ASHWELL came up short against Thurlow and lost the leadership of Cambridgeshire Junior Division 1B to their opponents in the process. Walker (2 for 29) removed both Ashwell openers and had them stumbling at 5 for 2 as early as the third over. A rebuildin

ASHWELL came up short against Thurlow and lost the leadership of Cambridgeshire Junior Division 1B to their opponents in the process.

Walker (2 for 29) removed both Ashwell openers and had them stumbling at 5 for 2 as early as the third over.

A rebuilding job was undertaken by Gary Simmons (12) and Richard Young, and they added 38 before Simmons was removed lbw.

Young (53 not out) played an excellent knock and anchored Ashwell's innings almost from start to finish. He was joined by Jonathan Merrell (39) and the pair added 81 before Merrell was dismissed in the 32nd over with the score at 124 for 4.

Ashwell made a competitive-looking 154 for 7 from their 40 overs, and then made the perfect start with the ball as Thurlow opener Buckner pulled a Martin Talks delivery to the diving Russell Kemp at square leg.

Talks (1 for 27) and Russell Kemp (2 for 36) were making inroads into the Thurlow batting, and they reached the mid-point of their reply at 73 for 3, with the game very finely balanced.

Simmons (4 for 28) kept chipping away at the Thurlow line up, but Lanceman (39 not out) saw Thurlow home, with three wickets and 10 balls to spare.

Ashwell captain Jonathan Merrell said: "Losing the toss was the key, but having said that we should have scored another 15 to 20 runs, which would have put Thurlow under a lot more pressure.

"Losing early wickets meant that we spent most of the innings trying to consolidate, and our acceleration in the final overs never really got going. Thurlow timed their chase very well though, and I must say that they were one of the best teams we have faced so far.

"This league is very competitive and it looks like any two from eight can get promoted still. Saturday's game at Cokenach is going to be a big one. We narrowly beat them earlier in the season, but it's going to be tough because we'll be missing both Martin Talks and Russell Kemp.