Seventh straight defeat for Illston

Things are going from bad to worse for Illston Abbey, who plunged to a seventh successive Everards Leicestershire Premier League defeat after being beaten by nine wickets by leaders Lutterworth.

Only Irfan Pathan (39) made double figures as Paul Burnham (4-21) and Karl Smith (3-24) ripped the heart out of the Abbey batting to leave Lutterworth the simple task of knocking off 83 for victory.

Illston are 57 points adrift of Hinckley Town, whose 221 for four was based around Mike Scully (68) and Richard Hutchings (64). Stoughton Thurnby's three-wicket win was based on a century stand between Ben Orton (69) and Chad Yates (65).

Ashby Hastings were bowled out for 128 and beaten by six swickets by Leicester Ivanhoe, but Market Harborough's last pair held out for 20 minutes to deny Loughborough the spoils.

Neal Gamble's 6-36 return had Market Harborough on the ropes, but opener Robert Taylor (60) dug in until they were 106 for eight, after which Lee Pollard (33 not out) hung on to force a draw. Loughborough posted 228 for six
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Rain hit Sileby Town's drawn match with Kibworth, who closed at 145 for eight (Matt Elkins 5-41) chasing 165 for seven. Luke Goode (57) top scored for the hosts.