Lions, Ra'anana win in Division 1; Lions BS wrap up Division 3

Although it was Lions Lod and Ra'anana who recorded victories in Division 1 over the weekend, the biggest winner of the weekend was a team that didn't even play - with Tel Aviv going down to Lions, Young Ashdod need only win one of their remaining two matches, one of which is against lowly Be'er Sheva A, to secure the league.

Lions revenged their defeat to Tel Aviv earlier in the season in emphatic style, dismissing Tel Aviv for just 97 before knocking off the runs in 14 overs for the loss of 3 wickets. Eshkol Solomon (29) top scored in Lod's run chase.

Menashe Wadhawker (69) and Alan Samuel (43) added 85 for the 4th wicket as Ashdod recovered from 50 for 3 to post a reasonable total of 197 against Ra'anana. The hosts may have managed a far bigger score had Solly Bergman not held on to a brilliant diving catch in the deep to dismiss Wadhawker, who played a typically aggressive innings. David Silver took 4 for 24 for Ra'anana in a tidy spell towards the close of the innings.

Silver then shone with the bat as well, top scoring with 47, and sharing an 82-run stand with Adrian Vard (44) for the 4th wicket to ensure a 4-wicket victory for Ra'anana.

In Division 3, Lions Be'er Sheva secured their promotion to Division 2 next season, with a 5-wicket defeat of Dimona A. Menashe Valatker scored 63* for Be'er Sheva. Earlier, Dimona A were dismissed for 168, with Danny Divekar contributing 55. Lions enjoyed an excellent season, winning 9 out of their 10 fixtures. Kiryat Gat proved too strong for Negev 2 in Be'er Sheva, winning by 5 wickets. 14-year old Shlomi Pinto scored a brilliant 59 for the Negev youngsters, but their total of 182 was not enough to stop Kiryat Gat winning the match with 12 overs in hand.