RUTHIN are out of the Division Two bottom-two, despite suffering a narrow defeat at Northop.

The Memorial Park Fields side won the toss and decided to bat first on a warm day.

Captain Rhys Hilditch Roberts was bowled by a ball which kept a bit low but Steve Bryan Jones maintained his good form holding the innings together.

By the middle of the innings Ruthin had reached 78-3 but tight bowling from Northop meant that they were never able to cut loose.

Bryan Jones was next out for a very well made 53, with the remaining batsmen all chipping in.

Ruthin's innings closed on 160-9, with Owen Hughes (21) the next top scorer.

There was a feeling that 20 more runs would have made a made a big difference and the way Northop started seemed to confirm this. The openers were in a hurry, looking to score boundaries off every ball.

Owen Hughes brought things back with a couple of wickets, one following a smart stumping from Gwern Llwyd Owain.

Pete Harrison also got a deserved wicket but Northop seemed comfortable on 120-4, with plenty of overs remaining.

Osian Edwards, however, turned things with a cracking ball, and when Llwyd Owain swapped his gloves to bowl, Northop got themselves in a spin.

Llwyd Owain took four quick wickets and Ruthin could have got a further wicket following a huge appeal for caught behind.

Northop managed to scrape to 161-8 with only four balls remaining, in what was a very battling performance by Ruthin.