TONGE upset the odds beating Bolton League joint leaders Greenmount to claim a 43-run victory in the final of the Hamer Cup at Farnworth.

Their bowlers proved to be their matchwinners after bowling out the strong Greenmount side for 162.

That came after Tonge had totalled 205, and overcoming the disappointing dismissal of their major runmaker, pro Adil Nisar.

He was out for only 27, the 1,000th wicket in the league career of Mark Stewart, but once those celebration were over, Tonge regained the initiative.

With seven of their team aged 22 or under, they responded with a mature batting display to keep the Greenmount bowlers working hard.

Shez Arif bore the responsibility of making sure his side had a good enough total to defend with a top score of 68, but he received solid support from Adam Rodzoch (22), Alex Rodzoch (20), Adam Street (16), and David Bath (16).

Martin Kay was Greenmount's most successful bowler taking 4-36 but the onus of winning the game then lay with his side's batsmen.

Yet Tonge attacked from the start, and they gained an early reward with the wickets of prolific run scorers Andy Kerr and pro Usman Tariq to leave Greenmount reeling at 21-2. From that point on, the Tonge bowlers never let the batsmen take charge and they took wickets at regular intervals, with three falling for three runs in the mid-eighties.

Martin Kay was the first of that trio to fall, having scored 28, and then he was quickly followed by John Ashworth and Simon Woolford. Ashworth's dismissal was not without some controversy.

He felt that Tonge had only three fielders in the circle instead of the required four, but lost his wicket going for a big boundary shot.

He immediately appealed to the umpires, but after consultation they decided the dismissal should stand.

That knocked the stuffing out of the innings, and although Ryan Senior added a defiant 31 not out and Peter Kay (27) and Mark Stewart (12) did their best to stop the rot, the run-rate quickly rose to around nine an over before Greenmount were all out for 162.

Tonge pro Nisar may have disappointed with the bat but he more than made up for it with a haul of 7-69, while Asif was voted man of the match for his top-scoring innings and two important catches to dismiss Tariq and Andy Bowker.