By Peter Stafford (March 2001) Back
The burning questions at the start of the 2000 season ran something along the lines of 'Can Tonge do it for a fifth time?', 'Is there anyone out there capable of taking their place?' and 'If so, who?' The answers, of course, proved to be no, yes and Kearsley, in that order, and the reasons why are not difficult to fathom.
Since time immemorial, championships have been won by sides containing two, or sometimes three, bowlers capable of taking 150 to 200 wickets between them relatively cheaply, and the merest glance at bowling averages and final league tables of previous years bears this out.
In the League's earliest days it was Cec Parkin and Fred Balshaw at Tonge, Rushden and Rogerson for Eagley, and in, the-mid-forties Halton and Ainsworth at Little Lever. In the 1960's Farnworth relied on Hodgkiss, Gee and Jarvis, followed by Halsall, Bennett and Hughes. Dyson and the Eccleshares were largely responsible for Tonge's hat-trick of titles in the late 60's, whilst in 1972 Ramadhin and Brian Jones were Little Lever's main men, followed five years later by Adams and Worsley at Bradshaw.
In 1985 Eswick and Sandiford shared 195 wickets to take the title to Piggott Park, and no-one needs reminding of the recent bowling exploits of Iqbal Sikander and Ian Taylor. Indeed, in 2000, the two Tonge bowlers even managed to exceed their previous joint best, becoming the first-ever pair of bowlers from the same club to top 200 wickets in a season. But Kearsley had acquired a pair of championship-winning bowlers of their own.
Mel Whittle, returning to the club where, eight years ago, he broke the League amateur record, and Pakistani Test opener Fazal-E-Akber, matched their Tonge counterparts in every aspect other than volume of wickets. That was hardly surprising, since they bowled 257 overs less than Taylor and Sikander, although had they bowled those 'missing' overs and taken wickets-per-over at their average rate, they would have finished with 216!
Of Whittle's 458 overs, an astonishing 38 per cent were maidens, whilst of Fazal's 84 wickets, an equally surprising 71 per cent were obtained without any help from his fielders. All in all, it's fairly safe to add those two names to the list of title-winning bowling combinations listed above.
For all bar a couple of weeks in late May when they suffered their only losing draw of the season at Horwich, Kearsley led the table. Their form during June and July was practically faultless when of the eight matches finished during that period, they won seven, taking 154 points out of a possible 160. Tonge, on the other hand, won only two games in those two months, and by the beginning of August had, to all intents and purposes, fallen out of the race.
Eventual runners-up Egerton managed to keep in touch with the leaders until the final half-dozen matches, but when inclement weather and Parida's innings dictated that Egerton were denied a finish to their game against Heaton on the day that Kearsley steam-rollered Little Lever, the Longworth Road challenge had virtually come to an end, with 51 points separated the top two sides. The following Saturday Egerton, still mathematically in contention, nervously edged home by three wickets against Greenmount, whilst Kearsley, at home to Farnworth Social Circle, were asked to get 128 after Richard Hope's 75 out of an all-out 127 had saved his team from embarrassment.
Kearsley made a dreadful start, losing five wickets for 50, but then Chris Monks joined Tom Whittle and, as recovery acts go, theirs was as good as it gets. In an unbroken stand they reached the target to ensure that the 51 points gap between the top two sides remained in place. Twenty-four hours later Kearsley went into their game at Heaton requiring just ten points to clinch the club's eighth outright championship. In point of fact, however, they only managed four when, in spite of a typical Mel Whittle bowling performance (25-7-59-4) Heaton batted their way to 182 for 8. In reply, Kearsley were bowled to their first defeat of the season as Johnathon West and Mark Mort sent them packing for 139. It was all academic, though, when news came through that Farnworth Social Circle had overcome Egerton at Piggott Park in a match with scores similar to those at Lower Pools. The Warburton Cup was presented to Simon Thompson, and the celebrations began.
As things turned out, Kearsley didn't have much left to celebrate on the field. The following weekend they were dismantled by Tonge, who probably thought that they had something of a point to prove, and on the last day of the season Iqbal Sikander took his 800th wicket in seven years for the club, as Egerton capitulated at Castle Hill to let Tonge into a final third place. But it had been Kearsley's season and whilst bowlers win matches and, ultimately, titles, it's always handy to have a batsman on board who is capable of reaching four figures. Jason Swift, having settled into his third Bolton League 'home' at Springfield Road, enjoyed a superb season, his 1,107 taking him seven runs past Craig Duxbury's previous club record. Each of his innings was attractive to watch; many of them were important, none moreso than his 120 at Tonge on the first day of July when no other of his team-mates could manage 20.
Jason cleaned up on the awards front. League Batting Prize - Batsman of the season - Highest Individual score - Most Six-hits. How he managed not to win the prize for the fastest fifty is anybody's guess! He was variously backed-up by Simon Thompson, Daren Foy, John Ratledge and Tom Whittle, each of whom produced at least one match-winning innings, although all four are capable of more runs than they produced overall last year. In the coming season, without Swift, they will get their chance! Jon Partington's 31 victims took him past Brian Krikken in the career list, whilst Swift and Tom Whittle were outstanding in the field, a fact confirmed by their joint 30 catches.
