STONE kept their title aspirations alive by thumping visitors Vine by 171 runs on Saturday.

The home side batted first and skipper Gary Bourke (33) was quickly into his stride.

Bourke put on 82 for the first wicket in 13 overs with Gareth Bryant.

Mark Taylor looked in good form but was caught and bowled for 12.

Bryant then cut loose with a succession of blistering cover drives on his way to 62.

Alan Ferguson hit a quick 28 before being brilliantly caught with the score on 168.

Nick Powell (65) and Dean Aldridge (30 not out) then put on 94 in 10 overs which enabled Stone to declare in the 42nd over.

Powell had hit the first three balls of the over for six but was caught on the boundary going for the fourth.

Vine's batsmen were blitzed from the word go as Matt Tyrrell bowled quickly and was soon rewarded.

Tyrrell collared two wickets in his second over - one with a magnificent ball which swung at pace from outside-leg to clip off-stump.

He finished with 3-19 and it was left to Rob Smith (2-7) and Fred Buxton (3-29) to bowl Vine out for 91 in 23 overs to secure Stone's fourth consecutive 24-point haul.

They have now jumped from fourth to second in the league, seven points behind leaders Cape Hill Victoria with one game to go.

Stone 262-5 (24 points), Vine 91 all out (2).

Stone fielded first on their visit to Oldswinford on Sunday and took 35 overs to bowl the home side out for 119 runs.

Despite their opponents getting off to a brisk start, the Stone bowlers soon seized the initiative when they took three wickets for one run, reducing Oldswinford to 48-4.

A short-lived recovery was mounted but the last three batsmen were removed for the addition of only three runs.

Tyrrell (3-23), Jamie Batsford (3-32) and Pete Glover (2-11) were the main bowling successes for Stone.

The villagers had a shaky start in reply, losing their first three batsmen for only 24.

But a partnership of 65 between Keith Harrington and Richard Shellard steadied the innings.

When Harrington was eventually out for 54, Stone required only 10 runs to win.

Tyrrell then smashed 12 runs off four balls to see the visitors home by five wickets with more than 18 overs to spare.

Oldswinford 119. Stone 123-5.