ELTON'S seemingly flawless Bolton Association form continued in emphatic fashion at the weekend as they demolished Astley and Tyldesley by seven wickets.

On a once again sunblessed Leigh Lane ground, Astley and Tyldesley were put into bat and appeared to be making the early running; making 50 for 0 before the drinks break.

However, they had not encountered one of the most deadly bowling partnerships in the league - paid man Dexter Fitton and former coach Mark Goddard.

Miserly Fitton boarded up his end allowing Goddard to pick up another five-wicket haul.

The pair once again demonstrated the ideal way to bowl in tandem, while restricting the Wiganners to 159 for 8.

To describe Elton's reply as comfortable would have been an understatement.

It was typically built around ever-reliable Dexter Fitton's unbeaten 90.

Rashid Riaz, currently experiencing a resurgence of form, contributed a grafted 28, while coach Damien Keegan finished the business with 18 not out.

And, the seconds impressed too, thanks to Ste Lomax's century against ELPM. They made light work off their opponents with the ball to record another win.

Meanwhile, WALSHAW lost ground on the leaders as Clifton made up for a disappointing defeat to Adlington last week by getting their title challenge back on track.

It was an exciting penultimate ball finish as Clifton met their target with two wickets remaining.

Fifteen-year-old Jamie Royle marked his first game as first team opener with 61, his debut half century, and David Hamilton added 42 as part of a second wicket century.

A second important partnership came later on when Steve Holt and Simon Bamford saw them through a testing spell by putting on almost 60 runs.

Jonathan Fielding took four Clifton wickets while, earlier on, Brett Collins hit an unbeaten 52 for Walshaw, Rob Faulkner scored 51 and Tony Kelly 47 in their total of 214-5.

The weekend throws up some interesting matches.

Elton will get an early test of their title credentials when they visit Little Hulton on Saturday and Walshaw entertain Adlington the same day.

On Sunday, Elton will hope to beat second-placed Darcy Lever to continue such an impressive run of form.

Keegan's Elton side top the Bolton Association with six wins from seven but Walshaw aren't far behind in third place with three wins under their belts.