GRAPPENHALL remain rooted to the foot of the Cheshire County Cricket League Premier Division after another heavy defeat.

Fellow strugglers Oulton Park were victorious at Broad Lane having made the most of helpful bowling conditions after winning the toss.

After they were asked to bat first, only skipper Adam Roylance contributed anything of note for Grappers as he hit 31 in a total of 106 all out.

The wicket became much easier to bat on after tea and Oulton Park took advantage, knocking off the runs with relative ease to secure a nine-wicket victory.

It was a similar story for the seconds as they travelled to their Oulton Park counterparts, with Adam Green’s excellent 75 not out holding their innings together as those around him crumbled.

The hosts easily reached their victory target for the loss of just two wickets.

The thirds were saved by the rain at Toft after they had crumbled to 89-6 chasing 191 to win, with David Seed bowling superbly for Grappers to take five wickets on a pitch offering little in the way of assistance to the bowlers.

In Division Two, Warrington’s promotion charge continued apace after another fine all-round display from Jono Fletcher inspired victory over Barrow.

He claimed incredible figures of 4-8 from 12 overs as the visitors were bowled out for just 124 batting first, with Brad McIntosh chipping in with 3-40.

Fletcher then blasted an unbeaten 67 from just 53 deliveries to lead his side to an eight-wicket victory in an unbroken partnership of 89 with Ashley Scholes, who finished on 35 not out.

Meanwhile, Raj Soni’s superb bowling display helped the seconds beat a strong Urmston side.

He ripped through the batting order by taking 6-24 as Urmston were dismissed for 100 in pursuit of 190 to win.

Earlier, Rob Dempster hit 49 and Isaac Webster 40 as Warrington set a strong total.

The thirds chased down 152 to win to beat league leaders Macclesfield while the fourths were beaten by Hartford.

Elsewhere, Appleton fell agonisingly short of their first win of the year, losing by just two runs to table-topping Ashley.

Andrew Jackson’s four-wicket haul helped restrict the visitors to just 161-8 and while Matthias Paltridge struck another half-century for the Lyons Lane side, he could not find support at the other end.

Appleton were eventually bowled out for 159 with eight balls to spare, meaning their chances of victory were snatched away.

The seconds almost defended their total of 127 as they reduced Aston to 67-6, but eventually the target was reeled in.

The thirds were beaten by two wickets at Prestbury while the fourths were bowled out for just 72 in a nine-wicket loss to North East Cheshire.