batsmen to reach double figures in reply as they were dismissed for 86.

All four of Warrington's senior teams are in action on Saturday, with the firsts welcoming Sale to Walton Lea and the seconds travelling to Stockport.

The thirds host neighbours Stretton, while the fourths are at Trafford Metrovics.