League Review - 1992

By Peter Stafford    (March 1993)    Back

For the second successive year, the destination of the League Championship remained in doubt right up to the final couple of overs of the season. When August arrived with ten games remaining, Heaton and Greenmount were sharing first place. It was the only time throughout the entire season that Heaton did not top the table in their own right until, of course, the all-important final positions were made known!

During the weekend of 1st and 2nd of August two full programmes were played, as the result of which Heaton had regained their lead. Bradshaw. having taken ten points, were only one behind, with Greenmount and Walkden the only other real contenders.

And then, with matters poised delicately and everything pointing to a thrilling run-in to the title, the weather intervened, probably on a greater scale than has ever been known in the League's history in such a concentrated time-span. Of the next five programmes, thirty five matches in all, only two games could he played to a finish. A deep depression settled over the cricketing area with players either standing around gloomily assessing sodden outfields or trying desperately to fit in whatever brief periods of play the gods would allow.

Bonus points assumed the value of gold, and enough money was probably won and lost in dressing-room card-schools to have financed the League throughout 199X Indeed one lady, the mother of a first-eleven player, was moved to verse as she sat in her car with. rain streaming down the windscreen.

 Not Wordsworth or Tennyson, maybe, but written from the heart, and indicative of the mounting frustrations which abounded around the dressing-rooms in August. Ironically enough, the game that should have been in progress as she was writing eventually turned out to be one of the two to survive the Great August Downpourl

In September the weather relented, however, and when normal service was resumed with three games remaining, just five points separated the top four clubs. Heaton were still a point ahead of Bradshaw, who led Greenmount and Walkden by three and four points respectively. The 'double-header' played over the first weekend of September could well have decided matters, but didn't.

On the Saturday Heaton, Bradshaw and Greenmount all lost, without a point to show between them. Walkden, meanwhile, had beaten Little Lever and so, over-night, moved to the top of the table. The following day, however, brought almost an exact reversal of fortune for the four clubs. Whilst the other three all won comfortably, Walkden could only manage a winning draw at Horwich, and everything was back in the melting-pot.

When the final day of the season arrived Heaton had 86 points, Bradshaw 85, Walkden 84 and Greenmount 82. All of which meant that any one of the four could end the day as champions or, major headaches all round, a four-way tie was mathematically possible! And just to make things really interesting, Heaton were Walkden's visitors.

By teatime, no-one was any the wiser. Greenmount, thanks to yet another half-century from the prolific Hayden, had totally 166 at Piggott Park, which might prove enough. Bradshaw had restricted Horwich to 135 and, nerves allowing, appeared to have an easy task, whilst at Walkden, a magnificent, unbeaten century from Ray Berry had put the leaders into a strong position at 187 for 9. And so, as the final scenes were enacted, things began to sort themselves out.

Greenmount's challenge dwindled in the face of a fine opening stand between Edwards and Hallows, and they dropped out of the race. At Bradshaw, Johnson and Morris batted well, but then got out. Tattered nerve-ends began to show as the all left-arm spin attack of Storey and Taylor made the home side fight every last inch of the way. In the end, Bradshaw got home with two and a half overs to spare, thanks largely to an undefeated 27 from the experienced Stuart Adams which was beyond value. The game ended before that at Walkden, and now the equation had simplified itself. To become champions, Heaton needed to bowl Walkden out. If they didn't, then the title was Bradshaw's.

Walkden had begun their reply curiously slowly, but then with Reidy and David Smith in control and looking more confident by the minute, the score rose into the 120's for the loss of only one wicket, and the earlier caution had justified itself. Now it appeared that Heaton were to be denied even the runners-up spot, but gradually they fought their way back into the match.

Reidy and Smith went, Wolstenholme played well but was tragically run out, another couple of wickets fell, and suddenly, Heaton were in with an outside chance. Keays and Rushton held, though, and as Radio Lancashire were covering both games, Bradshaw became almost certainly the first side in Bolton League history to discover over the air-waves that they had won the championship!

There can be no doubt that they were good value for their success. They had won more games than any other side, and if the expression 'a real team effort' is one of sport's most-used cliches, it was certainly true of Bradshaw in 1992. Only two batsmen, Rayment and Morris, topped 500 runs, but six others averaged over twenty, and they all played important innings when it really mattered.

