League Review - 1994

By Peter Stafford (March 1995)    Back

It wasn't long into the 1994 season before it became apparent that the championship was going to be a close-run thing, with no one club appearing to have that extra something which would turn the long haul towards the title into a one-horse race.

By the half-way stage the league table reflected a domination by the five clubs from the south side of the town. Farnworth Social Circle and Kearsley were setting the pace, with Farnworth, Walkden and Little Lever breathing down their necks. Social Circle's challenge had possibly come as something of a surprise to those who, prior to the start of the season, had the other Farnworth club down as favourite. However, two further wins for Ian Edwards' side meant that they had won eleven of their first fifteen games, and were 18 points clear of third-placed Walkden. But then a combination of bad weather and poor form prevented Circle from winning any of their next six matches, and when Mel Whittle bowled them to defeat on August 20th, Kearsley had narrowed the gap to three points. The following week Circle travelled to Walkden for a game which, in hindsight, was to prove crucial. John Smith and Andy Seddon rescued the home side from potential disaster and, faced with a target of 157, Circle could only draw the match, ending 27 short despite Estwick and Green's best efforts. Now Walkden had drawn level with Kearsley in second place. The following day Walkden could only manage four points against the six gained by each of their rivals, and with the penultimate weekend a total meteorological disaster, the clubs entered the final two days of the season with Circle (92), Kearsley (88) and Walkden (87) the main title contenders. Eagley (84) had crept up on the rails and stood an outside chance, whilst Tonge still had the mathematical possibility of a share in the honours should the other four suffer setbacks on a monumental scale!

The Saturday of the final weekend saw six matches lost to the weather, including Tonge's, which put paid to their slender hopes. A reduced overs game was played at outlying Greenmount from which Eagley, in spite of Strydom's tenth 50 of the season, were able to gain only one relatively useless point.

And so the last day of the season dawned with just the three clubs left in the running, and once uncommitted supporters had attuned themselves to the luxury of a rain-free day, most of them headed towards Tonge, Bradshaw or Eagley to follow the fortunes of the three contenders, respectively Farnworth Social Circle, Kearsley and Walkden.

By tea-time things seemed to have become more clear. The odds against Kearsley had lengthened following Bradshaw's 196. The game at Eagley was in the balance with Walkden needing to score 164 for victory, whilst at Tonge the home side's all out 75 appeared to have tilted the championship Farnworth Social Circle's way with something approaching certainty. Estwick and Coppin seemed to have made the most of a wicket which was not without life and bounce, but now, with the title a mere 76 runs away, Circle's batsmen became mesmerised as Sikander and Tattersall found the responsive wicket as much to their liking as had the two West Indians. It was all about desperation and pressure as each wicket that fell lessened Circle's chances.

When the end came, only 32 runs had been scored from the bat in 32.1 overs, and a measure of Sikander's authority together with the batsmen's timidity can be gleaned from the fact that of 97 balls delivered by the Tonge professional, only five produced scoring strokes. Of the visiting batsmen, only Coppin made any real attempt to take command of the situation, and when he was run out at 37 for 5, the position had become almost hopeless. Ray Eccleshare's unbeaten 17 at No.9 for Tonge represented the exact difference between the two sides at the end, a fact that wouldn't have escaped the Tonge captain's notice! Dave Tattersall, too, had played his part, but when Sikander caught and bowled Mick Dunn to bring the game, and the season to an end, it took his figures to 16.111-6-7, the best bowling analysis of the year, and the one which dictated the final outcome of the title-race.

Over at Eagley meanwhile, Walkden's batsmen, whose hopes must have been dampened by the teatime scores, suddenly realised that they were still in with a chance, and buckled down to the job at hand. Kearsley were struggling at Bradshaw, and a Walkden win would almost certainly give them a share in the title. Eagley, now playing for a place in the top three, were in no mood for favours, but eventually a match-winning stand from Andy Seddon and Chris Neal developed and Walkden got home with five wickets and half a dozen overs to spare.

A hastily-convened League Meeting ruled that the championship should be shared between the two clubs, a situation which left the League somewhat in suspended animation. Opinion was sharply divided. There were those in favour of a shared title purely and simply on the grounds that the logistics of a play-off between two fully representative sides would, at this late stage, be difficult if not impossible. On the other hand, it is undeniably preferable to be able to point towards one club and say 'They are this season's champions.' A rule change at the recent Annual General Meeting dictated that in future, a play-off will be held.

