INJURY-RAVAGED Ashton on Mersey lost a hard fought encounter with title rivals Barrow on an afternoon of drama at The Croft.

Forced to make sweeping changes to their line-up, Ashton showed their strength in depth to put up a resilient display against a tight Barrow attack.

With Barrow in defensive mode from the start, Ashton openers Alex O’Gara and Ryan O’Brien put on a steady 50 partnership.

But as wickets fell at regular intervals, the middle order found acceleration difficult and only contributions from Will Pidgeon and Mike Roberts down the order enabled Ashton to scramble to a respectable total.

Veteran Malcolm Barrow posted the best figures of 3-31.

In reply Barrow threw the bat from the start with mixed success. Opener Mathew Parks rode his luck to hit a quick 37 but the rest of the top order struggled to come to terms with some fine bowling from Ashton.

Only Andy Metcalfe (73 not out) showed the skill and composure to deal with the bowling and he eventually saw the home side through to a narrow victory, Sam Timbs took the bowling honours with 5-53.

Whilst Ashton will be disappointed to have lost this battle, they remain in the promotion places and hope for the return of several senior players next week when the welcome Disley to The Beets.