The majority of their victories came as the result of restricting their opponents to moderate totals and then showing themselves to be more than competent run-chasers. In fact only one of the ten wins, that against Farnworth Social Circle, was achieved after having batted first. Of the side's three leading bowlers, Rayment took 60 wickets, whilst Moss and Walters combined to take another 57. Neil Senior, with 37 victims, had a good year behind the wicket, but the statistic that the Bradshaw officials must have found most gratifying was that of the ten amateurs who turned out most regularly, eight were former Bradshaw third team players.

Just as sympathy had been felt for Horwich in 1991 when they had led the way for much of the season, so it was similarly difficult not to feel for Heaton last year. For after having confounded criticism for ninety nine per cent of the season as they led the table from start almost to finish, in the end the programme just went on one week too long for them.

As in the case of Bradshaw, everyone made vital contributions. Hutchinson and Berry led the way with the bat, whilst Lee Sutton, in his second season at the club, was a revelation, almost doubling his previous best run-tally and adding a new dimension to the side by virtue of his slip fielding. Milne, Singh, Wallwork and, in one memorable match against Bradshaw, Rob Slater, each rose to the occasion when it was needed, whilst Berry and Crowder between them took 59 wickets.

The major talking point at Lower Pools, of course, was the manner of Maninder Singh's departure back to India with half a dozen games still to be decided and a championship in the balance. The circumstances surrounding the event have been aired at length and need no repetition here, and whether or not his staying would have had any significant bearing on the eventual outcome is something that must always remain a matter of conjecture. To argue that it would have made a difference during those last two crucial weekends is to be less than fair to Bradshaw. Ten years from now, the 1992 season will he remembered for Bradshaw's championship, rather than for Maninder's departure, and rightly so.

Elsewhere around the League there were team performances and individual feats galore which helped illuminate 1992. Whilst all the championship talk was of Heaton and Bradshaw, Walkden came as close to the title as possible without actually winning it. They were only beaten twice in League games, by Greenmount and Little Lever consecutively during a fortnight in June they won't want to remember at the Oval. David and John Smith each had a fine season with a joint 855 runs, 101 wickets and 31 catches, and the club bade farewell to the professional who has served them so well over the past four years.

Bernard Reidy, in addition to helping Walkden to the League and Cup double in 1989, has won the Professionals Prize twice whilst at the Oval, and in his four seasons there has aggregated 3,274 runs, 327 wickets and 43 catches, figures of course, which include the first ever 1000-runs and 100-wicket double in the League's history. So impressed have the club's officials been with Reidy's efforts on Walkden's behalf that they have awarded him a benefit after he has left the club, a rare, if not unprecedented action in league cricket circles.

The famous cricketing name of Harvey was one that reverberated around the Bolton League during 1992. Astley Bridge's Australian, lan, in his first innings on English soil, hit an unbeaten 202 against Farnworth Social Circle, only the third double-century since the League was founded, and he went on to become the highest-scoring amateur when 126 runs over his last weekend took him over the 1,000 mark. Just for good measure, he added 32 wickets to his summer figures.

John Harvey, at Greenmount, equalled the highest-ever Hamer Cup Final individual score, hit 814 runs, averaged 58. and took 18 catches. His professional, Matt Hayden, looking every inch a future Test batsman, broke Mark Taylor's aggregate record for the club and, hopefully, will be seen around the country's first-class grounds during the coming season.

Two high quality performances of 1992 were those of Westhoughton's Stuart Harrison. and Henderson Bryan of Little Lever. Harrison's 9 for 47 against Horwich on the second day of the season was the sixth best analysis achieved by a Tyldesleys player, his figures only ever bettered by Dick Pollard (twice). Jimmy Hatchman, Dave Brighouse and his namesake. Frank Harrison. pro at Westhoughton during the mid-30's. On June 6th at Kearsley, Henderson Bryan did what no other Bolton League player before him has ever done, when he followed his unbeaten 104 with 9 for 44 to register the best all-round figures in any Bolton League match.

His Australian team-mate, Bev Phillips, hit four centuries, a record number in any Little Lever season, whilst other overseas players who impressed during their brief Bolton League careers were Walkden's Locky Allardice, South African Stuart McConnell, whose 126 for Kearsley against Heaton was worth going a long way to see. Thompson at Farnworth, and Bannerman, who took 60 wickets for Tonge.