Farnworth Social Circle had headed the table almost from week one, and must have been bitterly disappointed not to have clinched the championship on the final day. Like Walkden, they employed a professional with the ability to weld the side together. Estwick had a fine, solid season, hitting almost 600 runs and taking 70 cheap wickets, whilst Ian Edwards, Mr. Reliable, who hasn't dropped below 500 in any of the past seven years, took his Bolton League total over the 5,000-run mark. Other than that, a study of the League averages makes it difficult to see where their joint success came from. Perhaps it was the fact that every member of the side dug deep when it really mattered.

The Parkinson brothers came on by leaps and bounds, although Matthew would surely benefit from a bit more bowling at senior level. Each recorded a maiden first-team half-century, and David went on to hit over 400 runs at quite a decent average. Wayne Green and David Hayes enjoyed some good moments, and Mickey Dunn, whenever I watched Circle, kept wicket superbly. Coppin took 20 wickets from his 108 overs, and Gary Tonge crept a little closer to the kind of figures of which his illustrious father would have approved!

Rod Brown was as important to Walkden as Estwick was to Circle. He hit 711 runs and took 64 wickets, and, in an undemonstrative way, gave his club excellent value for their money. David Smith did what he has been threatening to do for some time, breaking the club's batting record. He finished with 916 runs, and it was probably the bonus of his 27 wickets that persuaded more players to vote for him in the Player-of-the-Year Award, rather than Bradshaw's Dave Morris, whose 1,027 runs were 37 more than Brian Cole hit ten years previously. Steve Clarkson set off like a train, hitting over 250 runs in his first four innings, was slowed down by three consecutive noughts, and finished on what was, for him, a below-par 571. Tony Keays'307 was also too few for such a good player, but he, Chris Neal, Martin Wolstenholme and, when it really mattered, Andy Seddon, played some important innings. John Smith was his usual industrious self with the ball. Only two other amateur bowlers sent down more overs than he, and 57 wickets were added to his career total.

Kearsley, who finished third, relied far too heavily upon the two-pronged attack of Dublin and Whittle. Between them they took 134 wickets, and with the six other wicket-takers only managing 42 between them, a Whittle-less bowling force for 1995 would suggest something of a worry. Steve Dublin and Craig Duxbury were the club's leading run-scorers, never more so than on the day when a century apiece led to a total of 281 for 2 against Astley Bridge, whilst skipper Craig Lavelle hit 563 in addition to claiming the League Catching Prize for the fourth time. Eagley, whilst never out of contention, finally had to settle for fifth, but they too, have something to think about as the new season approaches, having lost Strydom and Ward's joint 1,900 runs, not to mention the bowling of inter-league opener Colin Crouch. When Tonge look back upon their season, they will ponder ruefully upon several close finishes that went against them. Sikander (108 wickets) and Dave Tattersall (53), formed as lethal a spin partnership as you are likely to come across in club cricket these days, one that was only really collared on three occasions, twice by Little Lever, and once, memorably, by Dave Smith and Rod Brown, at Walkden.

In addition to the two Davids, Smith and Morris, six other amateur batsmen topped the 750-mark. Highest of these was Mike Bennison, who, with 914, still contrived to stay out of the Inter-League side, perhaps due to the fact that two thirds of his runs came during the second half of the season. Keith Hornby's 775 won the League Batting Prize, whilst lan Pilkington scored nigh on 500 runs in the first half of the season before suffering a lean August, just when a new Westhoughton batting record looked well within his reach. At Bradshaw, the evergreen Brian Cole, on the verge of his 36th season of first-team cricket, hit 619 runs with only six other amateurs above him in the averages. The three Australians, Greg Dimery (848), Craig Wiseman (839) and Scott Thompson (778) all scored heavily, respectively taking 48, 38 and 64 wickets into the bargain.

Once again Mel Whittle led the amateur wicket-takers with 77, a figure second only to that of Iqbal, and his reward was a professional contract at Little Lever.

