WHAT a terrific summer it turned out to be for St Asaph and Denbigh in the top flight of the North Wales Cricket League.

The Vale of Clwyd duo were part of the leading lights in the region, with both clubs finishing inside the top-four of the Premier Division standings.

A superb haul of 15 wins from their 22 games saw St Asaph conclude the campaign in third spot, just five points beind runners-up Menai Bridge and less than 30 points adrift of league champions Bangor.

Meanwhile, Denbigh claimed 13 victories to finish the summer in fourth spot in the table, only 14 points behind the Saints.

Contributing close to a fifth of St Asaph's runs over the course of the summer was Will Ryan, who hit one century and four 50s on his way to bagging 721 runs.

Ryan's top score for the season was 117.

Nathanael Scott enjoyed a top score of 120 not out and he contributed 697 runs during the season, which included three centuries and two 50s.

Other Saints' players to top 300 runs for the season were Matthew Ryan (589), Paul Fleming (335), Danny Ryan (328) and Jason Foulkes (313).

Foulkes was also a threat with the ball and he grabbed 31 wickets to help St Asaph's lofty push, at an average of 18.90.

Alex Baker took 32 wickets over the course of the season (average 16.50).

Other bowlers bagging more than 15 wickets during the season were David North (26), Paul Fleming (25) and Danny Ryan (17).

Oh, for the want of just 18 additional runs.

Jackson Braddock-Pajo was the Vale of Clwyd's top batsman in 2017.

He cracked an amazing 982 runs for Denbigh between April and September, at an average of 46.76.

With three centuries and six 50s, almost half of Braddock-Pajo's innings saw him at least make a half-century.

It also proved to be a brilliant season for Harrison Jones, who scored 891 runs at an average of just under 45.

Jones also made a terrific contribution with the ball, finishing up with 40 wickets at an average of 20.90.

The remaining Denbigh batsmen to top 400 runs for the summer were opener Gerallt Lyall (570) and Tom Schrimshaw (457).

Turning to the bowling side of things and half-a-dozen Denbigh players managed to claim more than 10 wickets during the campaign.

There were 37 wickets from the hugely impressive Jack Griffiths, at an average of just 16.73 apiece.

The other star performers with the ball were Andy Clarke (21 wickets), Stuart Griffiths (20), Alec Lewis (14) and Joe Lewis (16).