COOKHAM Dean gave their chances of avoiding relegation from Division Two this season a huge boost after a one-wicket win at rival club Burnham on Saturday, writes Rob Stevens.

The Dean beat Amersham to climb out of the bottom two the previous weekend and this most recent victory keeps them a point above their Bucks rivals heading into the final day of the season.

Burnham won the coin toss and elected to bat first at The Memorial Ground, reaching 226-9 from their allotted 50 overs.

Number eight Nehman Nadeem was the leading runs scorer with 71 from just 54 balls including four boundaries and four maximum hits. It is the highest scorer of his career and a second half-century this season.

Sulaiman Javed (40 from 47 balls) and Farhaan Khan (35 from 87) put on 53 runs for the fifth wicket as the home side recovered from 27-4 to 90-5. Nadeem and Asim Zaka (25 from 34) then added 77 runs in partnership for the seventh wicket.

The wickets were shared amongst the Cookham bowlers with the best of the attack being Sahan Nanayakkara with his figures of 2-30 from 10 overs, which included the wicket of Nadeem - clean bowled.

The visitors managed 227-9 in response to secure a vital win and 20 league points with just seven balls remaining.

Number eight Simret Mangat top-scored with 35 runs from 39 balls including three boundaries and two maximum hits. He and Jonathan Parker (20 from 20) but on 55 runs in a seventh-wicket stand.

Khan was the pick of the Burnham bowling attack with his figures of 3-29 from 10 overs which included the wicket of Yash Rastogi (31 runs from 61 balls), caught by Hamza Afzaal.

The win means Cookham will avoid relegation if they better the result of Amersham on the final day of the season this Saturday (11am). The Dean are at home to seventh-placed Oxford Downs while Amersham head to league leaders Thame Town.

The defeat means Burnham now stand in sixth position in the table ahead of their final game at Wokingham.