MENAI Bridge geared up for their crunch clash with North Wales Cricket League Premier Division title rivals Bangor with a 20-run home success over Brymbo.

The defending champions were made to work hard for their latest victory that saw them dethroned at the summit by next Saturday’s opponents, with just two points separating them in the standings ahead of a contest that could go a long way to determining the destination of the crown.

A strong batting performance from the home side saw them post a total of 257-8 from their allotted 50 overs at the crease, with skipper Dion Holden marking his return to the side with an exceptional knock to put Bridge in the ascendancy.

The opener was in tremendous form on his way to an 11-boundary score of 81 from 109 deliveries, with other notable contributions coming from Ed Gadsby (30), Andy Skeotch (30*) and Sean O’Callaghan (23).

Daniel Parry and Gareth Boys were in good form with the ball for the away side, picking up a pair of wickets apiece for the combined loss of 122 runs.

Overseas star O’Callaghan turned the game on its head after a good start to the visitors’ run chase, claiming the wickets of Gareth Pugh (20), Mohamed Jayman (46) and skipper James Claybrook (46) to end the day with figures of 3-77 from a 12-over spell.

David Blackwell gave Brymbo a fighting chance of securing an upset with standout performance from the number four position, but he was removed from the crease by Liam Bibby on 65 at a crucial stage of the innings.

Despite Shashika Meistry (32) and Boys (17*) both posting double-figure scores thereafter, the away side ran out of overs on their way to 237-6 in reply.

Holden also managed to make an impact with the ball, taking to wickets for the loss of 50 runs.