Accrington captain Jimmy Hayhurst leads the tributes to the late Club President Peter Barratt ©Nigel Stockley

Accrington have returned to the top of the table after a thrilling win over Haslingden at Thorneyholme Road. An unbroken 8th wicket stand of 47 between Mitch Taylor (26 not out) and Marley Ali (19 not out) doubled the Accrington score after the home side had slipped to 47-7. Eddie Shah took 5-33 and Gary Sudworth 2-29 as wickets fell at regular intervals. Only Graham Lloyd with 21 offered any resistance but when he fell to Shah the home side looked doomed. Taylor and Ali had other ideas through as they shared seven boundaries to pull off a famous victory. David Ormerod (5-25) and professional Ashar Zaidi (5-45) had earlier combined to dismiss Haslingden for 90. Jack Sudworth made 26, Joey Marcroft 21 and professional Phil Hayes 17 in a rearguard action after half of the side had fallen for just 20.

Skipper Jimmy Hayhurst said:"We bowled very well on a good pitch. Dibber and the pro were excellent with 5 each and Haslingden made it hard for us but a fantastic stand from Mitch Taylor and Marley Ali saw us home. This just goes to show our depth of batting and I was very pleased with the result after yesterdays disappointment of not playing."