MICK Lee moved into his highest place in the Terry Sayers Merit Awards when he took over number two spot following his valuable 21-15 win over current leader Brian Tomlinson.

This was a vital win for the Witton man who is enjoying a great season and is now within a couple of points of top place on the leaderboard.

An away win would possibly have sealed the title for Brian who has led the merit list for over two months.

St Annes captain Terry Wood also moved within two points of the lead with a 21-20 away victory which yielded two valuable points.

Terry now meets Brian on Sunday in another vital individual tie to add spice to the crucial Alex-St Annes clash.

Dave Darley took over top spot from Dave Barnish for Lostock while Barry Sutton is close behind after his third successive victory.

Bamber Bridge trio Keith Illingworth, George Gregson and Geoff Pugh are separated by one point in a race that looks set to go all the way to the wire.

Indeed, Keith meets Witton star Mick Lee this Sunday in another vital tie for the top ranking merit men.

Brian Haworth continues to lead the Sunnybank charge with 11 points and once again underlines his value to the team. Louis Stevenson not only looks a certainty as Stacksteads eventual winner, but remains on course for the overall top place.

A couple of games in hand is a good opportunity for him to improve his fourth place on the leaderboard.

Steve Crossley took over first place following an impressive win at Sunnybank and he is now one point clear of Ighten Mount team-mate Ken Topham.

Ramblers captain Tom Mitchell leads the club challenge with six points despite having missed several games.

Leaderboard: Brian Tomlinson (Alexandra) 16 points 58 total; Mick Lee (Witton) 14, 68, Terry Wood (St Annes) 14, 39; Louis Stevenson (Stacksteads) 14, 28; Peter Wilding (Frenchwood) 13, 23; Dave Worthington (St Annes) 12, 52; Don Yeadon (St Annes) 12, 34; Dave Darley (Lostock) 12, 31; Alan Cottam (Alexandra) 12, 2; Mick Nelson (Frenchwood) 11, 53; Barry Sutton (Lostock) 11, 37; Keith Illingworth (Bamber Bridge) 11, 33; Dave Barnish (Lostock) 11, 31; Brian Haworth (Sunnybank) 11, 20; Colin Campbell (Witton) 11, 5; Steve Edwards (Frenchwood) 10, 57; Peter Slinger (Witton) 10, 48; George Gregson (Bamber Bridge) 10, 38; Tom Fishwick (Lostock) 10, 34; Geoff Pugh (Bamber Bridge) 10, 15; Rob Taylor (Frenchwood) 10, 10; Vincent O'Donnell (Alexandra) 10, 10; Steve Crossley (Ighten Mount) 9, 39; Geoff Alderson (Stacksteads) 9, 7.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.