A superb unbeaten innings of 101 in 100 balls from Cameron Mapstone helped blast the first team to the verge of promotion after a 136-run triumph at Great Harwood.
Greenmount captain Travis Townsend won the toss and decided to bat but at 110 for 5 – and with the general consensus that a score of around 250 would be needed for victory – it looked decidedly dodgy for the villagers with both professional Jacques Snyman (57) and Townsend (31) back in the shed.
That was the cue for Mapstone to enter the fray. He added 94 for the sixth wicket with Noah Birtwistle (29) and an unbroken 74 for the seventh wicket with Ishy Patel (33 not out).
A final total of 278 for 6 proved insurmountable for the home side who slid to 144 all out, mainly due to 5 for 30 from Jacques Snyman and 3 for 32 from Amal Dalugoda. Noah Birtwistle took the other two wickets.
During the Greenmount innings skipper Townsend passed 3,000 runs in the Lancashire League while Snyman passed 1,000 runs for the season.
Oli Dixon’s second eleven kept their promotion hopes alive with a good four-wicket defeat of Middleton at the Log Cabin.
The visitors were invited to bat in the Greenmount sun and put on 199 all out from 44.4 overs.
Wicket-taker in chief was Max Birtwistle who finished with terrific figures of 6 for 43 from 12 overs with Ryan Edge taking three and Dixon taking one.
The Mount reply was dominated by a superb innings from Matt Donnelly who hit an unbeaten 89.
Donnelly hit 12 fours and three sixes in a swashbuckling display and his seventh wicket partnership of 143 with the ubiquitous Dixon saw the villagers home inside 37 overs.
It was a bitter-sweet Saturday afternoon for the third team who – despite losing to Great Harwood by four wickets – ensured they were promoted.
With only one game remaining no other team can dislodge them from the top two positions in the Third XI Division Two table after a great summer.
Skipper Liam Riley won the toss and elected to bat and he saw Noah Birtwistle hit a fantastic unbeaten 104 that included ten fours and two sixes.
Birtwistle put on 94 for the first wicket with Harry Nuttall who scored a fine 54.
However, the Mount total of 214 for 5 from their 40 overs proved insufficient as Great Harwood skipper Nazakat Hussain’s 96 proved the mainstay of the visitors reply.
The visitors reached their target for the loss of six wickets in the 38th over to inflict a rare defeat.
Leading the wicket-taking for Greenmount was Ben Clarke with 3 for 31 while there was a wicket apiece for brother Adam Clarke, Noah Birtwistle and Jake Riley.