EARBY went from rags to riches last weekend in their two-match Jennings Ribblesdale League programme, a disappointing defeat by lowly Oswaldtwistle Immanuel being followed 24 hours later by a fine batting display which accounted for second-placed Great Harwood.

The weekend was a personal triumph for professional Mohammed Ayub, who had both runs and wickets in each game, but whereas he had scant support against Oswaldtwistle, when the side failed to reach three figures with the bat, the following day his unbeaten knock of 76 was solidly backed.

Against Oswaldtwistle, it seemed that the Applegarth men had done the hard work when they limited the visitors to 119-8, all the Earby bowlers returning economical figures.

When Earby batted, however, only Ayub (39), Matt Nutter (17) and Stephen Hipgrave (12no) reached double figures as Morrick ran through the side to finish with 7-47 from 17 overs and Earby's innings closed at 99.

Faced with a 179-9 total by Great Harwood the following day, Earby cannot have been entirely confident, yet they responded to the challenge in fine style to collect a seven-wicket win.

Nutter and Sam Munns put on 28 for the first wicket to get the show on the road and when Nutter went for 22, Ayub and Munns carried the total to 84 before Munns departed for 28.

Skipper Chris Walton then joined the fray and he and Ayub put on 95 for the third wicket before he fell for 38 with the scores level.

Nigel Hodge was left to stroke the winning four as Ayub collected the applause for a quality innings.

Settle found another professional in fine fettle when they visited Edenfield on Saturday and discovered the secret of how the Ramsbottom side have been making a much stronger challenge this season.

Key to success has been the work of South African professional Ian Mitchell and he produced a match-winning display against the Marshfield men.

He hit 69 as the home side reached 170-9 in their overs, Paul Stafford being the most successful Settle bowler with 4-36, and he then claimed 6-39 in an 18-over stint as Settle were bowled out for 115, a fair effort given that back in his native Boland, he keeps wicket for the state side.

Against Oswaldtwistle the following day the familiar pairing of Stewart Hornby and Paul Ridgway restored the equilibrium for Settle as the home side won by 58 runs to claim maximum points. A decent all-round effort with the bat, in which Ridgway top scored with 42 and Paul Taylor (31no), Stewart Hornby (24) and father Keith (25) all made useful contributions, resulted in Settle posting a total of 163-7.

This was hardly a mammoth target for the visitors, but once Hornby and Ridgway slipped into gear, it was always going to be too much. Only professional Morrick (37) really provided any serious resistance as the Settle pair claimed four wickets each to bowl out the visitors for 95.

Another professional enjoying a successful weekend was Sri Lankan Jeevantha Kulatunga, although his efforts were not enough to bring Barnoldswick points from both their games.

Kulatunga was in sparkling form on Saturday in his side's 55-run win over Baxenden. He had 11 fours and three sixes in his innings of 95 which occupied just 60 deliveries, opener Michael Scothern carried his bat for 81 and hit nine fours and a six in the process as the home side totalled 244-2.

Opener Jonathan Harvey (57) led the Baxenden reply, with No 4 Payne unbeaten on 61 at the close, but the visitors were still 55 runs adrift with four wickets to fall at stumps.

There was rather more excitement the following day when Cherry Tree were visitors, a keenly contested match going to the wire and the Blackburn side edging it by one wicket.

Kulatunga was again in form when he scored over half the runs which came off the bat with an innings of 61, but the 135 Barnoldswick total was never quite enough, although there was no doubting the effort which went into making it so.

The loss of opener Robbins in Michael Scothern's first over was a handicap for the visitors, but they repaired the damage with a stand of 60. The departure of professional Naeem Ashraf for 18 was a major boost for the home side and the game then remained in the balance to the bitter end, Cherry Tree losing wickets but edging slowly towards their target.

In the final analysis, Barnoldswick's failure to use up all their overs when they batted and thereby offering Cherry Tree with a bonus proved decisive, the visitors getting home in the 47th over.