2nds march on at Bootle

Adam Edwards' 45 and five wickets from Joe Harvey help Rainhill to 96-run win

Rainhill 204-8 (Adam Edwards 45, Neil Robinson 27; Tom Meskell 4-70)

Bootle 108 (Tom Meskell 19, Nicholas Gallimore 18; Joe Harvey 5-22) Rainhill (25 pts) beat Bootle (6 pts) by 96 runs

Scorecard Stand-in captain Adam Edwards (pictured) guided Rainhill to a 96-run victory over Bootle.

Batting first, Rainhill got off to an indifferent start and were on 58 for 4 when Joe Harvey and Phil Morgan came together and seized the initiative, adding 46 for the fifth wicket and putting Rainhill in the driving seat. Edwards, in next, played positively and added 45 from 42 balls before he was finally bowled by Joel Vinu. Rainhill's tail performed well with the bat as Liam Yate (23) and Oliver Powell (20 not out) helped their team to a total of 204 for 8 from 45 overs.

In response, Bootle huffed and puffed but didn't really get going. Four of their batsmen got into double figures but neither were able to press on and build the kind of innings their team needed. Phil Morgan (3 for 33) and Joe Harvey (5 for 22) turned in outstanding performances, and there was also a wicket for Ashar Sohail (1 for 18) as Bootle were all out for 108.

Umpires: Billy Cooke, John Veacock

Scorers: Tom Law, David Crossley