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Nicky Hope can do no wrong at the moment.

After taking over as captain this season, Lowerhouse's fortunes have undergone a transformation and Hope is leading from the front.

On Saturday, he joint top-scored with 29 in an opening stand of 57 to lay the foundations for a crushing win over Accrington.

And 24 hours later, after brother Jez put Ramsbottom on the rack with a five-wicket haul, he played a captain's innings to set up maximum points again to complete a bumper Bank Holiday weekend.

``I think the added pressure of the captaincy is definitely helping my batting,'' said Hope, after Lowerhouse's fourth win in five games.

``I think our lads don't tend to show enough application. They've got the talent but don't show enough grit at times.

``But now I'm captain I can't have a go at them unless I'm doing it myself and that's undoubtedly helped my game.

``We've played on one or two tricky wickets already and I've thought to myself I can't say to them don't get out to silly shots if I'm doing it myself.

``But I've got my own head down and it's paying off.''

It's far from a one man show though.

Hope may be leading by example but the rest of the Lowerhouse team are following closely in his footsteps.

His brothers Jez (5-31) and Matt (3-17) led the way with the ball as Ramsbottom crashed from 124-4 to 129 all out. Then Chris Bleazard (43) and Simon Payne (29) offered superb support with the bat to withstand a couple of hostile spells from Aussie paceman Matthew Pascoe to set up a seven wicket victory.

``We've put a lot of emphasis on team spirit, we've worked very hard on the middle order and in both games it's come to fruition,'' said the skipper.

``There are teams with better and more talented players than us but we fancy ourselves chasing anything at the moment.

``We're 11 really good friends and we're all working for each other.''

Things hadn't looked quite so promising earlier in the day while Tommy Read was at the wicket.

After Jez Hope had struck two early blows to reduce Ramsbottom to 10-2, Read played some delightful strokes in a fourth wicket partnership of 72 with skipper Brian Taylor (40).

When he finally went for 55 to make it 115-4, Ramsbottom still looked poised for a reasonable total.

But a staggering collapse, in which they lost four wickets without adding a run, saw the home side slump to 129 all out with seven of their 50 overs still left. Any thoughts of coasting to victory were quickly dispelled by Pascoe and his fellow opening bowler Michael Haslam.

The Australian quickie bowled with real venom in a brilliant opening spell, conceding just three runs from his first six overs.

That scorching pace proved too hot for Stan Heaton and Martin Van Jaarsveld who were both caught behind as the visitors lurched to 21-2. But Nicky Hope showed all the grit expected of a captain in a painstaking 98-ball 30 to steady the ship before a brilliant catch from wicketkeeper Richard Hevingham ended his defiance.

Ramsbottom briefly sensed their chance, but an unbroken stand of 73 between Bleazard and Payne steered Lowerhouse home with 11 balls to spare.

``It was just a case of sticking at it because Matthew Pascoe bowled an excellent opening spell, one of the tightest I've ever faced,'' said Hope.

``He had a quick arm, he was swinging it and moving it away, and he was obviously very tight and consistent on his line because he didn't bowl anything you could hit.

``But we dug deep.''

So can Lowerhouse sustain this form, after four wins in five games, and mount a serious title challenge.

``We haven't got the depth, that's the problem.

``We haven't got a Harper and we haven't got the strength in the amateur ranks.

``On our day we're a match for anyone but it's all about whether we can go 20-odd games and keep that consistency.''