By Peter Stafford (March 1989) Back
IF the 1987 season had proved to be Farnworth Social Circle's year, then 1988
belonged firmly to Greenmont. Unbeaten over the last fourteen matches, they
clinched their first Bolton League championship on the penultimate day of the
season when they crushed Tonge and thus gained ample revenge for one of the only
two league defeats suffered throughout the season. Their other setback was
inflicted by Farnworth in May, during an opening spell which saw the Bridgeman
Park club unbeaten and topping the table after nine matches. In fact Farnworth
had suffered a devastating blow even before the season had got under way when
their newly-signed professional, Robin Bracewell, sustained a serious leg-injury
during a pre-season friendly which was to keep him on the sidelines until the
second Saturday of June. But such was the form shown by deputy-professionals
Austin and Fitton, who between them registered three fifties and a century, and
the bowling skills of Duncan Worsley who took 33 wickets in his first seven
games, that Farnworth, as already indicated, became the early pace-makers. But
five defeats in the next six games signalled the end of their hopes, and it was
Little Lever who took over as leaders. Their reign lasted for a month, and came
to an end when they finished on the wrong end of a high-scoring thriller at
Heaton. On that same day, July 9th, Greenmount beat Egerton, moved to the top of
the table, and stayed there until their first championship was secured with a
game in hand. Westboughton had given thern a run for their money, staying in
contention up to the last couple of weeks. But adefeat at the hands of Heaton on
the first Saturday of September put an end to the Tyidesley's challenge and
Greenmount were able to enjoy a pressure-free final game at Walkden during which
Mark Taylor celebrated the title-success by hitting a record sixth century.
Taylor's ultra-reliable batting was obviously a key factor in his club's
triumph. His final tally of 1,283 was the fifth highest in the League's history,
having only been bettered by his three compatriots Bower, Marsh and Waugh along
with the West Indian Ken Richards. Derek K ay, Dave J ones, John Ashworth, Andy
Williams and Gary Chadwick each exceeded 300 runs, whilst Neville Neville's one
fifty of the season came in typical fashion and was the club's fastest. Patrick
Farhart's 89 wickets were over thirty in excess of any other of the League's
amateur bowlers, and he was well-supported by Terry Stewart, Dave Mason and
Darren Foy, who took another 92 between them.
Ironically, most of the more newsworthy events concerning Green mount in 1988
happened in April and May, before they had found the rhythm and consistency
which was to prove the basis of their success. The first match of the season
produced at hrilling tieagainst Little Lever, whilst in game number two at
Egerton they almost came unstuck against theeventual wooden-spoonists when,
facing a score of 113, they lost six cheap wickets before Jones and Stewart saw
them home. Then ac; ucial win (in the light of things to come) over Westhoughton
was followed by defeat at Farnworth. On May 17th, Bradshaw and Greenmount
combined to leave the League Aggregate Record far behind when,in the face of a
Bradshaw total of 295 for 3, a spirited reply found the Brandlesholme Road side
only eleven runs short of what would have been a truly amazing win. This was
followed by 275 for 5 in a drawn game at Kearsley which was highlighted by young
Andy Williams' first senior century, whilst Round One of the Hamer Cup saw them
squeeze through by two runs at CastleHill. On the last Saturday in May, Taylor's
second century of the year provided the foundation of a huge 308 for 2 as
Farnworth Social Circle were trounced by 189 runs. The second half of the season
was negotiated rather less sensationally, but with a stability which led
inevitably to their richly deserved title.
Westhoughton, who finished second, probably did so because of an inability to
bowl sides out. This they managed on only four occasions, being greatly helped
in one particular game by the opposition's number eleven, who obligingly ran
himself out! Their four main bowlers took only 155 wickets, compared to the
champions' leading quartet, who totalled 181. The club's batting was immensely
strong, and run-chasing was rarely a problem. Estwick, Heaton, who broke the
club record, Graham Hill, Harrison and Brooks all scored prolifically and
attractively, whilst Peter Jones won the League Wicket-keeping Prize for the
first time.
