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Richard Palmer’s Whalley have scorched up to fourth spot in the table and outclassed Settle last weekend with professional Kamran Younas claiming a hat-trick in the Marshfield romp.

He has 38 wickets at a shade over 12 and his battle with Baxenden’s Babar Naeem, who already has 48 league wickets and 535 runs, could prove pivotal in what should be a cracking match.

Andy Caunce’s Baxenden have recovered well from their only defeat of the campaign at Read and are now eight points clear of the chasing pack as they bid to reclaim the crown they won two years ago.

Barnoldswick are in rich form and they beat Read last week to move into second and are looking like the real deal.

And they will hope to maintain their run at Salesbury, who hope to have professional Susantha Pradeep back for the game but will employ a sub pro if his knee is not fit.

Edenfield have tumbled from top to second-bottom with eight losses on the spin and they face a trip to third-placed Read, while Ribblesdale Wanderers will look to impressive amateur Brannon Varley as they travel to Cherry Tree.

Great Harwood pro Syed Shahabuddin is the leading run scorer and he will look to add to his 561 league runs at Oswaldtwistle Immanuel, while Earby go to last year’s champions Clitheroe, who are on a good run after their dreadful start to their defence.

Padiham look to recover from last week’s loss to Salesbury as they go over the border into Yorkshire for their game at Settle.

Fixtures

Cherry Tree v Ribblesdale Wanderers, Clitheroe v Earby, Read v Edenfield, Oswaldtwistle Immanuel v Great Harwood, Salesbury v Barnoldswick, Settle v Padiham, Whalley v Baxenden.