Patrick Holder enjoyed a fine season at Westhoughton with 66 wickets and almost 500 runs, and his wicket-keeper, the lively and talented Mike Bentham, secured the wicket-keeping award for the first, and almost certainly not the last time. Collis King also delighted the regulars at the Tyidesleys with 894 runs, whilst elsewhere on the professional front Richard Chee Quee was mightily impressive. He achieved all-round figures of 1,415 runs and 51 wickets, whilst his 25 catches exceeded anything previously accomplished by a Greenmount player since their move into the League. He also, incidentally, hit the season's highest individual score, 178, an innings that provided a highlight for me, if not for the perspiring Walkden bowlers! Jamaica's Franklyn Rose and Casper Davies from the Windward Islands both currently opening the attack for their islands, disappointed at Little Lever and Horwich. Each took just over 50 wickets, but paid far too heavily for them, a surprising outcome given their first-class status and genuine pace.

At second team level, I've simply run out of things to say about Tonge Cricket Club! In 1994 they completed a hat-trick of championships which had about it all the inevitability of Liverpool and Steve Davis in the eighties and Wigan in the nineties! If Mohamed Ilyas was the star allrounder with nearly 800 runs and 31 wickets, then he wasn't short of assistance. Skipper Steve Goodram, Patel, Wardle, Bradbury and Senior provided the runs, whilst Tony Bailey, who in the last six seasons has taken 403 wickets at 9.8 apiece, won the League Bowling Prize for the umpteenth time!

Little Lever were runners-up in both Cup and League. Gary Pilling (737), Anthony Hilton and Roy Costello each hit over 500 runs and fan and Keith Rushmore contributed another 700, but the performance of the season at Victory Road was Alan Lansdale's 10 for 38 against Eagley. When the time eventually comes for Alan to call it a day, he can do so in the almost certain knowledge that he has achieved an all-round treble probably unequalled by any cricketer in the game's history. 8,000 runs in top class league cricket, 7 wicket-keeping victims in one match, and now, all ten with the ball. Anything further has to be anticlimax! Heaton's Birtwistle Cup win over Little Lever produced two fine innings. The first came from Anthony Hilton, whose halfcentury held his side's batting together before the interval. But it was Dave Isherwood's unbeaten 54 which decided the outcome. It ended in the grand manner, with a six struck into his own garden which gave him his fifty, the Man-of-the-Match Award, and, most importantly, secured the Cup for Heaton for the third time in the club's history.

Other second team players for whom 1994 was an important year were Bradshaw's Michael Booth, who top-scored with 942 runs, Derek White of Horwich who hit 857, and two batsmen not unknown in first-team circles, Tim Calderbank and Graharn Firth, each of whom also topped 700. Egerton's Gary Eckersley took most wickets, 66, whilst his team-mate, Tony Hurst, just piped Walkden's Chris Morris to the wicket-keeping award.

The first round of the Nouvelle Hamer Cup competition featured a repeat of the previous year's Final, in which Eagley again disposed of Kearsley, even more convincingly than had been the case in 1993. A Strydom century and 73 from skipper Chris Lord prefaced a startling 'collapse' to 206 for 8, but five wickets from Strydom ensured a 113-run difference between the sides at the end. Tonge, looking at a target of 159 at Horwich, were undone by Davies and Drinkwater, who bowled unchanged and shared the ten wickets equally, whilst the eventual winners, Farnworth, won by four wickets at Heaton in a game during which Scott Thompson was responsible for controversial bowling and match winning batting in roughly equal proportion.

James Worrall's unbeaten 51 late in Little Lever's innings secured a 23run win over Bradshaw, and Gary Chadwick's 72 at Astley Bridge was similarly important in Greenmount's narrow victory. Social Circle travelled to Egerton for the second year running, but this time came away empty-handed as David Roscow hit an undefeated 54 against his recent colleagues. Ian Taylor took 6 for 76, and Circle were 15 runs adrift at the end.

Following a first-round bye, Westhoughton were drawn against the old enemy, Horwich, in Round Two. Seven cheap wickets for Stuart Harrison restricted the Railwaymen to 156, of which Craig Wardle hit 57 not out, but, in spite of 50 from Parker, Horwich moved into the semifinals by a 35-run margin.

A fortnight earlier, Richard Chee Quee had demoralised Walkden with his 178, and now, as the two clubs met again in the Cup, he went on his merry way with an unbeaten 112 in Greenmount's nine-wicket win. Steve Clarkson and Simon Naylor each hit a half-century in a high-scoring but one-sided game.

