RAMSBOTTOM recorded another fine victory against top opposition thanks to a mixture of youth and experience.

The youth was provided by David Bell and Spencer Woods while the experience came from the 43-year-old spinner Mark Price.

Batting first on a track that had been played on the previous week, the Rams were soon on the back foot against some excellent bowling from Ormerod and professional Young and slumped to 30 for 3 with sub professional Breese one of the victims.

Things looked bleak but Bell and Dentith then set about restoring the equilibrium with some excellent stroke play and fine running between the wickets.

They put together a partnership of 61 before Dentith was trapped leg before wicket to a ball that kept low.

Despite then losing partners at regular intervals, Bell kept his head and steered the Acre Bottom lads out of trouble before being eighth man out with the total on 151.

His 63 contained seven boundaries and he faced 81 deliveries. The Rams' tail then took the final score to 163 which presented a fair challenge to the opposition.

The key to success for Ramsbottom was the prize wicket of Young and the talented Aussie opened the innings in his attempt to beat the Bacup batting record set by the legendary Everton Weekes.

Despite losing Gallagher with the score on 23, Young looked determined to play a major innings and was prepared to wait for the loose delivery rather than take any unnecessary risks.

Unfortunately for him Price does not send up much loose stuff so he became somewhat frustrated and with the score on 32 he clipped a fullish length ball through the mid-wicket area.

Ninety-nine times out of one hundred he would have probably have got four runs but nobody had read Spencer Woods the script.

Fielding at short mid wicket he took off, flung himself full length to his left and caught the ball in his outstretched left hand leaving Young gobsmacked.

This was the incentive the Rams needed and Price quickly struck two more blows bowling Ayres and Farragher.

Breese was then brought into the attack and he, like Price, soon became indebted to Woods as he held two brilliant reaction bat-pad catches at forward short leg.

At 59 for 6 it looked like an early finish but Bacup's two big hitters, Lord and Chapman, had other ideas.

They took the score to 109 and looked like changing the whole complexion of the game until Lord was defeated by finely flighted delivery from Breese.

When Price removed Chapman on the same score it was definitely game over and despite some spirited resistance from the tail the veteran finished off with excellent figures of 6 for 41 off 22.4 overs and the Rams continued their excellent winning run.