CHESTER County Officers face their biggest weekend of the season with a chance to keep their hopes of a league and cup double alive.

They meet league leaders Parkside at Upton tomorrow in a vital championship game and on Sunday take on neighbours Castrol Tessuti, who won the trophy in 2000, in the final of the League knockout at Audlem.

Officers expect to be at full-strength and go into both matches full of confidence. They notched another fine victory on Saturday to maintain second place in the table after being condemned to field in the heat as Wilmslow, who were sixth in the table, planned to post a big score and exhaust the visitors.

Andy Barlow (3- 38) made early in-roads with three wickets including the dangerous Golding (29) who was driving crisply to leave the score at 33-3.

The next two batsmen showed that the wicket was good and the outfield fast and Shazan looked a class apart. However, just as Officers were feeling the heat, he fell for a trap, caught at long-on by Ian Barlow off Mike Clarke's bowling for 29.

Monteith powered on after an early life but lost concentration to be bowled leg stump for 55 by John Gilbody with the score on 132-6, albeit after only 30 overs.

There followed a flurry of rustic blows and then a period of stern defence as Wilmslow tried to use up their overs allocation. Steve Johnson returned to polish off the last man with the score on 172 in the 47th over, while Gilbody picked up 3-40 in a stamina-sapping 14 consecutive overs. Richie Winn and Mike Caulfield also claimed a wicket apiece as the bowling was shared around.

Officers were happy to go in for tea with the score below 200 after putting up a sustained performance in the field.

Wilmslow Wayfarers had high hopes of victory, thanks to their recently-acquired overseas player Shazad, who was alleged to be the quickest bowler in the league.

Fresh from demolishing eight Aston wickets the week before, he powered in with a trademark grunt, but failed to unduly trouble openers Tony Collard and Tony Hattersley. These two progressed to a stand of 71 in 20 overs to set the perfect platform, before Collard cut to gully for 29 and retreated for rehydration.

John Taliana came to the wicket at just the right time as Shazad returned to the attack to prove his worth. In an entertaining passage of play, a series of short fast balls were despatched to the offside boundary and he was removed from the attack for the second time with his figures 0-50 in 10 overs.

Hattersley broke out of his shell to pass 50 and the final 102 runs were rattled off in 15 overs, with Taliana's 46, including eight fours, and Hattersley's 66 not out, with 10 fours.

Wilmslow were a bemused rabble by the end, with 29 extras added to some awful fielding increasing their woes.

Castrol picked up the honours in an impressive win against Langley, who reached 197-6 before the Ellesmere Port side got home by three wickets, thanks mainly to Mark Evans (56) and Martin Flanagan (58).

A much-changed SAUGHALL held promotion -chasing Heaton Mersey Village to a draw, although it proved to be an unnecessarily tense finale.

On a swelteringly hot afternoon, there was no surprise that the hosts chose to bat first and got off to a good start, albeit with a hint of fortune, before Pete Tunnicliffe (1-34) bowled HMV's big-hitting opener via the inside edge.

With a host of players missing, Saughall's former captain Allan Wilks was coaxed out of retirement and proved that he hasn't lost any of the old magic with a wicket in his very first over.

But it proved to be a long afternoon in the field as HMV's captain Barlow made the most of an early life when he was dropped in single figures to hit an unbeaten 79. Wilks was the pick of the bowlers and claimed the only other victim to finish with 2-51, and HMV eventually declared on 194-3 after 47 overs.

Saughall's reply got off to a flying start with a flurry of boundaries, but when James Huxley (11) was bowled and then Martin Huxley was trapped leg before for 17, it signalled the start of a mini-collapse.

Richard Tomlinson was caught and bowled for 12 and Andy Thomas and Les Perkins failed to score as Saughall were reeling at 59-5.

Ben Salisbury then counter-attacked with a blistering array of boundaries, with good support from Tunnicliffe (6) and Dan Barlow (8), and the visitors edged over the bonus points for 150 runs.

Going into the final over against a big loopy spinner, Saughall had three wickets in hand but duly pressed the self-destruct button that almost gifted Heaton the victory. Mike Andrews was run out at the non-strikers' end going for a quick single, and then despite the brilliance of Ben Salisbury's 83, he was almost left to walk home from Manchester when, on the penultimate ball, he charged down the wicket looking for the big shot and was stumped.

It meant Wilks had to successfully negotiate the final ball, surrounded by a ring of close fielders, and Saughall got the draw they deserved.