LEIGH'S second string are off the mark at last.

The club's last team to register a victory this year came to the party on Saturday with a sound, professional victory over an experienced Ormskirk side fielding a number of recent ex-first XI players.

It was a victory built on a good opening partnership, a situation not often seen so far this year, between Neil Williams and local lad, Michael Bond.

Chasing 190 to win they put on 88 for the first pair, before Williams was dismissed for a fluent 30.

Early scalp

Earlier, having elected to bowl first, Ben Cottrell had picked up an early scalp and reduced the visitors to nine for one in only the third over. This was to be the Green and Gold's only success for quite some while as Ormskirk set about repairing the damage with a century partnership for the second wicket.

In sweltering heat, Dave Potter bowled continuously from the Wesley Guide End for 16 overs and, despite not picking up a wicket, maintained a control on the opposition scoring rate that had been sadly missing last weekend.

Cottrell's no-ball problems of recent times refuses to go away and whilst he remains a threat when he gets it right, the constant disruption and number of extra balls bowled continues to hold him back.

It was only with the eventual introduction of sixteen year old Graham Thomason and the off spin of James Eccleshare into the attack, that wickets started to fall, and from 130 for one, Leigh pulled Ormskirk back to 175 for seven within a relatively short period of overs.

Two run outs and two bowled wickets for Thomason kept the anticipated Ormskirk late run surge to a minimum and they eventually declared at 189 for seven.

A volley of early extras from the opposition helped kick the reply into gear and after Williams' dismissal, the momentum was maintained, first by elder Williams brother, Steve, and then veteran Steve Whalley, as Leigh maintained the required run rate well into the last 20.

Facial injury

In the meanwhile Bond went serenely about batting through the innings and despite suffering a facial injury when he had earlier fielded the ball with his mouth and not his hands, he provided the base around which the other batters worked.

The chase was eventually successfully completed with impeccable timing, as Leigh knocked off the runs in the last over, with Tim McKiernan waiting patiently for the right moment to hit the winning run. Michael Bond was unfortunately run out with just four runs required, for a solid 60, as Leigh won by a six wicket margin.