Spinner Andy Bradley ploughed into Flowery Field and came up smelling of roses.
His superb haul of 8 for 27 instigated a nine-wicket triumph to signal a return to form for Prestwich.
The Hyde side wilted for 60 under the “Bradders” battery, before Prestwich comfortably chased down the small total and collecting a maximum five points.
Bradley’s haul was his best-ever as he took full advantage of a helpful pitch, taking his tally for the season to 75.
With second-placed Woodhouses defeated by Woodbank, the Heys lads extended the lead at the top of the Lees Lancashire County League to six points.
Whilst the weather finally cleared up last Saturday, conditions were on the soft side due to the downpours of previous days, and the wicket looked far from straightforward.
Yet whilst the Flowery top order found it difficult to get to grips with Bradley, they did not help themselves with some injudicious shots.
The in-form Neil Mistry was the first of the off-spinner’s victims, well held by a tumbling Chris Thomas at mid-on.
Danny Jones, whose 14 overs yielded just 22 runs, then produced a fine yorker to bowl Matt Hawley to make it 21 for 2 before Bradley got in full swing, removing the next five batsmen in the space of four runs. He was aided by some excellent outfielding, with James Wharmby’s running catch at deep mid-wicket upholding the standard.
There was a slight rally as Field went from 36 for 8 to 59 as professional Steve Oddy struck a couple of meaty blows, but Bradley bowled Lister before Chris Jones wrapped up proceedings with the fifth ball of his first over, having Glen Middleton caught by Wharmby at extra cover.
There was an early stutter in the Prestwich reply as Thomas was dismissed for 1 with the score on 5.
The impressive Oddy gave nothing away in his spell, conceding just two runs from seven overs.
But Steve Orrell (26 not out) and Matt Wiley (36 not out) tamed the opening salvo and once the score reached the 30s, the runs flowed more easily and victory was quickly attained.
* A key weekend faces Prestwich as they travel to Glossop on Saturday, before hosting last year’s league champions Denton West on Sunday.
* FOURTEEN-year-old Zach Wood scored a magnificent 130 as Prestwich 2nds returned to winning ways. His outstanding innings, made up of 10 fours and eight sixes, was the backbone of a total of 251 for 7. Infact, he couldn’t be kept out of the action as Flowery Field 2nd XI were dismissed for 167, with the youngster taking 2 for 17.