Yet again the 1988 League Championship underlined the dominance of both the top
professional and the above-average overseas amateur. Indeed, over the past five
years, the pro's and overseas players of the five championship sides have
totalled between them 8,856 runs and 554 wickets, figures all the more
remarkable taking into account the fact that Bower, Lones and Taylor didn't
bowl, and that Farbart didn't bat. Over the same period, the same factor would
appear to have made a similar impact on the Hamer Cup competition, when one
considers the Cup Final contributions of Long, Jones, Tucker, Lones, Prabhakar,
Owens and, in 1988, Wendell Coppin.
But Coppin's Final heroics were three months away when the twelve sides lined up
for Round One of last year's Cup Competition on May 22nd. Westhoughton were
through by teatime, having amassed 307 for4 against Bradshaw, only a dozen runs
away from anew Hamer Cup record. Steve Woodshit 105 of them, Heaton and Estwick
joined in the fun with 50 apiece, and although young David Morris hit his second
half-century in eight days, Bradshaw were 113 short at the end. Farnworth had
Worsley and Austin to thank for their win at Heaton, whilst Greenmount. as has
already been mentioned, scraped through at Tonge. At Astley Bridge, Kearsley
seemed to have failed to pace their reply correctly, falling ten runs short of
the home side's 180 with three wickets still in hand when the game finished.
Sandiford's unbeaten 51 saw Social Circle comfortably through at Egerton, and
Horwich beat Eagley by eleven runs. It later transpired, however, that Horwich
had fielded an ineligible player and the tie was replayed, with the only real
difference in the end being a substantial increase in Horwich's winning margin.
They owed a lot to a huge opening stand between Long and David White, both of
whom hit half-centuries. Indeed, Grant Long seemed to be somewhat partial to
Eagley's attack in 1988, taking 253 runs from it on the four occasions on which
the two sides met. Incidentally, Horwich won all tour, which must create some
kind of a record!
Round Two proved to be something of a triumph for the south side of the town as
Walkden, Little Lever and both Farnworth clubs all made reasonably easy progress
through to the semi-finals. Farnworth Social Circle almost won by ten wickets at
Horwich thanks to a long opening partnership from Edwards and Lord in reply to
the home side's 146. Lord. who hit 81, was dismissed just before the winning hit
was made, leaving Edwards unbeaten on 54. Farnworth's opening pair, Bracewell
and Brian Wallwork, also shared a century stand against Westhoughton. The 200
total which resulted from this fine stand proved to be 44 too many fort he
Tyldesleys club, for whom only deputy professional Mike Watkinson had any real
answer to Duncan Worsley, who followed his first round 7 for 51 with 6 for 51.
Greenmount bowed out to Little Lever in the face of some hostile bowling from
Chris Matthews, who seemed to relish the speed of Greenrnount's wicket. He took
5 for56,and was excellently supported by Paul Killey as Little Lever won by five
wickets. Walkden required only half their allotted overs as they knocked off the
103 runs needed to beat a below-par Astley Bridge. Ainsworth took five cheap
wickets in what was otherwise a sound team performance.
The draw for the semi-finals opened up the possibility of an all-Farnworth
final, but it was not to be. Each semi-final followed a similar pattern, with
the side batting first hittingover two hundred and going on to win by somewhere
in the region of 100 runs. Little Lever had Partington, Hallows, Huntington and
Waller to thank for their 235. Again Worsley bowled admirably, taking 3 for63
from his 20 overs, whilst his innings of 35 was the highest score in a
disappointing Farnworth reply. Over at Walkclen, Social Circle made the most of
the chance to bat first. Lord's 55 took his season's cup-tally to 171 in three
innings, and with none of the other batsmen failing to reach double figures, the
200 mark was reached in the final over. After tea only Alan Gaskell looked
capable of withstanding the Circle attack, and once he had gone for 40, Walkden
crumbled to fan Nuttall and Wendell Coppin, the professional's 6 for 40 giving
some hint of things to come!
