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A Superb unbeaten innings of 86 from Colin Smith steered Aberdeenshire to their most convincing win of the season on Saturday, over nearest rivals Ayr, at New Cambusdoon, extending their lead at the top of the SNCL Premiership to 20 per centage points.

The leaders had an advantage the moment Neil MacRae won the toss and put the home team in to bat on a wicket which had enough dampness in it to provide lateral movement for the seamers.

Seamer David Cox gave Aberdeenshire the best of starts, trapping Alan Simpson lbw with 19 on the board and then bowling a superb over to Australian Graeme Rummans, in which the left hander was beaten three times and dropped behind before opting to take a risky single, being sent back and run out.

Bruce Patterson tried to re-build the innings and reached 47 before Jason Arnberger induced him to play on. Ayr eventually reached 182 for seven.

The shock of losing Arnberger for just 12 did not perturb MacRae, who played an effective anchoring role while Smith stroked the leaders towards their target. When MacRae was caught at slip off Patterson's first ball, Mike Smith came in to hit the same bowler twice for straight sixes and usher his team comfortably home by eight wickets.

West of Scotland moved into second place with a last-over win over Greenock at Glenpark in a game shortened to 94 overs because of rain. West had scored a disappointing 152 from 47 overs, but the early loss of Dene Hills set Greenock back on their heels. Ronnie Thomson, however, seemed to have taken them to a winning position with his 49 only for the last four wickets going down for 12 runs, West winning by 10 runs.

Carlton held on to third place with a resounding win over Heriot's. A century opening stand between Bryn Lockie and Fraser Watts set them on their way to a total of 206 for five but their city rivals, after a steady start, collapsed to 94 all out.

Defeat at home at the hands of West Lothian saw Ferguslie slip into the bottom two. The visitors had batted gamely to reach 170 for eight but, despite a solid start from Mark Atkinson and Iain Kennedy, the home team subsided to a disappointing 137 all out.

At Raeburn Place, Grange ran up 229 for five against a depleted Stoneywood Dyce team. Despite declaring after 47 overs, Grange too found wickets hard to come by with Grant Dugmore digging in for an unbeaten 80 to steer his side to 173 for five and a draw.

Prestwick took the lead in division one with a convincing win over Hillhead, Drew Parsons reeling off an impressive 85 while erstwhile leaders Strathmore suffered their first league defeat, at home to Freuchie.

Neighbours Ayr and Prestwick were the surprise packets in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup on Sunday. Ayr, travelling to Aberdeen, reversed the previous day's result with a 28-run win, while Prestwick upset the odds by cruising to victory over Premiership side Carlton. Ayr will travel to Boghall to face West Lothian in the semi-final on July 25 after the the Linlithgow side swept Drumpellier aside. Prestwick will play West of Scotland at the Oval after the Partick side had defeated Greenock.

Clydesdale reached the semi-finals of the UK Club Championship with a victory over South Northumberland but Kintore lost to Northumberland's Warkworth.