Eagley's run of five Hamer Cup victories came to an end at home to Farnworth, for whom Lawton, Rayment and Newton all contributed to the visitors' 225 for 5, before Rayment and Thompson ran through Eagley in 29 overs to produce a massive 143-run win. The fourth tie, that between Little Lever and Egerton, turned out to be the closest and possibly the best tie of the round. Rose (57), together with Waller and Baldwin, was the pick of the home side's batsmen as Dean Eckersley took 4 for 68 from 20 overs. Chasing 190 for a semi-final place, Egerton (28 for 1) had lost Paul Tebay amongst a barrage of short-pitched deliveries before play was halted by poor light with 36 overs remaining. On Monday evening an exciting 5th-wicket stand between Stephen Davies and Dean Eckersley turned the game around, but when they went for 60 and 38 respectively, the tie was still wide open. In the end a salvo of boundaries from David Roscow and fine support from Anthony Clegg saw Egerton home with only 13 balls to spare.

The two semi-finals differed widely in character. Horwich, at home to Egerton, never really got to grips with the situation, and were bowled out for exactly 100. Casper Davies, opening the innings, was the only batsman to reach double figures, and whilst Eckersley and Storey bowled well, it was lan Taylor, who over the past few years has always seemed to reserve his best form for cup-ties, who returned the most impressive analysis, 4 for 22 from 15 overs. Stephen Davies was the only Egerton batsman to fall before the game was virtually decided, Tebay and Storey weathering the pace of Davies and taking their side to the brink of victory. At this point the visiting professional fell to what was possibly the best piece of cricket of the day. Going for the six which would have signalled his fifty and won the game. Storey got a little too much under the ball, and Edwards' running catch after sprinting the length of Horwich was little short of breathtaking. After applauding Tebay in following his responsible innings, many of the spectators drove over to Greenmount, to find that the home side had passed the 100 without loss in reply to Famworth's 231 for 8.

Lawton, Thompson, Rayment and Newton had all scored runs, but the innings had been built around Mike Bennison's 79. Now, however, Chee Quee was winning the game for his side, and when he reached his hundred, Ashworth, at the other end, was still in his teens. It was Lawton who broke the stand to bring Farnworth back into the tie when Bennison held on to a lofted drive from Chee Quee, at which point Thompson was brought back for a second spell after having suffered at Chee Quee's hands in his first. He took three quick wickets, including that of the obdurate Ashworth, and when Wiseman was run out, Greenmount were well and truly on the back foot. Chadwick gave them some hope, but when he was dismissed by Rayment, the asking-rate began to mount, and the end came with Greenmount 18 runs short.

For only the third time in sixty-five years, the Final was to be hosted by Walkden, and everything pointed to a closely-fought match. And with a mere eleven balls separating the two sides at the end, that was precisely what we got. Tebay and Davies got Egerton away to a sound start on a fairly slow wicket, but with Thompson, Rayment and Lawton each going for less than three an over, runs were at a premium later in the innings. Although he only took two wickets, it was probably Lawton, with his offspin, who was largely responsible for the stranglehold. Egerton skipper Keith Hornby batted soundly and reached his fifty in the final over of the innings when two sixes off Lawton gave the total some vestige of respectability at 142 for 7. General opinion that the foot should have been applied to the accelerator a bit sooner is always easy to offer from behind the safety of the boundary-rope. Similarly, doubt was expressed as to whether spinner Lawton, having done his job so well, should have been bowling the final over during which Egerton would obviously have, to use the vernacular, to give it one!

In Walkden's two previous Finals, the sides batting second had only lost one wicket in total, but it soon became clear that this precedent was not to be continued. Indeed, at 23 for 3, Farnworth were two wickets away from disaster, but with Paul Rayment playing as a professional should in those circumstances, the Bridgeman Park team gradually eased into calmer waters. A stand of 52 with Lawton, followed by another of 43 with Larry Booth showed the value of experience in a side. Nevertheless, when skipper Martin Axford joined his professional at the crease with seven overs remaining and 23 runs still needed, the pressure was still on in a game during which three an over had been the norm. An Axford boundary off Eckersley eased the situation, however, and in the end it was Rayment whose winning hit hoisted his own personal fifty and earned for him a thoroughly justified Man-of-the-Match Award. Ian Taylor had yet again performed heroics, taking 4 for 37 against the tearn of which he was soon to become a part.

