ASHTON on Mersey sent a statement to the rest of the league with a 177-run demolition of a strong Runcorn side in Cheshire Cricket League Division One at The Beets.

Being asked to bat first, Ashton had to cope with a fiery opening spell from Runcorn’s overseas player, New Zealander Nathan McNichol.

But the quality of the Ashton batting line-up shone through as Ben Davies and Fred Kamstra first subdued and then took on the Canterbury quickie.

Davies was in superb form as he played one of the best innings ever seen at The Beets. Not faltering after seeing Kamstra fall for an excellent 48, Davies put all the Runcorn bowlers to the sword as he passed 100.

In tandem with Alex Turner (59 not out), Davies stayed to the end to post 176no as Ashton's total reached 315-2.

Not to be outdone, Ashton's bowlers rose to the occasion. In a tactical masterstroke the home side opened with spinner Mike Roberts (3-18), who, bowling in tandem with seamer Josh Knowles (3-39), reduced Runcorn to 34-6.

Some lusty hitting took the Runcorn score above 100 but the Ashton support bowlers saw off the visitors in just 26 overs to bowl them out for 138.

It was an exceptional performance by Ashton and they will be relishing a trip to Irby on the Wirral on Saturday.

The Ashton second XI made it a full-points Saturday with a solid win at Northwich after they totalled 183-4 in reply to 181-9.