DARWEN moved up to second in the Northern League after a stunning performance with the ball on Saturday saw them cruise to victory against Preston.

Preston won the toss and decided to have a bat at West Cliff but Jordan Clarke’s side were deadly accurate and skittled the hosts for just 49 in 38.4 overs.

Stand-in professional Dan Salpietro was the star with the ball as he took 5-17 from 9.4 overs.

But it was the discipline of the Darwen bowling that impressed, with Niall Burke taking 1-15 from 10 overs with five maidens, David Bowden taking 3-12 from 12 overs, with six maidens, and while Neil Cordingley finished wicketless he conceded just five runs from his seven overs, with five maidens.

The chase proved to be trickier than expected for Darwen but they got home by five wickets.

The top five all fell for single figures but David Bowden’s unbeaten 16 got the Towers over the line.

It was a near-perfect Saturday for Clarke’s men as fellow title rivals Blackpool slipped up.

Leyland secure a winning draw over Blackpool in a high-scoring game, with Luis Reece and Richard Frenz both making centuries in Leyland’s 264-2, while Christi Viljoen scored 143 off 146 balls in Blackpool’s 241-9.

Morecambe remain top of the league though after a comfortable win over fourth-placed Fleetwood.

The visitors scored 189-6 from their 50 overs at Morecambe Cricket Club, but Josh Dixon’s side needed just 32 overs to pass that target, with Gareth Pedder hitting an unbeaten 108 from just 91 balls.