Tonge won the 2nd Team title and, truth to tell. looked like doing so from day one. At the season's end, lan Foster's talented side rested its case with a 14-point gap over runners-up Bradshaw, and there could be no argument. In addition to the captain himself who, together with his runs and wickets, led from the front with 27 catches, Tony Bailey's 112 very cheap wickets were an obvious factor. Barlow and Holt shared another 68. and with eight batsmen averaging over twenty, run-scoring was hardly ever a problem.

They did come unstuck, however, in the Birtwistle Cup Final, when an incisive bowling performance from David Aldred ran through Tonge's latter order to give Keith Houghton's Westhoughton team considerable consolation for having finished third in the table. Andy Forshaw, Keith Houghton, and especially young Craig Wardle, each had a good Cup Final. but the Man-of-the-Match was Tonge's player of the season, Tony Bailey who took 8 for 40.

Other second-team players to enjoy 1992 to its full were League prizewinners Keith Webb of Greenmount, Junior Player-of-the-Year, wicketkeeper Paul Blinkhorn of Tonge, Little Lever's Ian Rushmore, and Ian Wilcox, who took time out from first-team duty at Westhoughton to claim an individual prize for his 133 against Egerton. Heaton's Nigel Smith hit most runs in the division, 632, with Derek White and Gary Pilling running him close.

The 1992 Hamer Cup competition was notable for many things, not least for the fact that Greenmount's batsmen hit four centuries between them during the series of games which took them into the runners-up spot for the third time in ten years. It was noteworthy, too, for the astonishing fact that in a season when 116 first and second tearn league matches were ruined by rain, only one Hamer Cup-tie was not completed on the due day. Even August's horrendous weather held off long enough for the Cup Final to be completed in a single day.

The outstanding individual feat of Round One was arguably that of Ian Wilcox, the Westhoughton left-hander, who, after four wickets had fallen at Little Lever for next-to-nothing, added 194 in partnership with Andy Woods (85) to guide his side through to a match winning 242 for 6. Wilcox's 103 was his first senior century. Cronje's seven wickets left Little Lever 127 runs short at the end. Rayment and Long each hit a half-century in Bradshaw's defeat of Tonge, whilst eventual winners Egerton came safely through against Heaton, thanks to one of many fine bowling performances from lan Taylor, and a measured 30 not out from professional Wilkinson when the game was in the melting-pot.

In the local Farnworth derby, Social Circle were easy winners over their rivals. when runs from Partington. Dean Eckersley and McIlwraith ensured a 100-plus victory. Powell's 4 for 9 was merely a taste of things to come as Walkden crashed out at Kearsley, losing by 64 after having bowled out the home side for 145. Greenmount had a scare at Horwich, winning by only 12 runs in the face of an excellent all-round performance from Steve Storey, who hit 62 and took 6 for 52. A feature of the game was that of the 17 wickets to fall to the bowlers. 15 were taken by slow left armers, something of a rarity nowadays. Phil Heaton's 7 for 48 was mainly instrumental in keeping Greenmount's interest in the competition alive. Co-incidentally that was an identical analysis to that achieved by lan Moss in Bradshaw's win over Tonge.

Round Two spelt the end of Bradshaw's hopes of retaining the trophy. They must have eaten their teas in a reasonably contented frame of mind with 222 for 8 on the board, but little went right from then on, as Greenmount cruised home with ten overs and nine wickets to spare. Phil Neville went for 38, but then Holding stayed until the end in partnership with Hayden, who just had time to complete the first of the quartet of Greenmount hundreds before the winning hit was made.

The real runs of the day, however, came at the Tyldesleys, where Westhoughton's 274 for 6 was passed for the loss of only two wickets by Astley Bridge. Graham Hill and Frans Cronje had shared 156 almost equally during the afternoon, but the innings of the day belonged to Ian Harvey, whose 145 was well supported by McArdle, Munshi and Warren. On a 549-run day that bowlers would want to forget quickly, McArdle had come out of the carnage reasonably well, having taken 3 for 49 from eight action-packed overs!

Egerton, too, went over the 200-mark, and for them, it was enough. Mike Bennison's 83, together with a late flurry from Mark Wallwork and Rimmer were the main constituents of their 221 for 7, which proved over 100 too many for a disappointing Social Circle side. Almost inevitably in 1992, it was Taylor who did the damage, adding 6 for 38 to his seven-wicket haul of Round One.

