League Review - 1989

By Peter Stafford    (March 1990)    Back

TO SAY that the 1989 season belonged entirely to Walkden would be true, for they won both major trophies in some style, and, in the championship, were never at any time dislodged from the top of the League table. And yet, remembering that it invariably takes two teams to make a contest, such a statement would be less than fair to two or three other clubs in the League.

To Westhoughton, for instance, who helped provide such a memorable climax to the Hamer Cup competition, and who came to within an ace of toppling Walkden in the crucial league game at the TyIdesleys. To runners-up Greenmount, who chased Walkden throughout the season in a determined bid to hang on to their 1988 title.

To Farnworth who, in winning nine of their last thirteen games, took an amazing 64 points from the second half of the season and finished in their highest position for four years. And unfair, too, to Bradshaw, whose first team swept the board in the less prestigious competitions and who, it has to be said, produced as convincing a double over Walkden as could be imagined. But in the final analysis it was towards the Oval that everyone raised their glasses after the last ball had been bowled, and rightly so.

It was a popular triumph on three counts. First and foremost, the Walkden batsmen never forgot that the ball is there to be hit, and could never be accused of failing to provide entertainment. Secondly, remembering that trophies are meant to go round, it was good to see the Walkden players and officials putting recent lean times firmly behind them. And thirdly because the success was achieved by a side, eight of whom had worked their way up through the club's junior teams. Players from Walkden, you might say, rather than just Walkden players.

Oddly enough, on the evidence of the season's opening game at Eagley you would have got very long odds indeed on any success for the Oval club in 1989, as the home batsmen powered their way to 231 for 6 against what appeared on the day to be a fairly ordinary and, at times, demoralised attack. But then an emphatic win over Astley Bridge put matters to right, and heralded an incredible run of ten wins in the next twelve matches. What impressed, though, was not so much the victories themselves, but the margins by which they were achieved.

Only against Westhoughton and Heaton did the side find itself in trouble. Against Westhoughton, Seddon and Dunn rescued their team after the more prolific batsmen had failed, whilst at Heaton the tail limped home following a collapse brought about by Ayub and Crowder. On July 15th Walkden were pegged back in a '6-pointer' against main rivals Greenmount, when victory in that game would have opened up a 17-point gap. Then a run of four draws from five games narrowed things down to a situation where only three points separated Greenmount and Walkden, about to be faced by a 'double-header' involving Westhoughton and Heaton, the two clubs who had almost upset things the first time around. But an exciting win at Westhoughton, when John Smith and Paul Rushton saw them home with one wicket and one over remaining, was followed by a 21-run win over Heaton.

When the Farnworth match was rain affected on the day that Greemnount lost at the TyIdesleys, it meant that five points were all that were required from the final two games of the season to clinch the title. And when Tonge's Tony Bailey was caught by Dave Barton at somewhere around seven o'clock on the evening of September 2nd, that had duly been achieved, and the celebrations could begin in earnest. It was purely academic by this time, of course, but on the last day of the season, both Walkden and Greenmount lost. It was almost as if all the efforts of the previous weeks had been too much for them, a~3 they flopped back, exhausted, well-beaten by Bradshaw and Farnworth respectively.

One doesn't need to dig very deeply to discover the reasons for Wa11den's success. The choice of Bernard Reidy as professional was an inspired one, and he, in turn, proved to be an inspiration to the side. He became he first player in the League's history to achieved the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets, and, equally important, he fired the whole team with his own brand of enthusiasm and dedication. Skipper John Smith bowled himself into the ground, produced many fine performances, and came to within three wickets of a new club record. Alan Gaskell's 881 runs were almost 200 more than the previous best Walkden amateur figure. Tony Keays, whose short-lived record that had been, scored over 600, and David Smith, carrying an injury for part of the season which prevented him doing much bowling, hit another 582.

Wolstenholme, Coop and Rusliton each played an important innings when they were required, in much the same way as Seddon and Dunn had against Westhoughton. Micky Dunn himself had an excellent record breaking season behind the wicket, whilst Simon Ainsworth turned in many good spells with the ball, not least in the Cup Final, of which more later. All in all, a great team achievement, spearheaded by the man to whom the award of the Professional's Prize at the end of the season was little more than a formality.

