ANOTHER positive result gave Colwyn Bay Cricket Club more hope of hauling themselves out of their relegation dogfight.
The Bay battled to a superb draw against title challengers Northern to move just three points adrift of safety.
Early success for Carwyn Williams, Ryan Holtby and Gareth Cross saw the hosts on 49 for three, but solid scoring saw the score pushed beyond the 200 mark.
Holtby and Cross both took two wickets, with Arthur Jones also claiming a victim as Northern posted 247 for seven.
The Bay made a similar start, reaching 46 for their first three wickets, but some steadfast batting from Sion Morris and top scorers George Johansen, 51 off 87, and Zach Gidlow, 38 off 60, saw them grind down the Northern attack.
Paul Jenkins and Tom Roberts took the Bay to the brink of an important result, with Holtby finishing off the job after Roberts was caught LBW at the death.
The Bay face another daunting task in the shape of league leaders Lytham this weekend, but with winnable matches still on the calendar have given themselves a fighting chance of preserving their Premier Division status.
The Bay’s second string lost out by eight wickets to Liverpool CC.
A modest 129 all out off 36.3 overs was the target set by the seconds, a total ‘Pool managed reach for two losses.