Derby, aware of Lilburne's inferiority in strength wheeled about and marched back through the town hoping to defeat the Parliamentarian forces piecemeal before they could combine. In spite of the unfavourable nature of the ground Lilburne decided to make a stand. Lilburne deployed part of his cavalry on Wigan Lane and lined the hedgerows either side of the road with dismounted cavalry forming a choke point. As the Royalists approached they were met with a volley of musketry. A fierce fight ensued in the same lanes through which Cromwell had chased the Scots in 1648. Derby divided his cavalry into two equal divisions of 300 men. Derby took command of the vanguard and gave the rear guard command to Sir Thomas Tyldesley. Three times during the day Derby led cavalry charges against the centre of Lilburne's line breaching but failing to break it. By the third charge, the ranks of the Royalists were severely depleted and they were overwhelmed by the superior numbers of Lilburne's arriving infantry, after an hour's fighting the remaining Royalists fled the field.