SECOND placed Winnington Park visited leaders Congleton on the back of six straight wins, so a tense battle was always likely to ensue.

Park were missing captain Stuart Hayes, working at the Junior Olympics in Southampton, and vice-captain Mike Johns with a slipped disc.

Chris Leech took over the captaincy role and was well supported by the opening attack, with Congleton only scoring 17 in the first 10 overs.

Umpleby and Kitton came together to attack the Park bowling, but Winnington were surprised that the home side decided to bat 55 overs, losing their three batting points by leaving Park 45 overs to chase the total of 206-8

Adam Parkinson again took five wickets for 67 runs, taking his tally to 46 this season.

Against Congleton's strong bowling attack, Park were forced to consolidate and accept a winning draw. Parkinson batted well again for 35, supported by Simon Newell (32 not out) as Winnington finished on 146-6.

With both Warrington and Tattenhall winning, the Murray Smith Division Two title race is now between four teams, with only 20 points separating them. Winnington play fourth placed Tattenhall on Saturday at the Rec (1pm).

Winnington Park 2nd XI hosted a strong Alderley Edge side on Saturday, who batted first and scored 241-3 declared.

The one success of the day was the performance of 15-year-old Paul Allen who bowled brilliantly and picked up all three wickets.

Winnington's batting was not helped by an overused wicket which made it difficult to score runs. They were bowled out for 98, Ian Johns top scoring with 13.

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