Half-centuries by Maclaren Lowe and Trevor Corday helped Tuff Dogs, the defending champions, continue to set the pace in the Evening Cricket League’s Premier Division with a nine-wicket win over De Wicketest, who are finding life difficult in the top flight after being promoted last season.

Lowe’s unbeaten 60 and Trevor Corday’s 51 saw Tuff Dogs reach their target with 11 balls to spare.

De Wicketest also suffered a nine-wicket defeat against The Associates, who remain level on points with Tuff Dogs, albeit from two games more, Gary Knight, with 43 not out, leading the way after Jayde Alberteze picked up three wickets.

Fourth-placed Fine Leg Byes romped to a ten-wicket win over West XI, who were without Treadwell Gibbons, Dave Greenidge’s unbeaten 41 and 34 not out from Ricky Waldron seeing them reach their 93-run target with 20 balls to spare.

In the First Division, Piers Carr drove leaders CV Chargers to their eighth victory on the spin with an unbeaten 56 against North Village, who went down by nine wickets, after Somers Carr snapped up three for eight.

Antwan Russell’s unbeaten 60 helped second-placed PHC -- nine points behind the leaders but with a game in hand -- see off Bad Byes, but in a bizarre ending to another game PHC had to concede to Deloitte with the scores tied because they lost more wickets and had run out of batsmen.

Deloitte made 119 for five from their 16 overs and their opponents levelled with six wickets down and five overs to spare, but according to a league spokesman their remaining batsmen had left the ground and PHC and were unable to continue, missing out on the points which were there for the taking.

St George’s, meanwhile, picked up their first win of the season, defeating Village by 38 runs.