As if ordered, the weather for Cup Final day at Bradshaw was perfect, probably
the best day of a summer during which two or three consecutive days of sunshine
was indeed a rarity. Twenty four hours previously, Circle had been badly beaten
at Greenmount, whereas Little Lever had been inspired by all-round performance
these circumstances might well have some bearing as Little Lever approached
their circumstances might well have some bearing as Little Lever approached
their second successive Final. The huge, sun-drenched crowd sat back in
anticipation of a tight, lengthy struggle, hoping for one of those really
memorable Finals that the Hamer Cup throws up from time to time. Alas, they were
to be sadly disappointed, thanks, in part, to a fine spell of bowling from
Wendell Coppin and in part, it has to be said, to a less than competent display
of batting from Little Lever for the second time in two years. Nigel Partington
looked the part early on, and Tony Settle battled for an hour and a half in an
attempt to give the innings the backbone it so badly needed. But he finally
fell, inevitably to Coppin, whose 8 for 46 was the best professional bowling
performance in 59 years of Hamer Cup Finals. He was supported economically by
Sandiford and Nuttall, and wicket-keeper Ion Partington played an important part
with four catches, the finest of which got rid of the obdurate Settle and
brought the innings to a close. Little Lever's supporters could only console
themselves with the thought that Coppin's achievements must surely be within the
scope of Matthews' capabilities. But on the day, that proved not to be the case.
Lord and Edwards dug in, and when Lord went young Nigel Franklyn came in and
immediately began to make a nonsense of moist of the batting which had gone
before. Shots flowed to all parts, and suddenly he was on the verge of a very
fast fifty with the game all but won. Simon Anderton, acknowledging defeat, put
himself on to bowl and Franklyn, going for the big one after having hit 44 from
42 balls, was caught in the outfield. Coppin's Man-of-the Match award was a
formality as the Circle side together with its supporters began to celebrate the
club's first-ever Hamer Cup success, whilst most of the neutrals amongst the
crowd, cheated of a full days cricket by Coppin and Franklyn, lingered in the
sunshine, reluctant to believe that, at half past five, the season's showpiece
was over! But over it was, and Farnworth Social Circle had become the first club
to hold simultaneously the three trophies most coveted by Bolton League clubs.
Their second team came very close to winning a fourth, having reached a
Birtwistle Cup Final which was marred by bad weather and surrounded, in the end,
by controversy. Coincidentally, it was again Little Lever who provided the
opposition, and it was they who were eventually deemed to be the winners after a
superb game of cricket had lost some of ts gloss by the necessity of an
examination, of the scorebooks before a result could be declared. Ode player
above all who didn't deserve to finish on the losing side was Circle's Paul
Rushton. He took 6 for 53 before almost winning the game with a superb 73. He
had few, if any, rivals for the Man-of-the-Match award.
No such doubts, however, surrounded the outcome of the second team championship.
Tonge, for the third time in six years, were runaway winners, finishing the
season 21 points ahead ofrun ners-up Eagley after what had been a twohorse race
duringthe latter part of the summer. The reason forTonge's supremacy is shown by
a glance at the League's second-team bowling averages, which show that the
side's four leading bowlers, John Roberts, Tony Bailey, Dave Sutcliffe and Steve
Blinkhorn took 149 wickets between them fora combined average of8.16. Which, put
into simpler terms meant that on the rare occasions when Tonge's opponents
exceeded a score of'8 1, they had batted in an above-average manner! Add to that
the fact that six of the side's batsmen averaged over twenty, and there becomes
little cause for wonder at the success of Alan Bradbury's talented side. Three
of the team won League Prizes. Dave Sutcliffe was the leading bowler, whilst the
captain himself won the Catching Prize and Blinkhorn's 9 for 39 against Walkden
was the summer's best bowling performance at secondtea m level. The other
three2ndTeam prize-winners were Horwich's Derek White, who won the Batting
Prize, Bill Wheeler of Farnworth Social Circle, whose 26 victims were more than
any other wicket-keeper, and Roy Costello, whose innings of 118 not out was the
highest individual score in second team cricket in 1988.
