ON a day when most local cricket fell victim to the weather Ramsbottom pulled off a nailbiting win at Turf Moor and put themselves right back in contention for a crack at the league title.

Very few of the club's loyal supporters even bothered to make the journey to Burnley, so convinced were they that the match would be called off.

Massive credit must go to the Burnley groundstaff for as soon as the rain relented the umpires declared the pitch playable and a 30 over game started with the Rams being invited to bat first.

Steady if unspectacular progress was made against tight bowling and it was Keith Webb who did the bulk of the scoring.

Despite losing partners on a regular basis the former Lancashire Junior cricketer played a series of quality strokes reaching a well deserved half century off 61 balls.

When he departed for 69 the total only stood at 113 and Burnley looked to be in control of the situation.

Indeed at the start of the last over the score only read 125. At this point Chris Eardley decided it was time for action and he thrashed 20 off the last five balls of the innings with two magnificent 6's, one 4 and two 2's.

This gave the score a great deal more respectability and when Burnley only scored six runs off the first five overs the balance of power was definitely edging the Rams way.

Attempts to increase the tempo resulted in both openers losing their wickets with only 18 runs on the board but this only brought John Clare and David Brown to the wicket.

Despite Burnley's lowly position in the league Clare is the leading amateur run-scorer and Brown had been scoring prolifically against County teams for Durham U.C.C.E.

However reputations mean nothing to the in-form Mick Haslam, he produced a beauty to remove Brown's off stump then had Clare caught behind just as he was starting to look menacing.

Further wickets followed and at 73 for 6 after 19 overs the game looked in the bag. Nobody had read the script to Burnley's number seven batsman Halley though as he gave the Ramsbottom bowlers a real pasting reaching 50 off just 35 balls and putting his team back in charge.

With just 24 needed off 34 balls Eardley achieved the breakthrough by yorking Halley but still the Home side were favourites.

However only six runs came off the next three overs before the Burnley pro tried to put Kartik out of the ground only to be stumped by the alert Hevingham.

Another wicket fell trying to push the score along and when the last over arrived eight runs were required with the last pair at the wicket and Kartik to bowl.

To their credit the batsman sneaked a run off the first five deliveries leaving three needed off the last ball.

This left the number ten batsman Beet no option but to have a go but there was only going to be one winner and the crafty Indian spinner deceived him in flight to shatter his stumps and give the Acre Bottom boys their second consecutive maximum point haul.

With three games being completed this meant that the abandoned games would not be replayed and as a result Ramsbottom moved up to joint third in the League with Church who they play on Sunday.