MILNROW’S batting disintegrated at Redbrook on Saturday when they collapsed from 97- 2 to 118 all out to lose to Rochdale by 48 runs.

With deputy professional Ameer Khan having reached a sparkling half century at a rate of a run a ball the visitors were making short work of Dale’s target.

But what had been a carefree innings from Khan suddenly became careless and he suddenly looked like man in a mighty hurry.

After playing and missing at four balls from an over by Greg Butterworth, an attempted pull off Rochdale professional Kash Weeraratna sent the ball soaring skywards behind the bowler and Elliot Woolfenden, running back from mid-off, took a marvellous running catch.

And that, effectively, was that, for the rest of Milnrow’s batting had no answer to Butterworth.

Turning the ball sharply and varying his pace and flight intelligently with his slow left-armers, the youngster reduced them to stuttering defence interspersed with the occasional hoik.

And with Dale’s fieldsmen backing up their bowlers there was no escape.

Ste Dryden and Mark Fraser both fell to smart catches in the outfield, Max Power and Nathan Tremlett were both bowled, the former hitting across a flighted full toss, while Stephen Lane was trapped in front by a quicker one to give Butterworth the laudable figures of 5-28 from 11 overs, made more impressive when you consider he conceded 10 from his first.

Weeraratna, meanwhile, chipped away at the other end, inducing a nick from Greg Jennings, and when last man out Ben Brookes fell LBW to Weeraratna without offering a shot, it just about summed up Milnrow,s day.

Those two wickets presented Weeraratna with his first five-wicket haul for the club, for earlier he had accounted for Simon Brierley, making an inauspicious return to Redbrook, and Denny Hulme.

Both were bowled, Brierley without offering a shot in the first over, and Hulme, chopping on after a belligerent innings that had seen Milnrow off to a flyer.

Hulme had also seen Harry Clough to hospital with a damaged finger after he failed to hold onto a stinging return catch, and Neil Avery who went for 29 off just two overs.

Earlier in the day, batting had seemed a chore for Rochdale too.

On a slow pitch run making was far from easy and with Milnrow opening bowlers Jennings and Tremlett landing the ball in the right areas Dominic Ayres and Adam Smith could only muster 17 from the first 10 overs.

Eventually, Ayres did take advantage of deliveries of wayward length, but it remained a toil for his partner.

What Smith lacked in timing, though, he more than made up for in patience and he set his stall out to see it through.

His obduracy welded the innings together and he gradually found a bit of touch.

Daz Cryer lasted long enough for a half century partnership for the second wicket and after Weeraratna, Andrew Dawson and Wolfenden all fell cheaply, Michael Harling stayed with Smith while he passed his half-century, the painstaking nature of which was illustrated by it requiring 137 balls.

Nonetheless, it proved to be the key component in Dale reaching a total of 166, more than enough on this occasion to secure five points, and with their mid-table position cemented, Rochdale still view a top five spot as their target by the end of the season.

As for Milnrow, their woes continue. They have been hampered for much of the season by having to field inferior professionals – and no professional at all in some games.

Ironically, when they at last got a performance on Saturday, it was their amateurs who failed.