ABERGAVENNY'S quest for Premier League cricket came a step closer with their latest win in the South East Wales Cricket League while second-placed Tondu were beaten at Sudbrook.

Aber were asked to bat first by visitors Croesyceiliog and made them rue the decision by amassing 371 for 9 with Tom Norton scoring 104.

A disheartened-looking Croesy were never likely to threaten this score and folded to 138 all out, leaving the hosts winners by a massive 233 runs and leaders of the division by 46 points.

It was the usual suspects that scored the runs for Sudbrook with Scot O'Leary hitting 103 and Ross Lewis opening with 56 as they hit a competitive 235.

In reply, only James Hardwick offered real resistance with 77 and, with Max Warby taking out the middle order with 4 for 46, Tondu could only muster 160 in reply.

At Llandaff, the ball really dominated the bat as 19 wickets fell for just 210 runs in 44 overs with wides responsible for 37 of this total.

Visitors Ebbw Vale elected to bat and owed a great debt to opener Rhys Newman, who carried his bat for 66.

All the other batters could only add a mere 10 runs between them as Ebbw were bowled out for 103 with Majid Karim taking 4 for 19.

They then made their hosts task easier by bowling an extra 22 deliveries as Llandaff scraped over the line with their last man at the crease.

Blackwood were another side who found runs difficult to come by as they were bowled out for 136 with Ryan Johnston top scoring with an undefeated 23 at number eight.

Radyr had little difficulty in knocking the runs off with Jamie Williamson in a hurry to get home as he hit 73 off just 57 balls to move Radyr up to third.

With Croesy, Ebbw and Blackwood only picking up 11 bonus points between them, there were plenty of smiling faces at Panteg as their three-wicket wicket win at Malpas saw them move out of the bottom three.

Malpas lost early wickets and it was only when James Perrott and Ollie Pennant came together that runs start to flow.

A big score looked likely after they moved to 173 for 4 but they lost their last six wickets for 36, leaving a target of 209.

A 52 from Uzair Rehman put Panteg well on their way but a middle order collapse saw them in trouble at 122 for 7.

Chris White was in determined mood, however, and with help from Billie Mayers saw them home with 10 overs remaining.

In the other fixture in this division, Miskin Manor comfortably defeated Lisvane by 83 runs.

From 31 for 3 Miskin were grateful to captain Dan Hay for his 73 as he put on 88 for the fifth wicket with Jon Edwards to push their score up to 186.

Wickets fell regularly as Lisvane could only reach 88 with Julian Ballinger spinning his way to 4 for 23 off his allocated overs. The top three sides in Division Two all gained 19 points as they as they all recorded convincing victories on the road.

Table toppers, Whitchurch Heath travelled to Barry Island and bowled the home team out for 146 and, despite losing in the in-form Chris Vanos quite early, they cruised to a seven-wicket victory with Nye Brown adding 39.

At Lisvane, no batter could move on despite several getting reasonable starts as the home side posted 149 for 8 with Ross Madden taking 3 for 27 for the visiting Newport Fugitives.

In reply, Louis Tovey was in fine nick for the visitors and hit 101 of the required runs.

At The Welfare Ground, Travis Morgan and Ryan Watkins both hit 30s but the middle order failed to move the game on and Newbridge had to be content with 171, with help from Will Hook and Joel Holley.

Newport lost two early wickets but Tom Evans (64) and Michael Provis (72) saw them home in the 35th over.

Rogerstone's 171 was built around 70 from Fahad Anser but from 155 for 4 they could only add a further 16 runs leaving a disappointing target which the Vale reached for the loss of four wickets in the 40th over.

St Fagans continued their good form as they accounted for Brecon by 70 runs but, like Rogerstone, were disappointed with their score of 191 as only Chris Jones of the last five batters reached double figures.

With Zayn Zaman taking the first three wickets and then adding a run out, Brecon fell to 121 all out.

In Division Three Pontymister/Cross keys gained their first win of the season as they defeated Creigau by two wickets to close the gap on Crumlin, whose game was a victim of the weather, at the bottom of the table.

Machen fell further into trouble when they suffered a three-wicket defeat to Pontpridd while at the other end of the table, Cardiff tightened their grip on top spot beating second placed Penarth by 29 runs.