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Cricket: Hawarden Park pitched back into relegation dogfight as Mold fall at Brymbo

HAWARDEN Park have been dragged back into the relegation dogfight after losing to North Wales League Premier Division champions-elect Llandudno.

Having opted to bat first Llan didn’t hit their straps in the way they normally do, Park’s bowlers restricting them to 185-8.

Campbell Marr claimed 3-62, Matthew Roberts 2-47 and James Hurlin an economical 2-16.

But for Llandudno where the willow fails, the leather rarely does and their attack bowled Park out in double-quick time for 71 to continue their unstoppable march to the title.

Marr made 28 and Tim Newhouse a spirited 15 off 19 balls but Park simply couldn’t handle Llan’s fierce attack, Ajay Dhawan taking 5-7.

The loss meant Park were drawn back toward the drop zone, with a cushion of just four points.

MOLD’S title push has been over for some time, but they fell 113 points behind Llan after losing at relegation battlers Brymbo.

The struggling Wrexham side won by six wickets in a complete reversal of the league table.

It is not, however, a reversal of the recent form book, as Mold have been struggling to dominate games for a few weeks.

They were given a perfect opportunity to stamp their authority on the match when Brymbo won the toss and asked them to bat.

But the top order failed to fire and it took a strong 58 from captain David Soothill to restore some order.

Daniel Drew then took up the mantle, firing 67, but with most of the batsmen already gone he received little support from the tail as Mold reached 194-8.

With the bowlers at their disposal Mold looked capable of dispensing with Brymbo comfortably.

But the hosts demonstrated their resilience as they survived the loss of some early wickets to build an innings around James Claybrook’s 74.

Usman Butt took 3-55 but wickets were hard to come by as Mold used eight bowlers to try to break their hosts down but to no avail.

Cliff Wiseman pocketed 1-13 but this was a match to forget for the second-placed side.

Brymbo brought the game to a close as they scored 195-4 to boost their survival hopes while second-placed Mold must now rediscover their winning formula quickly and focus on Bangor and Connah’s Quay, who have both closed the gap on second place and have set their sights on overhauling Soothill’s side.

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