THORNTON were undone by Oxenhope’s Ben Howell in their Halifax League Premier Division defeat.

The visitors slumped from 56-2 to 100 all out, second change bowler Howell taking 6-14 in less than eight overs.

His early entry to the attack was unplanned as Liam Dyson had bowled only three balls before pulling up injured.

The home team did not find the chase easy and lost seven wickets in scraping maximum points – Bradley Weatherhead (4-44) doing his best to make life difficult.

Clayton’s Mitesh Mistry had an even bigger impact when he was given the ball after eight overs at Upper Hopton in Division One.

He proceeded to take 8-25 to leave Hopton 82 all out and the Bradford team had no difficulty in claiming maximum points, Paul Artist (45 not out) and Chris Ramsden (37 not out) cruising to a ten-wicket win.

Great Horton PC are in second place after a comprehensive seven-wicket win at Southowram. The home team batted first and, at 133-4, were on target for a 200-plus score until Stuart Fenton was thrown the ball.

His figures of 4.5-0-9-6 explain why Southowram posted only 194 all out – Uzyy Gill contributing 52 of the total.

Horton needed only 33.2 overs to pass the target as Chris Brown (63 not out) and Danny Wilkins (45 not out) guided it home in a unbroken 86-run fourth wicket partnership.

The tightest finish of the day came in Division Two at Luddendenfoot where Jack Richardson (72) and Gareth Walker (52) were the mainstays of Queensbury’s 201 all out, as Tom Stott (5-46) removed half their team-mates very cheaply.

The Foot, however, lost for the first time this season as they fell three runs short of their visitors' total, despite opener Jacob Whitehouse hitting 70 at a run a ball.

James Stott scored 57 but it was Queensbury’s opening bowler, Joshua Dougall (5-49), who eventually won the day.