LULLINGTON Park have hit the top of the table for the first time as the Beechwood Derbyshire Premier League title race goes down to the wire.

It was maximum points yet again for Jonny Shales' team as they beat previous leaders Sandiacre Town by 74 runs on Saturday.

And victory for Ockbrook & Borrowash, by six wickets at home to Ilkeston Rutland, allowed them to slip ahead of Sandiacre, too.

Not that Sandiacre are out of it, with 10 points separating the sides ahead of next weekend's double-header finish to the season.

Lullington's margin of victory over Sandiacre was comfortable in the end but the game was tense, fiercely competitive and fluctuated from the moment visiting captain James Chapman won the toss and asked Lullington to bat.

The opening attack of Dan Wheeldon and John Jordison was very impressive and, between them, they restricted Lullington to 41-1 off 19 overs.

There were few bad balls and both extracted some movement, as evidenced by Andrew Goodwin's dismissal, the Lullington opener being bowled for 13 without playing a shot as Wheeldon got one to jag back sharply.

Sam Eaton and Ben Bridgen played carefully and rode their luck as Ryan McFadyean and James Chapman joined the attack.

Bridgen was well caught in the gully for 26 by Chapman off McFadyean and Eaton holed out to John Jordison from Wheeldon as he tried to up the rate.

McFadyean then produced a perfect delivery to hit the top of Rudi Hillermann's off stump for a golden duck.

That left Park at 103-4 and they had used up 39 overs by the time the score reached 109.

But skipper Shales proved in good form and Richard Green was also hitting the ball well, the pair adding 41 until Shales was caught in the deep by McFadyean off Wheeldon.

Paul Dawson joined Green and a combination of hitting and sharp running added a further 52 in an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership.

Against a quality attack on a slow pitch, there was a feeling that 196 could prove a good score.

And Sandiacre then lost Chapman early, as Graham Dent gained the first of four positive LBW decisions that accounted for the first four wickets, two to him and two to Hillermann.

Ant Woolley looked in good form with three superb boundaries and was less than pleased to be adjudged LBW to Hillermann by Jon Salisbury

His frustration boiled over when he reached the pavilion and the language was less than pleasant.

David Jordison went leg before to the next ball, leaving Lloyd Hobson to save a hat-trick before John Trueman became the fourth LBW victim, to Dent, with the total on 45.

Sandiacre needed to regroup but Dent snapped up a sharp caught-and-bowled to dismiss John Jordison, while Wheeldon, who had won the game at Sandiacre with superb hitting earlier in the season, was bowled by Alan Gough for a single.

Alistair Leek joined Hobson and they put together the only substantial partnership of the innings.

There was plenty of time and they batted carefully, dispatching bad balls competently.

Lullington supporters were just beginning to look anxious when Leek dabbed the ball in front of him and tried a quick single, only to see keeper Green pounce and hit the stumps at the bowler's end.

After that it was more or less a formality.

George Chapman deceived Matthew Swann, who was bowled, and Matt Sanderson accepted a caught and bowled from McFadyean.

At 118-9 and with 15 overs to go, Hobson and Danny Green at last decided that a draw was preferable to defeat but Green was run out trying to give Hobson the strike, leaving the South African unbeaten on 42.

Without a batting point, Sandiacre collected only two points from the day, which was an added bonus for both of their rivals.