After Farnworth Social Circle's Greenall-Whitley triumph of 1987, last season
came as something of a disappointment in that none of the League's five
representatives in the competition managed to get through to the Final. There
were compensations, however, notably Tonge's performance in reaching the
semi-final stages, with no 'easy rides', let it be noted, along the way. They
started their campaign in the Preliminary Round with a fairly comfortable
victory over Unsworth, who were beaten by five wickets after having been
restricted to 109. Mike Bennison, with 45, was Tonge's top scorer. The holders,
too, were involved in this stage of the competition, with somethinig of an
easier task against Chorley St James. Circle topped the 300-mark as both their
West Indians, Coppin and Sandiford, enjoyed some early-season batting practice,
taking a hundred apiece from the visitors' attack. The Chorley side's reply of
less than 100 gave the holders an easy win, although not quite the walkover they
were handed in the first round proper, when opponents Haydock found themselves
unable to fulfil the fixture. As it turned out, the victory over Chorley St
James turned out to be Circle's only success in the competition, for they
Finally lost their hold on the Trophy in Round Two when they were beaten fairly
comfortably by Oldham, who got home by four wickets in reply to Circle's 128 all
out.
Tonge played host to Clitheroe in Round One, and once again Bennison was the
game's top scorer with 79. Keith Horn by, too, hit a half-century, and the final
score of 195 proved 10 too many for Clitheroe, for whom ex-Kearsley batsman
Brian Lones provided most of the resistance with 68 whilst Mike Dewhurst,
formerly of Eagley and Westhoughton, had a handy little spell of 3 for 26 during
which he gleefully disposed of his former Eagley team-mate, Paul Rimmer, for 5.
Kearsley, Astley Bridge and Greenmount entered the fray at this stage, and
Kearsley's winover White Coppice was largely down to a fine 89 from Craig
Lavelle. Les Ryan destroyed the visitors' early batting with four cheap wickets,
and although a praiseworthy last-wicket stand held things up for a while,
Kearsley eventually ran out easy winners. Astley Bridge travelled to Norley Hall
fort heir first round tie. 1 it the end they won because their 45 for 1 from the
first ten overs they received was considerably better than the 21 for 1
collected by the home side from their first ten before the rains came. But the
rest of the story was far less mundane! The Bridge, moving on a little after
those first ten overs, had actually amassed 242 for 7 by the end of their
innings, with Karl Krikken having hit 122, the highest score ever by an Astley
Bridge batsman. Ray Eccleshare and Nigel Tebay had given him valuable support,
and what a disaster it would have been had Norley Hall managed, say,46 for 7
from a ten-over slog and so 'won' the match. In this case, however, justice
prevailed in the end, not always the case in these rule-contrived finishes.
Unfortunately, the draw now paired Astley Bridge with Greenmount in Round Two.
The Brandlesholme Road side had, in the first round, disposed of Furness by
virtue of a faster scoring rate which owed a lotto Mark Taylor's rapid and
unbeaten 62. It was Taylor again who played a large part in the defeat of Astley
Bridge, this time with 85, and although the home team made a sound start in
pursuit of Greenmount's 173, a couple of run-outs and a three-wicket spell from
Farhart left them 21 short at the end.
Kearsley were faced with a home tie against Wavertree in Round Two, and the fact
that they eventually progressed into Round Three was almost entirely thanks to
the Rawlinson brothers. Phil's 21 not out towards the end of Kearsley's innings
bolstered the total to a still dubious-looking 119 for 9, after which he and
Paul combined to take, between them, 5 for 41, as the Liverpool side collapsed
to91 all out. Tonge had a particularly tricky-looking visit to Leyland, never a
happy hunting-ground for Bolton League clubs, but a fine team performance saw
them come out on top by 37 runs. Whilst no one starred, everyone made a
contribution, and perhaps mention should be made of Mark Heath's 3 for 26, which
included the vital wicket of Ken Snellgrove, scorer of the game's only
half-century.
