ASHWELL maintained their perfect start to their league season with a comprehensive 100- run win over Longstowe on Saturday. After losing their opening batsmen early on at 9-2, Jonathan Merrell (40) and Gary Simmons (54) third wicket partnership of 89 re

ASHWELL maintained their perfect start to their league season with a comprehensive 100- run win over Longstowe on Saturday.

After losing their opening batsmen early on at 9-2, Jonathan Merrell (40) and Gary Simmons' (54) third wicket partnership of 89 restored some pride for the hosts and quickly laid the foundations for a decent total.

Simmons was particularly ruthless with any short-pitched bowling, and after his dismissal, Ashwell's middle order all made solid contributions, with Steve Parkhouse (30), Gavin Donald (26) and Tim Moynihan (17) adding their worth.

Ashwell closed on 206-8 from their 40 overs, a target which would prove well beyond the reach of the Longstowe batsmen, despite them losing only one wicket in their first 15 overs.

However, their innings slipped from 43-1 to 71-6 in the face of some probing spells from Matt Skelding (2-28) and Donald (3-32) and their tail end was cleared up by Parkhouse (2-4) and Simmons (3-32).

Longstowe were all out for 106, and the win pushed Ashwell to joint top of the Cambridgeshire Junior Division 2.