Opener Jayde Albertze struck a fine half-century and Dave Horan claimed three wickets as The Associates ended defending champions Tuff Dogs’ unbeaten run this season in the Evening Cricket League’s Premier League at Shelly Bay.

Seeking a fourth successive title and with three wins already under their belts, Tuff Dogs went down by 11 runs after Albertze hit six fours in his 56 to spearhead The Associates’ 124 for four and then Horan put the brakes on Tuff Dogs’ scoring by taking three for 26.

Horan was well supported by Tom Edwards, who took the key middle-order wickets of Kwame Tucker (nine) and Dean Minors (one) in his two for 16.

“This was probably one our best team performances in a long time,” Simon Jones, the winning captain, said.

“Jayde led the batting with a cracking 50 and all the bowlers contributed with the ball.

“A key difference this time was we fielded superbly and held our catches.

“We’ve been on the wrong end of the result against Tuff Dogs in a number of finals, so it was great to come out on top in this game,” Jones added.

De Wicketest, promoted at the end of last season, got off the mark at the fourth attempt, handing West XI their fifth defeat of the year.

In the First Division, CV Chargers maintained their 100 per cent start to the season, beating PHC by 10 wickets and St George’s, who had defaulted their opening two games, by 38 runs after opener Ben Fox hit an unbeaten 65 for the leaders in their 150 for three.