WHEN winning the toss, the MI Dental 2015 league champions New Brighton showed no hesitation to insert home team Rainhill.

After a wetter than average spring, the wicket was going to assist the bowlers as it was green, damp and soft. Rainhill lost wickets on a regular basis to the ‘line and length’ of the Wirral bowling attack.

Evans (3 for 20 from 11) and Clarke (1 for 27 off 7) made use of the conditions by putting the ball in the right areas and at 40 for 4, a low score was looking likely.

A 61 run fifth wicket partnership between Atkinson (41) and Edmundson (19) took the score to 101 for 4 and a fightback was on the cards.

Alas, a collapse followed and Rainhill lost 6 wickets for 5 runs and were all out for 106 from 45 overs.

Spinners Nawab (3 for 28 from 15) and While (2 for 6 from 6) mopped up the mid order and tail.

With the league’s best bowler over recent years, any total was going to be hard to chase.

New Brighton lost a wicket to the second ball of their innings and kept losing them. No one had a response or game plan to the guile and deceit from Qureshi, the left arm round slow bowler from Pakistan.

His 6 for 12 off 21 overs was supported by Williams 3 for 28 off 10 and the visitors innings came to an end in 42 overs with only 81 on the board.

Horrocks (17), Wadkins (16) and Roland (15) the only batsmen to get into double figures.