Scorecard: https://illingworth.play-cricket.com/website/results/3662400
Top of the table Illingworth's run of ten successive league victories came to an end away at in form Clayton who snatched victory by the smallest of margins in a nail biting finish.
On a dry pitch with very unpredictable bounce batters found life far more difficult than in recent weeks. After being put into bat, the home side struggled against the pace of the Illingworth attack and at 75-5 looked to be in deep trouble. A lower middle order recovery boosted the score to 119-7 and a crucial partnership of 52 for the 8th wicket between Robertshaw 29 and Rowe 26 gave Clayton something to bowl at as they reached 183.
The visitors made the worst of starts as they slumped to 9-4 and 51-5 but like the home side the lower order came to the rescue. A partnership of 58 for the 6th wicket between Calum Cook 45 and Sajeed Ghazan restored some respectability but with the loss of two quick wickets the game looked out of reach at 128-8.
Jamie Moorhouse and Luke Brooksby thought otherwise and a stand of 48 for the ninth wicket brought Illingworth to the brink of victory until Moorhouse was brilliantly caught by Artist for 19. The last pair needed 8 more to grasp victory and looked to have things under control until Brooksby was adjudged LBW for 31 just one run short of the Clayton total and with only six bonus points as their consolation.