ABERGELE were unable to recover from a sensational opening wicket stand in their 91-run loss at North Wales Cricket League Division One promotion chasers Bersham.

Home skipper Suresh Koswaththage and Nuwan Amarakoon grabbed the initiative early on with a pair of stunning century knocks, with the latter making 112 before he was eventually trapped lbw by Lewis Tolond on 112.

The same bowler was on hand to take out Rishan Fernando (0), Amith Thilakarathne (5) and Phillip Young in quick succession to secure figures of 4-71, with Rana Das also claiming a pair of scalps at the expense of 33 runs.

Koswaththage was a constant presence throughout the innings, producing a series of exceptional strokes to end the day unbeaten on 136 as the hosts set an imposing target of 323-8 from their allotted 50 overs at the crease.

Things looked bleak for the visitors as David Williams (0), Karl Higgins (12) and Iwan Thomas (4) were ousted in quick succession, with wicketkeeper-opener Gareth Edwards caught off a Tim Jones delivery after making a promising 22.

Nalin Wadhwa also threatened to post a big score until he was trapped lbw on 37, and Josh Lloyd kept his side in the contest with a superb 83 knock before becoming Jones’ latest victim during a crucial stage of the innings.

Gele skipper Ed Rooney (16), Tolond (12) and Manish Adike (17) all posted double-figure scores during the latter stages, but it was not enough to reach their required total as they managed 232 all out in reply.

The defeat leaves the struggling side second-from-bottom in the standings and 20 points adrift of safety ahead of their home clash with basement dwellers Conwy on Saturday.