It was during Round Three that the name of Bootle first became a dirty word in
Bolton League circles. In it they put Kearsley out of the competition, and were
to go on to two further successes against our clubs during subsequent rounds.
Bootle's 180 for 8 was, in the end, 12 too many for Kearsley inspiteof60and46
from Lavelle and Morris respectively and, in the later stages, afighting22 not
out from Ryan. Tonge's trip to Cherry Tree saw them safely through, thanks to
two fifties from Bennison yet again, and Paul Rimmer, the latter's coming,
typically, in 28 balls. Rimmer added three cheap wickets to his batting
contribution, Heath another four, and Tonge were home by 57 runs. Greenmount had
to travel into the wilds of Cumbria for their third round tie at Lindal Moor,
but the journey was made thoroughly worthwhile as they coasted through,
overtaking the homeside's 101 in just fifteen overs. Mark Taylor hit a third
half-century in the competition and received good batting support from Derek
Kay. Sadly though, Greenmount became Bootie's second Bolton League victim in the
quarter-final. In a surprisingly low-scoring match they fell six runs short of
the 142 required. Patrick Farhart had once again provided problems, taking4 for
16 from his eight overs, but, for once, Taylor fai led with the bat. JohnAsh
worth stepped into the breach, hit a fine 60,and was, along with Farhart,
unlucky to end upon the losing side.
Meanwhile Tonge, drawn at home to Middleton in the quarter-final, were
experiencing problems. They had included in their side for the game Warren Hegg,
a Tonge player prior to his elevation to Lancashire's first eleven, and after
the Castle Hill side had, on the first night, hit 212 for 7, including 98 from
Hegg, Middleton lodged a protest concerning his eligibility. The protest was
upheld, and the Central Lancashire League club was awarded the tie. They
requested, however, that the mate hshould be restarted, and that too, was
agreed. It was an enormously sporting gesture on the part of Middleton. It was
also, as things turned out, possibly an ill advised ' oni! The game recommenced
and, within a few overs, the Tonge innings was in shreds. It was at this stage
that David Roscow and young Nick Dimaroello joined forces to put together as
brave and as productive a stand as the Tonge supporters would witness all the
season. Between them. the pair hit over a hundred undefeated runs, Dimarcello 58
and Roscow 44, as they steered their side to what would ultimately be shown to
be a winning total. The Middleton reply moved through its ups and downs, the
game swayed back and forth until, amidst great excitement, Linden Fraser's final
spell did the trick with a mere half-dozen runs to spare. But it was all to be
of little avail as Tonge became the third victim in Bootie's unwanted hat-trick
in the semi final. In a reduced-overs match at Tonge, the visitors hit 152 for7
from the 36 overs available, with Fraserand Rimmer combining to take 5 for 34.
Against an understandably defensive field, Tonge found runs difficult to come
by. Keith Hornby's determined 44 was top score, and late flourishes from Rimmer
and Dimarcello raised brief hopes, but when the final wicket fell, the home side
was 27 short of its target.