Among the outstanding players of the season at other clubs, three pace bowlers will look back on 1989 with fond memory. Steve Crowder bowled superbly for Heaton and for the League, and his 70 wickets were good enough to ensure the League Prize. Farnworth's Vasbert Drake, bowling with genuine pace, took 83 wickets, the highest total amongst the amateurs, and he won the Fort Sterling Bowler of the Year award, whilst Mark Stewart was impressive in his first half-season in the Bolton League. Bradshaw's Dave Morris came tantalisingly close to the League Bowling Prize, the winning of which would have been quite an achievement for a 50-year-old who only became a bowler around six years ago, and then in second team cricket.

As the season wore on, a race developed between Paul Berry and Eagley's Steve Clarkson for the honour of becoming the first English-born player to the coveted 1,000 runs in a season. In the event, it was Clarkson who made it, thanks to a fine hundred at Tonge on the final day of the year. John Ashworth's dramatic form in the early part of the season after he had missed the first few games, put him well on course for the League Batting Prize, whilst on the wicket-keeping front Jon Partington's 49 victims put him into the record books in the distinguished company of Brian Senior and John Gradwell. Of the professionals, Estwick, Long, Ayub and Coppin were the leading wicket-takers along with Farnworth's Jerry Kirton, who came close to a double, whilst Jamie Siddons, who hit 980 runs, could well have been challenging for the League Record had he not missed the last seven games through injury.

But looming over all the League's batsmen was Astley Bridge's professional, Dean Waugh, who extended Rod Bower's previous record by 31 runs. Like Clarkson, he left it late, hitting 91 on the last day, at Egerton. His batting was a combination of power, elegance and reliability, the last-named quality showing in the fact that he hit at least one halfcentury against all but three of the other clubs. In all, his 1,566 runs included eleven 50's and four centuries, each of which exceeded 140. Indeed, it is the one crumb of comfort for the League's bowlers as we approach 1990 that this weakness has been revealed. His 'bottle' goes in the 140's!! It is something to reflect that when Bower had his big season in 1984 Farnworth won the title. In 1989, Astley Bridge finished bottom. Which proves little, really, other than perhaps the difference that a top class overseas amateur bowler can make. But last season Waugh was magnificent. Ask Tonge and Bradshaw, from whose joint attacks he took an incredible 524 runs. The whole League, bowlers apart, will be pleased that he has been re-signed.

The glorious weather provided for the first round of the Hamer Cup competition was reflected in the fact that, of the dozen sides in action, nine hit over 200. Centuries for Berry and Gaskell saw Kearsley and Walkden through against Little Lever and Greenmount respectively, but Brian Wallwork, of Farnworth, wasn't so lucky. He hit an unbeaten 104, only to stand and watch as Heaton pipped the Bridgeman Park side on the last ball of the game, with the last pair at the wicket. Paul Mort's 40 not out made him the hero of the hour.

Eagley's 218 at Piggott Park was overhauled with an amazing eighteen overs to spare, as Social Circle's West Indian pair, Sandiford and Coppin, went on the rampage. Bradshaw's clash with the old enemy at Castle Hill produced over 500 runs with Cole, Morris, Young, Bennison and Heyes all hitting half-centuries as Tonge finished only 27 short of Bradshaw's 265 for 4. In the 'low-scoring' game at Astley Bridge lan Wainman produced a fine bowling analysis, 5 for 52 from 23 overs, and then Dean Waugh and Bill Entwistle put an end to Egerton's cup hopes with a big opening stand. Waugh was unbeaten on 79 as the visitors' 158 was overtaken for the loss of only two wickets.

