BANGOR have one hand on the North Wales Cricket League Premier Division after a convincing nine-wicket victory at Denbigh.

The long-time leaders moved another step closer to regaining the crown with a polished display with bat and ball, with the club receiving further good news as Mochdre were heavily beaten at home by St Asaph.

This gives the championship favourites a 27-point cushion at the time of writing, with Menai Bridge playing Pontblyddyn on Bank Holiday Monday.

Chris Dawson took a crucial wicket for the away side early on when he despatched talented opener Gerallt Lyall on 11, and talented teenager Owen Reilly also made a big impression with the quick-fire scalps of Tom Schrimshaw and Stuart Griffiths for two and six respectively.

All-rounder Nadeem Rehman also got in on the act to dispose of Daniel Nixon (10), Andy Thomas (6), Jack Griffiths (1) and Ifan Jones (11) to end an 11-over spell with figures of 4-29, and overseas player Franco Kasner sent Jon Eccles (9) and Alec Lewis (0) back to the pavilion to record 2-26.

Home skipper Harrison Jones proved to be a far sterner proposition to remove, but he was superbly run out by Reilly on 56 at a crucial stage of the innings that ended with the hosts all out on 133 from 46 overs.

The visitors made a moderate start but suffered a blow when Jack Griffiths clean bowled opener David Winter on 24.

This joy proved to be fleeting for the hosts thanks to a standout partnership from Reilly and Rehman, who demonstrated their qualities and enabled the title hopefuls to reach their target with 12 overs in hand.

Welsh youth international Reilly was a constant presence throughout the innings on his way to 48 not out, and Rehman was also at the top of his game to finish unbeaten on 51.