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Darwen's 22-point lead at the top of the Northern League was cut to 14 points as rain caused the abandonment of their game against Blackpool and nearest challengers St Annes won in the last over of their match against Lancaster.

Not surprisingly, the Birch Hall side were asked to bat first on a very difficult wicket, and in the face of some fine bowling from Blackpool skipper Rudra Singh who returned 6-69, Darwen reached 148-8.

The cornerstone of the innings again being professional Richard Petrie, unbeaten on 59 with several batsmen perishing in the vain attempt to reach 150 in the final overs to secure a bonus point.

The Darwen players were confident their total would be sufficient on the wicket but a downpour during the tea interval delayed the resumption. In controversial circumstances the umpires could not agree as to whether play should resume, and with Blackpool themselves unwilling to play, Darwen's victory attempt was frustrated with all other league games finishing.

A second successive defeat severely dented Chorley's championship hopes as they went down by six wickets at Fleetwood. The loss of the toss proved crucial on an increasingly friendly track and Chorley's 160-7 never looked a big enough total to defend.

Skipper Nigel Heaton's attractive 60 was the foundation of the Chorley innings, and there was solid support from Roland Horridge (26 not out).

In Fleetwood's reply, Nick Coultas (37) dominated an opening partnership of 49 with professional Shawn Nicolson, who grafted his way to 42 to set up victory with Michael Clinning, who made 52.