But it was Bradshaw in Round Two who really felt the weight of Waugh's bat. Neil Johnson's 64 led the way as most of the home batsmen contributed to a total of 234 for 9, and, not for the only time last season, someone in the Bradshaw tea-time dressing-room must have said 'If we can get rid of Waugh ...'They did, but not before he had amassed 153, a new Hamer Cup record score! Westhoughton produced a good, all-round workmanlike performance to get rid of Heaton, in spite of an unbeaten 50 from Dave Syddall. Nigel Heaton did most damage to his namesake club with an innings of 63. At Piggott Park Sandiford (106) and Franklyn (71 not out) ensured an easy win over Horwich, but perhaps the tie which created most interest was that at Walkden, where the high-riding home club took on Kearsley. It turned out to be a matter of attrition, rather than sparkle. Paul Tebay's long and undefeated 54 was insurance against a complete Kearsley collapse, but still a tea-interval score of 119 for 9 looked less than adequate, to say the least. But Walkden struggled early on as Keays and Gaskell went cheaply. David Smith survived a couple of very confident appeals, but eventually gained the upper hand, and it was his 64 not out which went on to win the game with the help of Andy Coop. An eight-wicket win, in retrospect, gives an illusion of comfort. But those who were there will remember that it was, for three-quarters of its duration, a hard-unrelenting and well-matched struggle.

It had been a good competition so far, with excellent weather, plenty of runs, a fair sprinkling of tight finishes, and the semi-finals didn't break the sequence. Walkden's eventual win at Astley Bridge owed a lot to Bernard Reidy, who took five wickets before steering his side home with a fine 99 not out. But there was a stage when the home side must have fancied its chances. Bill Entwistle's 51 was top score in the Bridge's 205 for 9, and when Smith and Keays went early, another couple of wickets in the next half dozen overs could have put the fielding side right on top. It wasn't to be, however. Reidy and Gaskell became established, then accelerated, and when Gaskell went for 51 it was all over bar the shouting. There was plenty of that, mind, and not always, sadly, in the best of spirits, and it was a pity that such a superb game of cricket was ruined for many by a handful of thoughtless individuals who did a complete disservice to the club they purported to 'support'.

The game between Westhoughton and Farnworth Social Circle swung to and fro relentlessly, offering each set of supporters hope and despair aplenty from first ball to last. Westboughton started badly, and it was thanks to Stuart Harrison and, to a lesser degree Duncan Brooks, that the final score of 176 for 9 was reached. Harrison, batting at nine, finished with 44 not out, whilst Coppin bowled well to take 6 for 57. The visitors, too, began badly, when only 16 runs came from the top four men in the order. Harrison completed a good day's work by getting rid of Sandiford, but when Paul Eckersley and Coppin began to stage a revival, the match swung once more. Nigel Franklyn carried on the good work, but was left high and dry as lain Hill began to work his way through the batsmen at the other end. He finished with 4 for 50, and when last man Scammell was run out, only five runs separated the two sides.

So it was to he Walkden and Westhoughton in opposition at Little Lever and, between them, the three clubs provided a more fitting climax to the competition than anyone even dared to hope for! The perfect weather was matched only by the host club's organisation and the standard of cricket produced by both sides. Westhoughton won the toss and, at 17 for 2, probably wished they hadn't! But then Nigel Heaton and Peter Jones settled in, and their eventual partnership of 125 ought really to have been the springboard for a much bigger total than the 202 for which the Tyidesleys club had to settle. Jones fully deserved his maiden Bolton League half-century, both for the sensible manner in which he played and for his choice of match in which to parade it! Heaton played beautifully for his 86, but it was Simon Ainsworth who had the final say in the innings. He it was who dismissed both batsmen, and two more quick wickets, those of Estwick and Brooks, gave him a temporary analysis of 4 for 4. He finished with 5 for 32, and was Harry Pilling's choice as Man-of-the-Match. It was a good choice, for had Westhoughton managed a further 30 or so runs from those final overs, which they must surely have done had any two from Heaton, Jones, Estwick or Harrison batted through, then the tie would have been out of Walkden's reach.

