Read close in on top place

The Whalley Road team chased down a total of 163 on their way to a three-wicket victory but captain Warren Eastham, who was out with a hamstring injury, felt the performance could have been better.

“It was a close game and we were probably a bit lucky to get the win,” he said. “They got off to a flier but we managed to keep them down to 163. To be fair Salesbury batted really and their pro looked a real player.

“No-one bowled exceptionally well really for us but it was a good all round performance, especially in the field. We went into bat confident that we could reach the total that they had set.”

And opener Stuart Hornby (pictured bowlling) was in scintillating form for Read making his way into the 80s without ever being in any really trouble.

“It was a exceptional batting display by Stuart who finished not out in the 80s. We were two down early on as well but the middle order helped us reach around 130 and then Elliot Lowes came in and with a hint of luck and a hint of great batting scored 26 not out as he and Stuart saw us home for the loss of seven wickets.

“We’re happy with the win but we do feel that we could have played better.

Read’s attention will now turn towards this weekend as they face two away games, Cherry Tree on Saturday and Great Harwood on Sunday.

“They’re are going to be difficult games but if can up our level of performance then I think we should be ok,” said Eastham. I’m back this weekend and we have a good strong side out so we’re going to be going into the matches with confidence.”