Earby had an five-wicket home victory over Settle in a high-scoring match in the Ribblesdale Cricket League which saw opener Stephen Pickles carry his bat for 106 not out as the home side won with 227-5 in 44.2 overs in reply to the visitors' 224-2, pro Surendra Bhave carrying his bat for 90 not out for the Marshfield side.

Barnoldswick lost by two wickets away to Read, pro Paul Beech hitting 61 as they scored 184-7, Read winning with 186-8, T Little scoring 79.

Earby won the toss and put Settle in to bat and after they had lost their first wicket on 25 Bhave and Mark Verden, 57, saw the visitors to 146 before Verden was out. Then Bhave and Tim Green, 48 not out, saw the side through the rest of their 45 overs.

Bhave's 50 came up in 93 minutes off 92 balls and included five fours and his 90 came off 134 balls and included eight fours. Verden's half-century was scored in 83 minutes off 66 balls and included a six and eight fours and his 57 came off 78 balls with no more boundaries. Green's runs came off 37 balls and included two sixes and four fours.

Earby fielded well and saved a lot of runs and their bowling figures were pro Jonathon Harvey 9-1-38-1, Ben Munns 4-0-29-1, Andrew Rushton 12-0-60-0, Peter Baistow 8-1-28-0, Stephen Hipgrave 10-0-44-0 and Matthew Plant 2-0-16-0.

Pickles's century dominated the Earby innings but he received valuable support from Plant, 52, and the two put on 99 for the fourth wicket.

After losing their first wicket for eight the home side progressed to 42 before the next fell and the third went down on 79.

However when Plant was out the score stood at 178 and the fifth wicket was lost on 223.

Pickles' 100 was scored off 141 balls in 163 minutes and included 11 fours and his 50 came off 73 balls in 82 minutes and included nine fours. In total he received 143 balls for his 106.

Plant's 52 came off 59 balls and his 50 came in 63 minutes off 55 balls and included five fours.

The Settle bowling figures were Colin Johnson 9-1-37-2, Bhave 12.2-0-67-1, Dave Morrell 19-0-81-1 and Andrew Fergie 4-0-23-0.

Settle: S Bhave not out 90; D Morrell c Walton b Harvey 17; M Verden c Walton b Munns 57; T Green not out 48; extras 12; total (for 2) 224.

Earby: N Hodge c Bhave b Johnson 1; S Pickles not out 106; J Harvey c Gowland b Johnson 11; C Walton c Worthington b Morrell 14; M Plant run out 52; S Hipgrave c Verden b Bhave 21; S Rushton not out 0; extras 22; total (for 5) 227.

Read won the toss and put Barnoldswick into bat and they made a steady start, putting on 46 for the first wicket and 88 for the second.

But then the third fell without further score, the fourth on 148, the fifth on 154 and the sixth and seventh on 156.

Beech's 61 came off 57 balls and included five sixes and three fours, and Ian Scothern hit 42 off 96 which included six fours, and Iftikar Ahmed 30 off 34 which included a six and five fours.

For Read M Heyworth ended with 4-51 off 13 overs, one maiden, while D Parsons had 2-63 off 13, two maidens, and Umar 1-28 off nine, four maidens. Pro Ibrahim had 0-41 off 10, two maidens.

Read lost their first wicket for 24 and their second on 53. They then took the score to 129 when the third went down. The fourth fell on 145, the fifth on 163 and the sixth and seventh one run later. The eighth was lost on 178. T Little's 79 came off 105 balls and included two sixes and 10 fours, and Ibrahim scored 32 off 50 which included two sixes and three fours, and P Usher 31 off 31 which included six fours.

For Barnoldswick Beech ended with 4-60 off 16.2 overs, three maidens, Mike Scothern had 3-39 off 13, two maidens, and Ahmed 1-20 off four, no maidens. David Halliwell had figures of 5-0-26-0 and David Scothern of 5-0-23-0.

Barnoldswick: I Scothern c Parsons b Heyworth 42; I Ahmed c Little b Umar 30; P Beech b Parsons 61; G Harker b Heyworth 10; M Scothern c Worsley b Parsons 6; M Lord c Parsons b Heyworth 4; A Brown st Worsley b Heyworth 2; D Scothern not out 10; D Halliwell not out 17; extras 2; total (for 7) 184.

Read: T Little b Beech 79; J Doughty c I Scothern b Beech 9; M Whalley st I Scothern b M Scothern 3; Ibrahim b Ahmed 32; S Woods c I Scothern b M Scothern 6; P Usher b M Scothern 31; I Fox b Beech 0; M Heyworth lbw Beech 0; D Parsons not out 7; P Worsley not out 1; extras 15; total (for 8) 186.

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