Over at Kearsley, however, it was a day for the bowlers to savour. When I arrived late at the ground I saw the scoreboard before I saw the players, and at 46 for 6, I assumed, somewhat uncharitably, that Eagley must be batting! But Eagley were in the field, having shot away the cream of Kearsley's top batsmen. 1 was informed by gateman Arthur Ogden, however, that Kearsley had 'plenty to come', and he was right. Chapple, Morris, Woods and Pellowe each reached the 20's, and the game had slipped out of the visitors' grasp. Dick Powell went through. the Eagley batting like the proverbial dose of salts. No-one reached double figures, and the final wicket fell on 44. Powell had taken 6 for 3, which gave him Hamer Cup figures to date of 10 for 121

I was back at Springfield Road for a semi-final which paired Kearsley with Egerton. It was a game of good things, which completely lived up to its promise. Egerton made 183 for 5, a worrying score for the Kearsleyites, but not out of their reach. Bretland, Bennison and Wilkinson each played well without really dominating the game, whilst Powell had bowled steadily, taking 2 for 59 from his 23 overs. David Wallwork's undefeated 29 late in the innings proved important in the light of an 18-run margin at the end, and his howling figures of 4 for 53 from 17 overs for once outshone those of Ian Taylor, who took 3 for 58.

In spite of contributions from McConnell, Ratledge and Lavelle, Kearsley were always that bit behind the required run-rate, and the end arrived with too many needed from the final couple of overs. In the Kearsley innings nothing was better than Bretland's catch to dispose of Laing, whilst Mark Wallwork's wicket-keeping had alone been worth the entrance money.

In the other semi-final Greenmount continued on their merry way at home to Astley Bridge. Hayden's unbeaten 140 was the highest score ever hit by a professional for the club, whilst Gary Neville's 109 not out was a superb share in an unbroken stand of 252 for the third wicket, which resulted in a final total of 278 for 2.

Astley Bridge had already proved at Westhoughton that they were up to this sort of a task, though, and at 198 for 2 they were well in control. McArdle and Warren had added 167 for their third wicket, but when Mark Stewart dismissed both batsmen on 198 and 215, it was the beginning of the end. Two later batsmen were run out, and when the last wicket fell at 256 there were 14 balls left with 22 runs the difference. It had been that close, and even now Astley Bridge still feel with some justification that it was a tie they could and should have won.

By winning the game Greenmount had forfeited the right to stage the Final, willingly, one imagines, and so the match was re-allocated to Castle Hill, the scene of four previous Finals. By coincidence, I had participated in all four, but in 1992 1 was unable to be there, even as a spectator, so missing my first Final for over twenty years. From all accounts it produced a great deal of memorable cricket, notably from Jon Harvey, Brad Bretland, and, yet again, lan Taylor.

Egerton batted first and Bretland's not out 109 guaranteed his side'a decent total. Hornby, Wilkinson and Paul Rimmer provided fine support, and 244 for 3 was the end result. It was an interesting score, but, bearing in mind that in their previous two cup-ties Greenmount had totalled 506 for 3, not an unassailable one. Much had been made prior to the game of the influence likely to be exerted by Hayden, whose contributions to the 506 had been an unbeaten 249.

The previous day's 92 against Eagley showed him to be in good nick, but on Final day good fortune was to turn its back on him. He had made only a couple when he launched a full-blooded off-drive against Rimmer, only for Keith Hornby, fielding at wide mid-off to throw himself headlong to take the catch which, in hindsight, almost certainly settled the outcome. A major innings was needed now from Harvey or Holding, or both, and together they added 61 before Holding went.

Now it was Harvey v. Egerton, as the Lords Groundstaff player moved to his century out of 158 for 6. But when he had reached 113, the highest amateur score in any Hamer Cup Final, his end came as the result of yet another magnificent piece of fielding. This time it was Michael Booth, whose running and diving catch at extra-cover virtually ended the game. lan Taylor's all-bowled 5 for 52 brushed away the tail. Egerton had won the trophy for the seventh time in all, and had preserved their record of never having lost a Final for over 60 years!

Taylor's cup form had been phenomenal. In the four matches he had taken 21 wickets at precisely nine runs each, with a striking rate of a wicket every 22 deliveries. Egerton had entertained royally during their cup run. One day soon they will add a first championship to their wonderful cup record.