M it was, Walkden made a sound start. Smith and Keays put on 67 for the first wicket, and Reidy helped the score along to 102 for 2. But then, suddenly, it was 130 for 5, with realistically only Alan Gaskell standing between Westhoughton and the trophy. With good support from Seddon and Coop, he edged his side closer to the target until, with 23 runs needed from the final two overs, the onslaught came. Eighteen runs came from the penultimate over, including a fine, straight six from Ainsworth, as if to underline his claim for the Man-of-the-Match award. But Gaskell was Walkden's hero. During those final, nail-biting, crucial overs, he showed all the character and qualities that were needed, and more besides, as, after the match, did the Westhoughton players, officials and supporters in their hour of defeat. Thirteen hundred people watched the game, and few of them will forget the cricket they had been privileged to see. It really had been one of the great Cup Finals, and an appropriate culmination to an excellent competition. In the whole series of 1989 Hamer Cup Ties, 5,201 runs were scored for the loss of 186 wickets, which works out at a staggering AVERAGE of 200 for 7 per innings throughout all the rounds. Shades of 1984!

The inter-league side went a long way towards matching last year's successes, but stopped short on an inexplicably disastrous day at Moorside in September, of which more later. The Trinity Cup match at Farnworth Social Circle's ground was quite without doubt the most one-sided of the series to date. The Association, put in to bat on a rain-affected wicket, never came to terms with the League's attack in general, and with Grant Long's in particular. Only Mawson applied himself and in no time at all, the innings had crashed to 61 for 8, of which 22 had come in one over when John Hitchmough launched into the unfortunate David Smith. The great irony was that Nos. 10 and 11, Cliff Westby and Michael Crookson, added 28 for the last wicket without a great deal of trouble, merely by using good judgement and common sense. The two David's, White and Smith, gave the League a sound start, and when White was caught behind, Dean Waugh came in to make a nonsense of everything that had gone before. He hit 47 from 28 balls before making way for Long, whose winning boundary rubbed salt into the Association's wounds, most of which had been caused by his 6 for 33 earlier in the game. Smith was still there at the end, unbeaten on 31.

The League side began its defence of the Manchester Evening News Trophy at Heywood against the Central Lancashire League, and when, in reply to the home side's 186, the Bolton score stood on 37 for 3, it was beginning to seem that the League's recent run of success against the C.L.L. had come to an end. But then Paul Berry came in, and, playing with a freedom and ease more, normally associated with a meaningless friendly game, proceeded to hit 104 of the 150 runs needed for victory when his innings began. Quite simply, it was a display of batting worth going a very long way to see, the more so considering the context in which it was played. David Smith stitched up the other end and, when he went, John Ashworth joined in the merriment with an unbeaten 24 to add to his 3 wickets and 2 catches. On any other day, Steve Crowder's 4 for 24 would have been in contention for the Man-of-the-Match award, but on this particular day there really was no contest.

The semi-final at Barnoldswick was safely negotiated in the end, but, again, there were alarms along the way. Opener David White played well in his first inter-league match, holding things together during the early part of the innings, but at 103 for 5, the first crisis had arrived. It was overcome by David Smith and John Ashworth, who added 61 with Ashworth in the dominant role. His 51 included four huge 6's, whilst Smith was run out on the last ball of the innings for 27. Crisis number two arrived when the Ribblesdale League, in the shape of Pickles and Dennett, had topped the hundred for the loss of only three wickets, and things were beginning to look ominous. But at this stage Smith played his second important role in the game, having Dennett caught behind and then going on, in the gathering gloom, to take three more wickets and to effect a sharp run-out which left the home League 23 short of their target. Smith played a notable part in each of the Bolton League's successes in 1989, and it was fitting that he should be named as Man-of-the-Match in at least one of them.

The Final at Moorside against the Saddleworth League is almost as painful to write about as it was to watch! The first attempt to get the game played was thwarted by the weather after the home side had hit 222 for 8. When the Bolton team went in at 7.30pm it had been calculated that 52 runs were needed from the first ten overs for victory. But with two of the ten overs still to be bowled and the score standing on 49 for 1 the umpires, who were under a lot of pressure from the home supporters, decided, on the basis of bad light, that enough was enough. In hindsight, it might have been wiser for play to have been abandoned after the first long delay during the afternoon. It would have saved all the confusion, controversy and frustration which these situations inevitably leave in their wake.

