BOWLERS were very much on top when High Farndale entertained Spout House in the Feversham Cricket League.

Spout House batted first, and soon found themselves in difficulties as Stuart Dowson picked up three early wickets at the cost of 15 runs in his five-over spell.

Charlie Allott stood firm for a while, but his dismissal for 12 brought about a Spout House collapse, gleefully engineered by J Hunt who achieved a hat-trick, eventually conceding just five runs from his three overs.

Stalwart James Blacklock had figures of 2 for 2 as Spout House could only muster a rather undistinguished 39 all out.

Not that High Farndale had it all their own way when they batted.

Dan Smith made life difficult for them, taking 3 wickets for 11 runs in an accurate spell of five overs. Fortunately for High Farndale, M Todd’s 14 proved to be the deciding factor as, with fifteen balls to spare, High Farndale gained a four-wicket victory, thus retaining their position at the top of the table.

It’s going to be a busy final week of the league season with five matches still to fit in, including Spout House v Slingsby which was postponed last week due to rain.

Despite afternoon rain, it had cleared, and the High Farndale ground was fit for play, by the time the home team arrived to play their Supplementary Cup fixture with Gillamoor. Sadly, Gillamoor failed to turn up, citing forgetfulness as the reason.

To say it was disappointing is putting it mildly, and certainly is an example of why the future of the Feversham League must inevitably be clouded in doubt.