The Inter-League season opened at Adlington when the Bolton Association were well-beaten in Round One of the M.E.N. Knock-out Trophy. David Smith (62), Harvey (39) and Berry (40), were largely responsible for the League's 201 for 6. lan Taylor bulldozed his way through the Association's early order, taking all the first five wickets at a cost of only 23, and that was that. Berry and Crookson shared the remainder. and the winning margin in the end was 121.

The annual friendly match against the Manchester Association was played on Worsley's delightful ground, and resulted in a second win for the Bolton side. The home team's final total of 160 for 7 owed much to an unbroken stand between Newell and Rathor which added over 60 after the first seven wickets had gone cheaply. Again Smith was top-scorer for the League, this time with 41. Everyone else made a contribution, but it was only in the final over that the match was won by live wickets.

A week later the League side travelled to Blackpool for what tends to be regarded as the toughest possible fixture in the M.E.M. competition, the Northern League away. It was to produce what was, without a doubt, the highlight of the season when the League's 24-run win entitled it to its fifth Final in six years. Yet again David Smith led the way with a superb 83 as the visitors hit 200 for 7. He and Steve Clarkson had opened cautiously, and when Clarkson went at 46, some fine running between the wickets from Bennison and Smith saw another 48 added. Smith finally fell at 140. having supplied the backbone, and it was left to Lavelle and Berry to provide the end-of-innings charge.

200 was. on the one hand, a good score on such a large ground - only eleven boundaries had been hit - but on the other hand the bowling needed to be tight and the field-placing finally-judged to defend that kind of score with 2's and 3's so readily available. 16 for 1 became 76 for 3, at which point Simon Dutton and Steven Sharp began what seemed to be a match-winning stand. At 154 for 3 with six overs remaining, it ought to have been easy for the home side, but at this point Taylor and Stewart were re-introduced into the attack.

Taylor got rid of the two half-century makers, and the remainder simply disintegrated in the face of pace-bowling of the very highest order. Stewart took 3 for 38, and Taylor's second spell produced 4 for 19. Crookson and Smith. too, had played their part, having conceded only 51 runs from their 20 overs, whilst Powell's captaincy had been impeccable throughout a highly pressurised situation.

The rain-affected Trinity Cup match, splendidly staged by the Atherton club, provided the most dramatic ending imaginable, when the Bolton Association batsmen, set a target of 182 for victory in 44 overs, failed to reach the figure by just one run. For the third time in 1992 the League batted first and just managed to exceed the 200,-mark. Hayden's 69 was the highlight of the innings, with lesser but important contributions coming from Bennison, Lavelle, and yet again David Smith.

Tea-time rain curtailed the Association's reply by six overs, and when Maninder Singh bowled his ten overs for only 15 runs to leave the score standing on 117 for 5, the home side's task had become a formidable one indeed. At this stage Brett Collins joined Andy Mullaney, and when he left, having hit 26 from 25 balls, the game had taken on a very different aspect. The estimable Mullaney moved to his half-century and a well-merited Man-of-the-Match award, and during the last few desperate overs all sorts of heroics were performed.

Collins' three straight sixes, a brilliant catch by Powell, a wonder-stop on the boundary by Clarkson, and a fiery, effective spell from lan Taylor which left him with final figures of 4 for 39. John Smith. standing in for Mark Stewart, was entrusted with the game's final over with eleven runs required. Ten were scored, and a memorable day's cricket was over.

The Inter-League Final against the Central Lancashire League at Middleton, due to have been played on August 9th, fell victim to the bad weather which plagued us during that month, and was re-arranged for September 12th. That too, proved an unfortunate choice, for, with rain hovering around the area, and the wicket and surrounds already very wet, the chances of getting the game played to its conclusion seemed very slim indeed.

And so it proved. With the home team's score standing on 116 for 5, the rain we had been promised finally arrived and washed the tie into oblivion. It was doubly unfortunate, for with 15 overs of the CLL's innings remaining, a close contest appeared to be on the cards.

The Bolton side had made early inroads, taking three important wickets before the total had reached 20, but when the rain came, the CLL in the persons of Hayward and McAuley, werf! making a fight of it. As the small crowd drifted away, it was sensibly decided that the two Leagues should share the trophy, and an inter-league season that had contained a great deal of top-class cricket had come to a. sad, if unbeaten end.

