EAST Lancashire 1 maintained their third place in the North West Counties Squash League Premier Division – and are high on confidence after they strolled past Xaverians 1.

Playing on the courts at Dukes Brow, the locals got off to a perfect start when Bradley Smith beat Tamindar Gata Aura in the opening game.

Talented Smith had one of his easier nights as Aura retired injured at 2-0 down in the first game meaning the local star was awarded a 3-0 victory.

Julian Thompson had to work harder on his way to a 3-0 success over Nick Jones and in a tense battle he came out on top 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 as the locals were flying.

Issac Rawcliffe won his first two games against Shaun Hendry 11-5, 11-4 before the latter registered Xaverians first points of the night with an 11-8 success in the third game. But Rawcliffe overcame that setback to take the fourth 11-4 for a 3-1 victory.

Nigel Willis lost his first game against Adam Pritchard 11-6 buthe recovered well to take two tense games 11-9 and 11-8 before claiming a 3-1 match success in the fourth as he edged a battle 13-11.

Last man Charlie Major was taken all the way in the final match of the night before edging out Phil Clarke 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9) and that meant East Lancashire enjoyed a big win and five bonus points.

In Division One, David Lloyd Chorley suffered a 17-8 loss when they made the trip to Cheetham Hill, while Blackburn Northern 1 won their derby at East Lancashire 2 in Division Three Central North.

Lee Yewlett got the visitors off to a perfect start with a 3-0 win over Al Asan Ulhaq before Eris Knowles restored parity with a similar success over Northern’s Jeremy Clarkson.

The night ebbed and flowed until Mark Nightingale beat Sam Blurton 3-0 in the final match to seal a 9-7 win for the visitors.

Crow Wood went to the summit of Division Four North East after a stunning 20-1 win over Clitheroe with Matt Lee the only man to register for the Ribble Valley outfit. That success allowed them to overtake East Lancashire 3 who were inactive.

Haslingden dropped to third after they were surprisingly beaten by Blackburn Northern 2, who had not won all season. Paul Duxbury, Ken Craven and Lee McLoughlin were the victors for Northern.

Longridge are top of Division Five North after they whitewashed 3-1-5 Squash Club 20-0 and now boast an unblemished record this season of seven wins from seven games, while it’s tight at the top of Division Five North East.

David Lloyd Chorley 4 lead the way and they beat St Peter’s Burnley 12-6, while second-placed Haslingden 3 enjoyed a 12-8 win over Tame Valley 4.

East Lancashire 4 are in third place and they enjoyed a 10-7 win at Village Hotel Bury, father and son team Andy and Max Wyn-Jones both emerging victorious.