BOTH of Knutsford Cricket Club's teams suffered agonising late defeats at the weekend, putting a dent in their promotion hopes.

The firsts were beaten on the road at Heaton Mersey while the seconds lost at home to Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge, with both games going down to the final over.

Batting first at Heaton Mersey, the firsts were able to reach 191-8 from their allotted overs.

Mushin Ali top-scored with 50 while Rana Saqlain boosted the total by blasting 42 from just 17 deliveries. Adnan Ghazanfar (42) and Muhammad Arslan (32) also made vital contributions.

The Knutsford bowlers then reduced the hosts to 98-5 as Waqar Khan and Zahid Saleem both took two wickets to slow the charge.

However, the victory target was reached with just five balls to spare.

Batting proved to be the issue for the seconds as they collapsed to 118 all out, with Zain Ali top-scoring with just 29.

The bowlers produced a strong response, though, and made Cheadle work hard for their runs.

Nadim Alam (2-13) and Atal Jan (2-25) were the best of the bunch, but the visitors squeezed home by three wickets.