In the LCA Bass Knock-out Trophy, our four representatives fared well, winning 14 ties in all. But then, in the later stages, the luck of the draw went out of the window when two Bolton League clubs were paired in the third round, and the other two in the quarter-finals.

It all started easily enough. Farnworth Social Circle and Tonge each were faced with a Preliminary Round tie which promised to he rather less taxing than a gentle net practice, and so it proved. Jinnah came to Castle Hill, and when Grant Long pulled out of the attack having taken 3 for 3 in his first four overs, the result was assured. In Circle's game against Rochdale Catholic Club, lan Edwards enjoyed himself to the tune of 97 and that was that.

The same two clubs were hardly tested any more severely in Round One. Circle won at a canter against Feniscowles, whilst Tonge had Kevin Hayes (117) and Long (68) to thank for a score of 258 for 4 at Green Lane. In Bolton's reply, Mudassar Nazar hit 92, but the result was never in doubt.

Bradshaw entered the fray with a visit to Walsden, who were limited to 129 for 9 before Brian Cole, and Paul Rayment each hit a half-century in a seven-wicket win. Barry Kniveton started a series of good Lanes KO performances scoring 59 in Horwich's 52-run win at Aigburth.

This ensured a full complement of League clubs in Round Two, but now sterner opposition was looming. Three of the second round matches were played on the same day. Bradshaw's win over Bootle was the result of a fine all-round batting display. The Liverpool Competiton club had scored 181 for 5 from their 40 overs, but when the winning hit was made Bradshaw had almost 10 overs to spare, Cole (43) and lan Kelly (55) having set them well on the way with an opening stand of 82.

Farnworth Social Circle's match against Rochdale at Piggott Park, on the other hand, was a heart-stopping affair. It resulted in a three-run win for the home side which, in all fairness, ought never to have happened. Circle batted well to reach 208 for 9. Coppin was at his attractive best, including ten 4s and three 6s in his 92, and a late 34 from Dave Roscow was crucial. When Rochdale's 40 overs ground to a halt at 205, they still had five wickets to fall, with professional Callaghan unbeaten on 92. They must have kicked themselves all the way back to Rochdale!

Tonge owed almost everything to Grant Long at Barrow. His massive 156 ensured an equally huge total, and as Partington added 45, Tonge were able to close at 250 for 6. Once Barrow's century opening stand had been broken by Tattersall, they were never in the hunt, and Tonge ran out winners by 57 runs.

Horwich were fated to meet near-neighbours British Aerospace, and eventually came out on top after a bit of a struggle. Aerospace hit 138 for 7, and for the second time Horwich were indebted to Barry Kniveton, whose second half-century in the competition was matched by another one from Pete Morris, as Horwich completed a four-wicket victory.

In Round Three, Farnworth SC seemed due to play Liverpool, but in one of the competition's biggest upsets, the city club had been put out by lowly Fyide, from the Palace Shield competition. This result made Circle's progress into the quarter-final that much easier. FyIde were bowled out for exactly 100, and lan Edwards' unbeaten 50 saw his side through to a six-wicket win. Horwich, meanwhile, were at home to the unusuallynamed Askam K Shoes, and after somewhat inhospitably bowling out their guests for ~9, won easily enough by seven wickets. Kniveton's performance in this game came with the ball, with which he took 5 for 2V

Sadly, the League was forced to lose a team at this stage, when Bradshaw and Tonge were drawn together. The Rigbys club had already come out on top in an earlier Hamer Cup meeting between the sides, and now they completed a cup double over their great rivals. Neil Senior held the Bradshaw innings together with a fine 65 not out, and received invaluable support towards the end of the innings from the two Andys, Kilner and Hart.

Faced with a total of 186, Tonge got away to the worst possible start, losing Long and Partington very quickly, but Hayes and David Senior hit 65 and 43 respectively, and when Tonge's overs ran out, they were only 15 runs short.

Bradshaw's run came to an end at St Annes in the quarter-final. After restricting the home side to 139 for 9, their hopes of a semi-final place were high, but on a low, slow wicket they found run-scoring difficult. Neil Senior's 60 kept their heads above water for a while, but at the end they were 17 short.

