ST ASAPH’s poor end to the North Wales Cricket League Premier Division campaign continued with a six-wicket home loss at the hands of outgoing champions Bangor.

The one-time title hopefuls now sit in fifth position in the standings after their ninth reverse in 20 contests so far, and the Saints will look to bounce back when they visit Gresford on Saturday.

Chris Dawson put the home side to the sword early on with the wickets of Mathew Ryan and skipper Will Ryan for six and eight respectively, before Andy Williams also got in on the act with the scalp of Jason Foulkes for 14.

The impressive Dawson added Ben Murphy (16) to his list of victims, and he also removed top scorer Nathaniel Scott for 37 on his way to figures of 4-37 from a 12-over spell.

Danny Ryan (19) and Mike Thompson (20) provided the other double-figure scores throughout the innings, with Nadeem Rehman taking three lower order wickets at the expense of just nine runs as the hosts set a target of 153 all out from 40 overs’ in the middle.

Things got off to a good start in the field for the home side as Danny Ryan ousted the dangerous David Winter for seven, and Elliot Morris trapped Sohaib Khan lbw for 26 to give them further hope of salvaging something from the contest.

Opener Idrees Ijaz kept the visiting scoreboard ticking over with a 34 knock before he was caught and bowled by Mathew Ryan, and Rehman produced a fine 46 to seal the victory for the away side in comfortable fashion.

Captain Robbie Marshall was there at the end with an unbeaten 18 as they reached their required target after 32 overs of play.