The game was replayed on September 3rd, and what happened on that day is still as hard to believe now, some six months later, as it was when it was taking place. The Bolton League batted first. David White and Nigel Hallows took the score, fairly sedately and uneventfully to 42 without loss. Then, with the visiting supporters waiting expectantly for the acceleration, all ten wickets fell for the addition of a further twenty runs. There was no visible reason or explanation. Nobody played any silly shots. No-one seemed to be bowling unplayable deliveries. It just happened! A team, arguably the best batting side produced in many years, and one that could be expected to score more than 62 against a Test attack, had disintegrated before our eyes. It hadn't happened before, it almost certainly won't happen again. It was just one of those things that make cricket the most fascinating and, at the same time, the most exasperating game known to man. The runs were knocked off without too much trouble, and we all travelled back to Bolton, in shock!

The story of the 1989 Greenall-Whitley Competition was not a particularly happy one for Bolton League clubs, with only Greenmount progressing past Round Two. Farnworth Social Circle were doubly unfortunate, firstly to come out of the hat in the Preliminary Round against fairly strong opposition, Darwen, and secondly to have to contend with a stop-and-start weather situation along with an injured professional. In the first meeting, rain interrupted proceedings after Circle had got away to a good start, having reached 85 for 2 of which Chris Lord had hit 58. When the teams finally met for the replay, rain once again was never very far away. Darwen hit a fairly modest 138, but five run-outs did Circle's cause no good at all, and they finished up eight runs adrift.

On the same day, Westhoughton played their first round game at Norden, and they, too, went out of the competition at the first. time of asking. West Indian Test batsman Gus Logie hit 51 of Norden's 206 for 8, with lain Hill picking up three cheap wickets, but the target proved too steep for the Tyldesleys side who finished on 175 with over half the runs coming from Woods, Brooks and Pilkington. Greenmount had something of an easier task as they travelled to Eccleston, again on the same Sunday, and their passage through to Round Two was assured by tea-time after centuries from Williams and Siddons had put the tie far out of the home side's reach.

The previous week little Lever had visited and defeated Furness in Round One, thanks largely to their bowlers, who kept the home side on a tight rein. A total of 116 was easily passed for the loss of four wickets, with Tony Settle's unbeaten 31 the main contribution. But that was to be the full extent of Simon Anderton's team's success. In Round Two they were at home to Middleton, who, batting first, hit 202 for 7. At 120 for 8, Little Lever were down and out, but a spirited stand between Bob Waller and John Bacon came very close to proving that the age of miracles was not yet past! However, they were always somewhere around twenty runs short of the required rate, and 30 from the last over proved 18 too many. Waller and Bacon were left unb6aten with 40 and 22 respectively; the earlier batsmen were left, presumably, with red faces!

Greenmount, our only remaining hope, went on to beat Darcy Lever in Round Two. Again it was comfortable. Again it was Siddons, who this time hit 93. John Ashworth added 58, and 261 for 5 was always going to be too many for Darcy Lever, who finished 113 short. Norden, meanwhile, victors over Westhoughton in the first round, were involved with Lancaster in Round Two, with the winners to visit Greenmount, who, it was reported in the press 'hoped that Lancaster would win as that would mean a return to Greenmount of former player, Patrick Farhart, the Lancaster professional.' It proved to be a hope born more out of sentiment than good sense as Farhart's 3 for 13 from his seven overs was probably the difference between the two sides in a high-scoring game which Greenmount lost falling 15 runs short of Lancaster's 233 for 6. Yet again Siddons top-scored hitting 59, with Darren Foy also passing the half-century mark.

And so it was left to Bradshaw to carry the League's hopes and aspirations outside the area with an exceptional run in the all-amateur Cockspur Competition. Cheadle Hulme were beaten pretty easily in Round One, thanks to half centuries from Dave Morris and Dave Senior. After this came an impressive win over Widnes, during which Brian Cole rolled back the years to hit a fine, unbeaten 117 in reply to the home side's 187. Keyin Hart's 3 for 18 from 8 overs was important, and Morris and Senior played well again, sharing 60 runs as they helped Cole knock off the runs with nine wickets and seven overs to spare.