The Inter-League side Won three of it's four matches in 1994, the exception coming at Walkden in the M.E.N. Trophy semi-final when the team was beaten by good cricket from the Ribblesdale League, coupled with an epidemic of dropped catches which, whilst generally untypical of our inter-league sides, proved disastrous on the day.

Our first outing was against the Bolton Association at Bradshaw in the first round of the M.E.N.Trophy. Tebay and Smith reached fifty for the first wicket, but then a tormenting little spell from David Mason reduced the situation to 54 for 4. With Steve Walsh and Mason taking a joint 4 for 35 from their twenty overs, life at this stage was far from comfortable for the batsmen, but Anderton and Lavelle showed real inter-league form as they first overcame the immediate threat, and then took the initiative. Simon Anderton ended the innings on 66 not out, carrying on his fine inter-league form from the previous year, and a hard-hit 23 from lan Taylor helped him take the home side to the comparative safety of 183 for 7.

That the League got home with relative ease was due to fine bowling from Taylor and Crookson allied to brilliant catches close to the wicket by Lavelle and Taylor, and one from substitute fielder Dave Morris which deserved the reward of his name on the scorecard rather than the anonymous 'sub'! Taylor's 1 for 15 from ten overs destroyed any hopes the Association's batsmen may have been harbouring about getting away to a flyer, whilst Mike Crookson's 5 for 27 condemned them to 70 for 6, a position from which they were never likely to recover.

Prior to the M. E.N. semi-final, a friendly match was played against the Manchester Association at Green Lane in which the League came out on top by 22 runs. After Tebay and Clarkson had gone early, David Smith and Simon Anderton came to the rescue. Smith was eventually dismissed for 76, but Anderton carried his phenomenal run at this level through to an unbeaten century by the end of the innings, which meant that his first five inter-league outings had realised 309 runs for only once out. 232 was a daunting target, but a fine 3rd-wicket stand of 90 between John Hitchmough and Phil Roughley gave the League some uneasy moments before some tightening up in their out-cricket kept the final score down to 209 for 6.

The Ribblesdale League were our opponents at Walkden in the M.E.N. semi-final, and after having lost Tebay, Smith and Clarkson in a dreadful start to the innings, a final total of 188 represented undreamt-of riches. Lavelle and Anderton had begun the recovery, but it was middle-order batsmen Jon Partington and Carl Drinkwater who really put the innings back on course. Each hit 52, Partington belligerently in 41 balls, Drinkwater a little more circumspectly, with Whittle and Crookson helping out at the end. Yet again Ian Taylor was the pick of the League's bowlers. He took two early wickets, and eventually finished with 3 for 37 from his ten overs.

With four Ribblesdale batsmen back in the pavilion reasonably quickly, the omens were good, but when Rishton and Hipgrave came together, the game took a different turning. It was now that the series of none-too difficult dropped catches occurred, any one of which would, had it been taken, almost certainly have changed the course of the game. But schoolboy howlers occur in the best-regulated of teams, and when the final delivery of the game eventually arrived at somewhere in the region of nine o'clock, the Ribblesdale League needed just a single to level the scores and go through on a 'least wickets lost' basis. This was duly achieved and, in all fairness, it would have been tragic for Rishton and Hipgrave had anything less happened.

For once, the Trinity Trophy match had to give second best to the weather. A cloudburst arrived over Golborne at the least opportune moment for the Association, who had made an excellent start to their innings. 127 for 3 with fourteen overs remaining was a good launching pad for the really big total which has eluded them for several years.

When the game was re-arranged for August Bank Holiday Monday, however, the home batsmen carried on where they had left off, and their total of 219 was the Association's highest since the series began 23 years ago. Rod Turnbull was the man who did most to put them in that position, and he was desperately unlucky to play on needing only a single for a much-deserved century. Andy Mullaney, so often a thorn in our side, added an unbeaten 77, and when the League quickly lost Smith and Morris, worrying time had arrived!

