Alsager's fate is confirmed, while Bagnall Norton drop into trouble

ALSAGER'S relegation from NSSCL Premier A was confirmed after they lost to a Porthill Park side who boosted their own chances of survival.

- Chris Travers

The clash between the bottom two at the Old County Ground was always going to be pivotal - and it ended with one of the drop places being filled.

Alsager were beaten by 36 runs in a rain-affected clash to see their topflight stay end after just a solitary season.

For Porthill Park, though, the victory saw them exit the bottom two and they now have a three-point cushion heading into Saturday's final round of fixtures.

Porthill Park were always in control of the contest at the weekend after piling up 244-6 from a reduced 37 overs on home turf.

A first-wicket stand of 188 between Tom Steele and John Hancock formed the backbone of the hosts' impressive total.

Steele hit 10 fours in his 87, with Hancock's 86 featuring nine boundaries and three sixes.

Matthew Coxon then chipped in with a breezy 29 to maintain the momentum. Asif Raza took 3-28 for Alsager, with Manraj Johal striking twice.

A further delay saw Alsager's target revised to 194 from 27 overs. But that proved to be out of their range as they eventually closed on 157-8 from their allocation.

Raza (37), Aqeel Ahmed (24) and Johal (23) made handy middle-order contributions, but it wasn't enough.

Coxon helped himself to 3-28, with Ben Cotton grabbing a couple of scalps.

Porthill Park will now look to finish off their survival mission at title challengers Leek next weekend.

Bagnall Norton have dropped into the relegation zone after losing at Longton.

Visitors Bagnall Norton took first use and managed to make their way to 200-7 from their 45 overs.