ASHTON-on-Mersey posted a superb three-wicket win in a tense Cheshire Cricket League Division One game at Heaton Mersey.

Choosing to bowl first, Ashton found the home openers in resilient form as Jordan Barnett (53) and Dom Gandy (37) saw off the new ball.

The introduction of Lee Heap and Andrew Roscow allowed the visitors to take more control over events.

Hassan Rashid (39) threatened to grab back the initiative but when he fell to spinner Mike Roberts the lower order found Roberts (3-43) and Ben Davies (3-20) hard to dominate as they closed on 176-9.

In reply, Ashton soon found trouble against some well-controlled opening bowling by Rashid and Saqib Ali, but looked to have weathered the storm before the introduction of spinners Ian Hughes and Tamoor Malik.

A mixture of poor shot selection saw Ashton slump to 106-5 before Alex Turner produced a classy response to the challenge to post a fluent 55.

When Turner fell, Ashton might have wobbled but Mike Roberts (25 not out) steadied the nerves to bring home the win, hitting the winning boundary in the final over off Hughes (4-38) as Ashton closed on 178-7.

This was a fine win for Ashton, demonstrating their strength in depth. They will be looking forward to next week’s clash with Runcorn at The Beets.

The Ashton second XI fared less well, going down to a 33-run defeat against Weaverham.

Weaverham made 208 (Alex Stitch 50no, Jarrod Pickering 44, Sam Gupta 4-31, Dan Higgins 4-80) before Ashton totalled 175 (James Newton 39).

Pictured - Mike Roberts bowls, James Lines bats