Paul Tebay was looking solid, however, and Paul Rayment hit a quick 37, but at 155 Tebay's fine innings came to an end when he was stumped off lan Nuttall. Nuttall's figures up to that point were exemplary, but that was soon to change. Steve Dublin came in to join Iqbal Sikander and, with 65 still required, much rested on the broad shoulders of the Kearsley professional. For the second year running, Dublin did not let the League down. In 1993 it had been his 38-ball half-century that had changed the course of the Trinity match. Now he went headlong for the unfortunate Nuttall, and 28 from one over, including four 6's, put the League back on course.

Eventually Dublin was caught and bowled by the excellent Turnbull (2 for 18 from 9 overs) for 42, but by this time the game was won and lost, and although the League surrendered a further two wickets, the winning hit came with two wickets and ten balls remaining. During the crash-bang excitement of the last ten overs, Tebay's innings had faded from the memory, but a good game of cricket needs varying ingredients, and without the captain's foundation-building earlier on, it's fairly safe to say that the Bolton Association would be the current Trinity Trophy holders.

Whilst the Inter-League Trophy had again eluded our senior side, the League's Under-18 team more than compensated when Charles Dagnall's side won their trophy for the fourth time in the competition's history. After the strong Northern League had hit 184, the Bolton batsmen rarely appeared to be in any trouble. Openers Richard Northrop and John Whittle put on 149 for the first wicket, a stand which paved the way for a seven-wicket win. Man-of-the-Match Northrop eventually reached 72, with Heaton's Whittle, playing on his home ground, just topping the half-century. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, with the standard of cricket matched only by the impeccable sportsmanship in which the game was played, a feature publicly commented upon by the umpires after the presentation. In the current sporting climate their remarks were equally as pleasing as had been the outcome of the day's cricket.

When Round Three of the 1994 Skipton L.C.A. Knock-out Competition was completed, all four of the Bolton League's representatives had been eliminated. When the draw was made three of our clubs, Eagley, Egerton and Greenmount, were involved in the Preliminary Round. All came through unscathed. Eagley won a potentially difficult game against a Baxenden side which included three members of the Ribblesdale League's team at Walkden, not to mention Bernard Reidy. Rather surprisingly in view of this, Baxenden were restricted to 86 for 8 in the 40 overs, a total easily shrugged off by Ward (51) and Lord (35) in 21 overs without losing a wicket.

Egerton overcame New Longton, whilst Greenmount beat Azzad by 45 runs, thanks largely to Steve Ashworth's 65. Kearsley joined in the competition in Round One, when they entertained Shawclough Village in a game which had all the makings of a Heavyweight v Featherweight boxing mismatch! And so it proved. Steve Dublin weighed in with 19 sixes in his 158, as Kearsley hit over 300, so consigning the tie to the evergrowing list of L.C.A. 'no-contests'. Greenmount got the better of Red Rose in almost as one-sided a game. Centuries from Keith Webb and Craig Wiseman saw Greenmount up to 220 for 6, before Chee Quee's 6 for 20 sent Red Rose crashing to an all-out 87.

Eagley's first round visitors were Ormskirk, finalists on previous occasions, but the home batsmen rose to the challenge as Ward (71), Strydom (45) and James Shuttleworth (63 not out) all played well. Ormskirk, a powerful batting side on their own firm wickets, failed dismally on Eagley's, being bowled out for 90 as Steve Powers took 3 for 22, an exact repeat of his figures against Baxenden. A superb 127 from Steve Storey ended Blackburn Northern's hopes at Egerton as the home side cruised to a 7-wicket win chasing 195.

Two clubs bowed out in Round Two. Eagley's run of difficult opponents continued when the draw dictated a journey to Blackpool. Batting first, the Bolton League side hit 157, rarely enough on the batsman friendly Blackpool wicket, and so it proved. The home team replied with 158 for 4, a winning score for which David Shuttleworth (3 for 5) could hardly be blamed! Pieter Strydom had contributed 68 towards Eagley's total.

Kearsley's short run in the competition came to an end at Clitheroe, where they came up against a fine all-round performance from the home professional, Wrigglesworth. The Australian took vital wickets after having hit a century, and Kearsley's defeat was, in the end, comprehensive.

