IAN Lawton hit an excellent 81 not out as Commoners maintained their title challenge in the West Wales Conference with a five wicket win over Aberystwyth Seconds at Vicarage Fields.

Batting first after winning the toss, Aberystwyth Seconds were all out for 136 in the 33rd over - before Lawton struck 13 boundaries to guide them to victory on 137 for 5 after 30 overs.

On a fine summers afternoon Aberystwyth Seconds' captain Anthony Evans won the toss, and elected to bat.

With usual opening bowler Umar Aslam unavailable, Commoners turned to the ever present Ian Lawton (1-20) to open the bowling, his pace bowling was complimented by Bill Somerfield’s (1-8) bowling at the other end.

Sam Margrave-Jones (10) fell early on when he edged Lawton’s bowling towards the slips, where Jacob Hughes-Pickering held on brilliantly.

Aberystwyth never really got going with wickets falling at a regular interval. Mel Jones (30) and Joel Dixon (25) the only batsmen to really bother the scorers.

The commoners captain favoured his spinners over the paceman in the side, and that decision was rewarded as Abhisek Somani (3-37) took care of the middle order, while Daniel Ponting (4-15) on his Commoners league debut tore through the tail. Aberystwyth Seconds were all out for 136.

Aberystwyth started promisingly through the tight bowling of Zaid Khan and Rowan Dunbabin. Zaid Khan got his reward early on as he bowled Neil Stent (9) with a fantastic delivery. He would soon take the wicket of Commoners other opener Abhishek Somani (4) LBW.

Ian Lawton came to the crease having been promoted up the batting order to number three, and settled in very quickly, combining quick singles with elegant shots for 4.

While Lawton held his bat well at one end, he was running out of partners as Wilcockson (12) and Ponting (0) both were trapped LBW.

Lawton continued with his fine batting form amassing 13 fours in his innings. Somerfield was caught for 7, leaving the match in the balance as Commoners were 77-5.

Captain Jacob Hughes-Pickering (16 not out) came to the crease and rotated the strike well, allowing Lawton to continue his scoring and push the commoners across the line with a fantastic 81 not out.

Hughes-Pickering’s and Lawton’s 60 run partnership not only helped Commoners across the line, but secured them their final bonus point, which could be crucial come the end of the season as the league table is so tight.