Burbage CC brought a rare ray of sunshine to a wet and grey day in Birstall as they took the lion's share of the points against the Senior League premier division champions.

Played against the sort of depressingly bleak backdrop which summed up the nation's current economic gloom, Burbage cashed in to completely outplay their hosts and earn a winning draw.

Naturally, captain Tom Payne lost the toss and his side was asked to bat first on a wicket which was wetter than a broken fridge.

Not one to shirk responsibility, the skipper bravely went out to open with notorious rabbit Lee Martin. Batting like a young Devon Malcolm, Payne deposited an enormous six into the children's play area, before he was first man out for 25, caught at slip after apparently being surprised by a straight ball.

Having being eclipsed with the bat thus far, Martin came into his own, placing some beautiful edges on his way to a half century before a rush of blood saw him slap a full toss straight to cover to be caught out for 51. The veteran all-rounder overcame his misery at being dismissed by super-gluing a team-mate's shirt to a changing room peg.

With the team's best batsman now back in the pavilion - along with Martin - vice-captain Aaron Barber took the lead role.

Batting in a fetching maroon cap, Barber's batting drew comparision to that of Brian Lara - sorry, I mean Brian Dowling - as he struck some ferocious blows on his way to a magnificent unbeaten 60. Playing fantastic shots on both sides of the wicket, Barber's innings was a joy to watch as he took the Birstall attack to pieces.

He was ably supported by Owen Williams, who joined in the six-fest with a fine strike over extra cover as he made 35 before being run out, as Burbage totalled 185-5 from their 45 overs.

The Martin-Payne double-act then came into play with the ball, as the pair restricted the Birstall batsmen with a combination of skill and guile (Martin), and hostility and verbal assaults (Payne).

Martin bowled a superb spell to finish with 2-23 from 12 overs, while Payne creaked his way through 12 overs to claim 1-21.

Spinner Williams then came to the fore as he took two wickets in a spell reminiscent of Peter Such at his best, to finish with figures of 2-32 from seven excellent overs as the hosts finished on 140-6.

With champions Birstall comprehensively outplayed, Burbage look forward to this week's fixture - when Wigston travel to the Theatre of Dreams - with the sort of enthusiasm Rick Waller displays for a finger buffet.