The Royal Hotel Pirates have strengthened their premiership credentials with a thrilling win over reigning champions, the Soldiers Club Snipers, on Saturday at Victoria Park.

The one-wicket victory means that the Pirates and Bowning Buffaloes now share first-place, with the Snipers dropping back to tied third with the Yass Golf Club Piranhas.

The Snipers, who were without paceman Steve Okkonen and opening batsman Ben Mudaliar, chose to bat first. And at 1/67 they were on their way to an intimidating total. Then skipper Dave Field was run out for 30 and Allan Neill was caught in the slips for 43 and momentum swung back in the Pirates favour. It looked as though the Snipers would be bowled out around the 100-mark, but strong contributions from Aaron Goode (20) and Mark Garland (28 not out) kept the score ticking along and they ended up with the competitive total of 7/159.

The Snipers opening pair of Josh O'Brien and Dave Field bowled well to put the Pirates under immediate pressure but a stabilising partnership between Matt Lawrence (23) and Nick Pollack (31) got the run chase back on an even keel. In form batsman Shaun Davis then got a start (16) but with his dismissal came a mini collapse. Matt Rhodes, who usually opens, came in at number eight and compiled a handy 20 but when he fell to Garland, the odds were in the Snipers favour of finishing off the home side.

But cometh the hour cometh the man. Number 11 Andrew Broers, nicknamed 'Slayer', proved to be just that, as he played several cracking off-side shots to win the game for his side.

"There were only 10-12 runs to win when I came in," Broers explained to the Tribune.

"So I was thinking no big shots, and work the gaps because I had plenty of time to get it done. 

"Then I wasn't really sure how many runs we needed as I lost count concentrating on getting through my shots and keeping my wicket. So it was a massive relief when I heard the boys cheering."

The Piranhas and Buffaloes both had easy wins in the other games. At Boorowa, the Piranhas won the toss and batted first, notching 4/330 on the small oval. Skipper Rob Field was merciless smashing 122 and was supported well by Phil Sparnon (82) as the pair enjoyed a 176-run partnership. 

Winless Boorowa had no answer, accruing 126 before they were bowled out.

At Bowning, the home-side won the toss and sent the seven Harden players in to bat first. Captain Michael Schofield's 33 and Rob Scott's 29 not out wasn't enough, as they scraped together just 82. In reply, the 'Buffs' looked to finish the match as quickly as possible and did so in just the 11th over. Dave Brown secured his third 50 on the trot as Bowning now look to their top-of-table clash with the Pirates this weekend.

Sweeney Cup

A century from Jeremy Clarke proved to be the difference, as the Gundaroo Gunners defeated Murrumbateman to stay at the top of the Sweeney Cup.

Batting at first drop, Clarke finished with 118 not out and guided his side to a successful run chase. Murrumbateman made 236 but it wasn't enough as the Gunners passed the total in the 31st over with four wickets in hand.

The Soldiers Club Horns are also in first-place on 35 points after beating Harden at Bookham Oval.

Harden batted first and made 139 thanks to a half century from Martin Brown. But Josh Payton of the Horns made sure his team secured their fourth win from five games by producing a well structured 64 not out. The Horns chased down the total in the 19th over.

The Dalton Dingos made light work of the Yass Golf Club Taipans, winning the O'Connor Park fixture by seven wickets. The Taipans won the toss and chose to bat first but struggled to just 50 runs off 30 overs before they were bowled out. It took the Dingos just 17 overs to claim maximum points and move to outright third.

At Binalong, the Bushrangers fell to the Bookham Bulls by 104 runs. The Bulls took to the crease first and compiled 268, including three individual half centuries. It proved to be too tall an order for the home side, who led by Ben Potts (37) could only manage 164 before succumbing to the Bulls attack.