At inter-league level, 1988 was arguably the most successful season in the
League's history. In the annual match against the Manchester Association the
F.I.P. Trophy was retained, the Trinity Trophy was regained, and the Manchester
Evening News Lancashire Inter-League Trophy was won with some ease. The League's
first outing was, according to precedent, the most formidable obstacle of the
lot.The Northern League has the best record ofall the leagues in the Isycar-old
competition, and has provided a stumbling block for the Bolton League all too
often, in recent years, especially when holding ground advantage. And so, not
unnaturally, the first round tie at Leyland was anticipated with no little
apprehension by the League and its well-wishers. The following two immortal
quotations are taken from the 'Buff"s review of the game printed on the evening
before the tie. The wicket at Leyland is one of the best in the county and one
which, given the right weather conditions, should produce a high-scoring match'
and, even more hilarious in retrospect, 'The side's (Bolton League's) bowling,
however, looks a little chancy'. And guess who wrote all thatP In the event, of
course, each of our five bowlers took wickets and performed admirably as the
cream of the Northern League's batting was shot out for 87 with ten overs of the
innings left unused. Chancy indeed! Paul Tebay and Nigel Hallows gave the
League's innings the required sound start, and eventually Ronnie Irani came in
to finish things off with a few choice blows leaving Tebay unbeaten on 45.
The semi-final draw threw together the two teams which everyone in Bolton loves
to watch in opposition and, in spite of some rain in the morning, the match
against the Bolton Association at Atherton lived up to all expectations,
providing along the way the one troubled moment of our inter-league side's
season. This came when, in reply to the Association's 179 for 7, the League's
batting had subsided to 80 for 5, with only 16 overs remaining. At this point
Paul Berry joined Mike Bennison at the wicket and, to cut a long and inspiring
story short, they were still there thirteen overs later with the required 100
runs safely in the bag. The manner in which the runs came was, for this
spectator at least, the outstanding memory of the whole of the 1988 season. The
running between the wickets was an object lesson. Every first run was taken
quickly, with the result that ones became unlikely twos and twos often became
even more unlikely threes. And all this, bear in mind, from two batsmen who had
in all probability neverbefore batted together. They ran with an understanding
which bordered on telepathy and a confidence which, at times, bordered on a kind
of' educated lunacy. But t hey were still there at the end, after never a hint
of a slog, and after only one spot of trouble when Berry just beat the throw
after a particularly impudent two. For the record, Berry's 51 just pipped
Bennison's 45 to the Man-of-the-Match award. There were other men of the match,
of course, very much in supporting roles. but nevertheless Mark Price's
all-round contribution was vital, as was fan Nuttall's control during his ten
economically-bowled overs.
In the Final it was to be the Central Lancashire League. This was the sixth
occasion in the last ten years that the two leagues had met, with all five
previous maw hes having gone the Bolton League's way. this one, too, went the
same way, wit h barely a hint of the drama which has surrounded one or two of
the previous encounters. From the early moments when Steve Crowder bowled his
eight overs for just six runs, through to the winning hit with Nigel Heaton and
David Smith at the wicket, the whole thing had an air of inevitability about it
which, on the day, gave a fair idea of the difference between the two sides.
Man-of-the-match Crowder, Harrison. Nuttall and Price all bowled well, and David
Smith, playing in Paul Berry's place, slipped in at the end to clean up the tail
with4 for 16. Several good catches were taken, the best one by skipper Nigel
Hallows, and after tea the first five batsmen all contributed as the 119
required runs were gathered without much alarm or incident. Throughout the
competition most of the sixteen players selected by the League had made major
contributions towards the success of a team which had been well led by Hallows.
The fact that apart from during the Bennison/Berry stand at At Heaton, hardly
any pressure was exerted on the League's batsmen, was something of attributed to
the catching and the ground fielding. but, above all, to the accuracy and
penetration of the eight bowlers used.
In late June the challenge march against the Manchester Association was won at
Green Lane, possibly more easily than the final 10-run margin would suggest. The
tact that the Association manage(] to get so close was to a large extent, due to
a final fling by the last pair, but long before they came together the League's
bowlers had put the game well out of reach. Bennison, Heaton, Senior and
Harrison each exceeded thirty in the League's all out score of 174.
The Trinity Trophy was regained with much ease following the traumas of 1987.