Greenmount travelled to Leigh for a 2nd Round match during which they stared defeat in the face when the home side, in response to Greenmount's 155, required only a further 36 with nine wickets standing. At this point Leigh's main batsman got out, and, inspired by skipper Steve Monkhouse's four wickets, Greenmount eventually squeezed home by four runs to book a Third Round tie at Kendal. This proved the end of the road. Chee Quee acquired one of his rare noughts, Greenmount could only total 120, and went on to lose by nine wickets.

Meanwhile Egerton had been drawn away to Heyside in Round two. The home side batted first and almost inevitably Ian Taylor returned the best figures, 4 for 34, as Heyside reached 170 for 7. Egerton's thrilling win came with just one ball remaining thanks largely to Keith Homby, who hit 54, Dean Eckersley, whose 43 was vital, and Paul jackson, who showed enough courage to withstand the pressure at the end and finished with 14 not out. Things came to a halt at Leyland, however, in Round Three, when a greatly-weakened Egerton travelled to face Malcolm Marshall and his team-mates with six Under-18's and a second team batsman in the side. Leyland's 173 for 8 included 54 from Paul Berry, and if Marshall the bowler was still to have his say, Marshall the batsman had no answer to young Nigel Barlow, whose day was made by bowling the West Indian Test player. Egerton's batsmen put up a brave show, but without Homby and Davies their batting resources were just too stretched. Storey did his utmost, but when he fell for 57 the game was up, and when the last ball was bowled Egerton were 19 short.

Egerton's Paul Tebay dominated jubilee Finals day at Little Lever, when his side recaptured the Trophy as he contributed two fifties to the proceedings. His first came in Egerton's semi-final against holders Farnworth after which, with the scores tied, Egerton went through having lost fewer wickets. Tonge outplayed Bradshaw in the other semi-final, holding the Rigbys side to 109 for 9 after having hit 122 for 6. In the Final Tonge's batting came unstuck, and an all-out 109 was overtaken by Egerton. They won with 8 wickets and 10 balls to spare, Tebay's second
fifty clinching his Man-of-the-Match award.

At Bolton School Sports Centre in January, Little Lever won the Anthony Axford Indoor Trophy after beating Kearsley, Astley Bridge, Heaton and, in a low-scoring Final, Farnworth. The Little Lever side, captained by Tim Wallwork, also included Nigel Hallows, Anthony Hilton, Simon Ainsworth, Bob Waller, and the player who produced substantial figures in every round, Tony Settle. In the four games played for the Axford Trophy competition, together with two further matches as Little Lever moved into the regional finals, Settle hit 205 runs for only twice out and also took vital wickets during his team's run. After having got the better of Ramsbottom by one run in the Lancashire Area semifinal, Little Lever were comfortably beaten in the Final by Haslingden, arguably the best indoor team in the county over the past three years.

At the League Presentation Dinner in November, the awards were presented by Mr.Geoff Ogrien, Chairman of Lancashire County Cricket Committee and a former Farnworth and Worsley batsman. Perhaps the most prestigious award, that of the Hubert Pendlebury Memorial Trophy, was handed to Walkden's Frank Hinks, a gentleman whose memories of local cricket reach back farther than most. On the day before this article was despatched to the printers, Mr. Hinks had celebrated his 91st birthday, a fact made difficult to believe by his appearance and general demeanour. He was helping out on WalkAen's ground seventy-eight years ago, and although his youthful cricket was played for Walkden P.M., his life's work has been on behalf of the Harriett Street club. Thirty-two years on Walkden's committee have included five as League Representative, and when the club's President, Albert Roberts, died in February 1981, Frank Hinks was the natural successor to an office he has held with distinction ever since. He is a worthy recipient of the Pendlebury Award.

As I come to the end of this year's article with an inch or two of snow lying on the ground outside, it isn't easy to realise that in three weeks time outdoor practice, ground inspections and, indeed, pre-season friendlies will be in full swing.

In the meantime our thanks are due, as ever, to many people. To Peter Clinton, Graham Yardley and the rest at Fort Sterling Ltd., under whose sponsorship the League's flag happily flies; to the clubs who did us proud on last season's big days, notably Walkden, who did it all twice; to Little Lever for the jubilee and Tony Axford for the Indoor; and to the umpires, who continue to enjoy their cricket in spite of everything. Perhaps this coming season we can allow them to enjoy it because of everything!