Wigan looked a tough proposition in the regional semi-final, but yet again Cole and Senior combined to give their side a good start. Chris Isherwood and Mike Ward pushed the final total up to 191 for 6, but it was Stuart Adams who came to the rescue when, with Wigan in a commanding position, he was responsible for a couple of run-outs, two wickets and a fine catch to put Bradshaw into the regional final against Warrington N.T. This was farther than any Bolton League team had reached in this competition, but, sadly, it was to prove the end of the road. Once again Brian Cole top-scored, but a total of 158 didn't allow much breathing space. Warrington, after a good start, collapsed, and, at 124 for 6, were on the knife-edge, but then they steadied, and finally got home by three wickets.

Bradshaw, too, almost made the National Finals of the N.C.A. Indoor Competition. After having easily beaten little Lever in the Anthony Axford Trophy semi-final, they had a much more narrow win over Farnworth Social Circle in the Final, and so went on to contest the North West Finals, also held at Horwich. These they won, beating Delph in the Final. And so to Cleckheaton for the final stages of the Competition prior to Lords, a feat only previously achieved by Kearsley, back in 1980. Like Kearsley, they reached the very last hurdle before losing to Alvaston & Boulton from Derbyshire.

Oddly enough, Bradshaw and Farnworth S.C. were also the finalists in the Jubilee Trophy Competition. Bradshaw had beaten Eagley, Westhoughton and, somewhat surprisingly, Kearsley along the way to the Final itself. Surprisingly because the semi-final win over Kearsley was achieved after Bradshaw had only managed 87 batting first, but Morris, Johnson, Baldwin, Moss and Crompton bowled with such accuracy that Kearsley's reply fell nine runs short. The bowlers repeated the act in the Final and, although David Rushton took four wickets in five balls during the final over to keep Bradshaw down to 105, the Rigbys club eventually ran out comfortable winners by 31 runs. In addition, of course, Bradshaw, thanks largely to Cole, Young, Morris snr, and Ward had achieved that splendid double over the League Champions in the last two games of the two halves of the season, and as the Walkden players paraded their two trophies on the Rigbys ground after the final game, one could have forgiven the Bradshaw lads had they wondered, just for a moment, how Walkden had managed it all!

Little Lever's second team championship was a real team effort. Roy Costello hit over 700 runs, and was only one of eight members of the side to average over 20 with the bat. One of these, incidentally, was Mike Baldwin who, not having played at all for seven years, came back into the side and averaged forty. Hilton, David Settle and Brian Hardman were the leading wicket-takers, and the last-named, who also won the League Catching Prize, announced his retirement at the end of the season. Brian has had a long and meritorious career at Little Lever, and it was fitting that he should go out with 50 wickets, a league prize and a championship medal. Tonge were runners-up, and yet again all their leading bowlers had ridiculously low averages. The Birtwistle Cup Final was contested by Eagley, and the eventual winners, Heaton, in a game notable for two excellent half-centuries from Nick Carter and Steve Green, with Karl Trueman and Steve Powers taking the bowling honours.

As I reach the end of the 17th of these 'Looking Back' articles, may I offer my apologies to all those who feel that they were worthy of some kind of a mention, and didn't get one. And my congratulations to Horwich's Joe Stevens, recipient of this year's Hubert Pendlebury Memorial Award, who has given so much to his club and league, and who probably could still, if pressed, take catches at first slip that shouldn't be allowed, as he did in the old days.

My thanks to all the ladies, who, let's be honest, do more to keep the clubs running smoothly than we men like to admit, to the umpires, groundsmen and coaches, to the officials at both club and League level, to the junior team managers. And to Fort Sterling for their continued and very generous sponsorship. Indeed, to everyone, and above all to He who provided us with all that sun in 1989. Here's to a repeat of everything in 1990, except, please, that day back in September at Moorside!