Long, Bennison, Irani, Price and Matthews all hit runs in the League's total
of231 for 8, but the man who made the win a reality was Heaton's off-spinner,
Arshad Ayub who, brought on as first change, produced a spell of such accuracy
and sheer pressure that by the end of it there was no way back for the Bolton
Association. His full figures were 10-7-8-3, and of the eight runs conceded by
Ayub, six came from one ball! At the other end, Price was wheeling away with his
usual line and length, and after only 35 runs had come from the 20 overs bowled
by the two spinners, Irani and Long wrapped up the innings for 140. It is
perhaps worth a mention that during the five inter-league matches played in
1988,the three genuine spin-bowlers used by the League, Price, Nuttall and Ayub,
bowled a total of 80 overs from which were conceded a mere 2.2 runs per over,
and during which 15 wickets were taken, 12 of them belonging to batsmen in the
first five of the order.
During the four inter-league games in which he played, Michael Bennison hit 167
runs, and that wasj ust one of the reasons why he was overwhelmingly
voted'Playerof-the-Year' by his fellow players in 1988. In addition to that, his
981 League and Cup runs for Tonge broke the club's record, and his runs scored
in the Greenall Whitley Trophy took him to something around the 1,350 mark for
the season. It almost goes without saying that he won the League Batting Prize!
Duncan Worsley was the League's leading amateur bowler in terms of average,
whilst Dave Syddall's 15catchesclinched the fielding award. Syddall's team-mate,
Ronnie Irani struck the most 6's during the season, 35 in all and at the end of
the summer he became the subject ofa somewhat unique sequence of events when,
after having been adjudged Junior Player of the Year he wasoffered a contract by
the County Club and finally signed by Eagley as their 1989 professional. The
three League awards for single match performances went to Bradshaw's Neil
Senior, who bita n unbeaten 158 inthe record-breaking game against Greenmount,
Mark Heath ofTonge forhis.9 for 52 against Horwich, and Ray Eccleshare whose
19-minute half-century against Walkden equalled the League record. Grant Long of
Horwich was awarded the Professional's Prize and deserved it for the sheer
consistency which brought him 1,068 runs, 66 wickets and 14 catches. The Fort
Sterling Batsman of the Year was Victor Sandiford, who hit over a thousand runs
for the second time, with Patrick Farhart claiming the corresponding Bowling
Award.
In his final season as Eagley's professional, Richard Powell enjoyed another
excellent year. He topped both the Bowling Averages and the list of fielders
with 83 wickets and 18 catches, whilst his 450 runs brought his four-year tally
whilst at Eagley to 2,303 runs, 286 wickets and 54 catches, all-round figures
which bear comparison with the best.
The Jubilee Trophy Finals, expertly handled as ever by and at Little Lever,
featured Eagley, Heaton, Tonge and Walkden, and it was the latter two clubs who
qualified for the Final itself. The day was a triumph for Walkden's Smith
brothers. David had been largely instrumental in disposing of Eagley in the
first semi-final, and in a nail-biting Final it was John's unbeaten half-century
which saw his side through after an early and almost fatal collapse. The scores
were level at the end, but the fact that Walkden had conceded fewer wickets than
Tonge earned for them the right to retain the Trophy they had won in 1987.
In January the first Indoor Competition was played under the new sponsorship of
Anthony Axford Ltd., and the first name to be engraved on the splendid new
trophy turned out to be that of Brian Quigley's Horwich side. After early
victories over Astley Bridge, Egerton and Famworth Social Circle, their
opponents in the Final were Bradshaw. David White's fifty, the only one of the
whole competition, was really the difference between the two sides as Horwich
won the competition for a record fourth time. Our thanks are due to Tony Axford
for his sponsorship, to Fred Elmore and his fellow umpires for their
organisation, and, not least. to Susan Janson for her efficient scoring
throughout the entire series of games.
Thanks, too, are of course down to our new and enthusiastic League sponsors,
Fort Sterling. The initial year of our 'merger' has been a rewarding one and
hopefully, the first of many. Lastly may I, on behalf of the League's officials
and Committee express gratitude to the Umpires Association and to everyone at
the clubs who helped to make season 1988 no less memorable than the previous
fifty-eight.