Farnworth Social Circle and Horwich met in one of the other quarter finals at Piggott Park. The game, like Bradshaw's, was played on Hamer Cup semi-final day, and when Radio Lancashire relayed a Farnworth SC teatime score of 292 for 4, we all said "Right, that's it, Circle are through', and turned our attention back to the struggle between Kearsley and
Egerton. But that was not it! The previous day Horwich had chased 247 at Westhoughton and got home with six overs to spare. Storey had hit 102, and now, against Circle, he and his side merely raised their sights a little, and finished the game on 294 for 3. Storey himself was unbeaten at the end on 143, Atkinson hit 58 and Pete Morris 52. It has to go down as the biggest successful run-chase by any local side ever, in any competition. For the record, the bulk of Circle's runs had come from David Hayes, who hit 103 not out, his only real score in what, for him, was a below-par season. Coppin scored 67 and Paul Eck.ersley 51. Horwich's reward was yet another derby match, this time against neighbouring Chorley. Sadly, this was where their run came to an end. Chorley were bowled out for 164, a total
clearly within reac ' h of the Horwich batsmen, given a decent strart. But that was precisely 'What was not given, and at 32 for 4, hope had all but disappeared. Storey played well for 55, but Chorley weren't going to let their rivals off the hook, and the eventual difference was 79.

Both the Jubilee Trophy and, more recently, the Anthony Axford Indoor Cup were won by Egerton, who thereby exercised a total monopoly over the League's knock-out trophies at first-team level. In September the Jubilee Trophy was added to the Hamer Cup when, after having beaten Westhoughton and Eagley in the earlier rounds, Egerton easily overcame Greenmount in a Final memorable for a century, something of a rarity in this competition, from Brad Bretland. In fact he produced an exact statistical replica of his Homer Cup Final innings, 109 not out. Bennison's 44 lent fine support, and a final total of 166 for 1 was always going to be hard work for Greenmount. In the semi finals earlier in the day, Egerton had narrowly disposed of Heaton by nine runs, whilst Social Circle, looking for their first success in this competition, had been Greenmount's victims.

Indoors in January, Egerton had never looked like relinquishing their grip on Anthony Axford's Six-a-Side Trophy won by them in the two previous years. In fact the trophy stayed at Longworth Road, courtesy of victories over Eagley, Heaton, Social Circle and, in the final, Tonge. Keith Horriby's side which, in addition to the captain, comprises Rimmer, Tebay, Taylor and the two Wallworks, is a daunting proposition in this variety of the game, and expectations were high as they moved into the County Finals.

In the quarter-final against Rochdale a fine all-round performance by Paul Rimmer (55 and 2 for 12) saw them through with the help of Mark Wallwork's 43, and this earned them the doubtful privilege of a semi-final tie against Haslingden, visitors to the Lords finals in the two previous years. The former champions were swept aside, however, by fine innings from Hornby, Mark Wallwork and Taylor, whilst in the Final, following Egerton's lowest total to date, 109 for 3, it was their bowling and fielding which gave them the title of Lancashire champions when Littleborough were dismissed for 96, David Wallwork taking 3 for 27.

The road to Lords finally petered out when they lost to the very experienced Durham University side after having been bowled out for 74. A defiant 25 from Rimmer gave them hope, but only one Durham wicket was taken as the north easterners moved to a comprehensive victory, albeit only achieved in the final over of the game.

At the League Dinner in November, Tommy Hughes was a hugely popular recipient of the Hubert Pendlebury Memorial Trophy. Since making his third team debut in 1943, Tom has enjoyed a highly meritorious career in Bolton League cricket as a player, committee worker, umpire and enthusiastic supporter. As a player he knew success as a championship-winning captain and inter-league player. He was a fearless batsman and fielder in the Brian Close mould with the safest pair of hands in the business, whilst as an umpire he has won the respect of the players the length and breadth of the League.

Finally, my annual and heartfelt thanks on behalf of the League to our sponsors, Fort Sterling Ltd, who retain a generosity and close interest in the League, without ever wanting to interfere with its fine traditions, something that can hardly be said of the game*s sponsors at higher levels! Thanks also to the Tonge and Little Lever clubs who staged the Finals days so successfully. To Tonv Axford for his winter sponsorship. and to the local press and Radio Lancashire for their comprehensive coverage of the League's affairs. Come to think of it. if 1 were to list everyone else to whom we owe some kind of debt for our weekly ration of cricket, this article could well run to another two or three pages! We are grateful to You all.