Elsewhere, Egerton enjoyed an excellent season, losing only twice prior to the title being decided. Professional Neil McGarrell proved a first-class signing in every meaning of the expression, ending with over 650 runs and 85 reasonably cheap wickets in addition to providing a lot of eye-catching work in the field. Tim Barry's 612 runs made him eighth amateur batsman in the final averages, although with the ball he probably didn't bowl enough overs, finishing fifth among the amateurs but with only 27 wickets. Stuart Hornby took 66 and, along with Barry, will be badly missed at Longworth Road.
Bradshaw began their season well. The halfway stage found them in fourth place and well in contention, but Potgieter's absence was keenly felt in the second half following his return to South Africa, and nine defeats in the last 11 matches told it's own story. Sairaj Bahutule and David Morris combined to hit over 2,000 runs. Their club record 2nd wicket stand of 265 against Astley Bridge was just one of several impressive partnerships between the pair, but later in the season the Rigbys side had acquied something of an air of a two-man batting team, Bahutule took 81 wickets with his leg-spin, but at a price, and a lack of support in the attack meant that he usually had to be overbowled. Ian Nuttall's 27 wickets, too, were expensive, although he had the satisfaction of going past the 1,000-wicket mark in league cricket.
At Little Lever Justin Orchard narrowly failed to reach four figures for the second consecutive year, Jon Kerrigan hit his first 500-plus total, Paul Rayment and Lee Baldwin batted well, and Mark Martin and Anthony Hilton had their moments. Run scoring was rarely a problem, as eight totals in excess of 200 and several more near misses would suggest. But too often their bowling lacked penetration, and their five leading wicket-takers could only manage 150 between them. Things looked up in that respect, however, during the final four games, and straight wins over Walkden, Astley Bridge, Bradshaw and Farnworth, all of whom were bowled out, saw Little Lever edge into fourth place two points ahead of Westhoughton.
Westhoughton themselves had a fair season without ever really challenging for honours. They were never out of the top six, but whilst only four games were lost, they drew more than any of their top-half rivals. The usually prolific Ian Pilkington had a disappointing year with the bat, in which department only Shahid Mahboob and Steve Parker, with a joint 1,200 runs, achieved par. Holder took 64 wickets and Mahbbob 54, but Bhanabhai's 32 were not enough from a bowling professional, and surely Mike Crookson is too good a spinner to average five overs per match.
In recent years Walkden have turned inconsistency into something of an art form, indiscriminately beating the best and losing to the worst. To a certain extent this kind of form was carried into 2000, when they beat Tonge, Egerton and Greenmount, who finished above them, and played poorly in games against Eagley, Horwich and Farnworth, who didn't. Skipper Mike Bennison was comfortably their best player, hitting over 900 runs, and surely the side he will lead into the new season, consisting as it does, of six players of inter-league standard, two county cricketers, and a couple of excellent young prospects, will provide the kind of consistent solidity necessary to put in a bid for some silverware.
David White and Grant Long resumed their partnership at Horwich, and if they didn't quite reproduce their superb form of nine years ago when they combined to carve 2,333 runs and 179 wickets, they did have an excellent year with joint 1,560 and 114. In the third game of the season against Greenmount White carried his bat for 77 through an all-out 156, something that doesn't happen every day of the week. I always try to include a new statistical list in each season's handbook, to the exasperation of my typesetter, it has to be said! Perhaps a rundown of those batsmen who have achieved that particular feat could provide next year's feature. There certainly won't be many!
Brad White returned excellent all-round figures as Eagley's professional, taking 60 wickets and falling just short of a thousand runs. Saeed Anwar, though, was the top pro of 2000, and was justly awarded the Prize as such. He just managed to squeeze past 1,000 runs on the last day of the season to add to his 92 wickets, whilst his innings in both Trinity Cup and the Hamer Cup Final went a long way towards securing the two trophies for the League and club. Rashmi Parida impressed mightily with his batting technique and temperament at Heaton, and for the same club, Gary Garner became the first locally-born amateur in the League's history to achieve the 1,000 runs/50 wicket double.
Astley Bridge's professional, Sher Ali, found a tremendous vein of form towards the end of the season to finish with 830 runs. He his six half-centuries in the last eight games, but is all came too late to prevent his side ending the season at the bottom of the table.
It was decided at the AGM that 2000 should be the last season for the foreseeable future during which overseas amateur players would be allowed. They enjoyed their swansong, especially with the bat. I've already mentioned Swift and Orchard, but even they were overshadowed by Mike O'Rourke, who hit 1,315 runs for Greenmount, breaking two club records and completing 5,000 runs for Greenmount in his first five years in the League, the first ever batsman to achieve that particular feat. Jamie Wilson, Stuart Anderson and Gary Elliott each turned in good all round figures for Eagley, Farnworth and Social Circle respectively, whilst Travis Sawers, Danny Payne and David Celep between them hit around 2,000 runs for their clubs.
With the ball it was a little different. Only Patrick Holder, with 64, exceeded 50 wickets, although I would point out to the Kearsley captain that Jason Swift, in the 14 overs he was allowed, took six wickets. If Iqbal Sikander had achieved that kind of wickets per over ratio, he would have taken 264!
In all, last season's overseas amateurs hit 8,063 runs in 271 innings, and bowled 1,556 overs during the course of which they took 249 wickets, figures which might give some credence to the point of view which argues that their domination is robbing our own players, especially those still making their way in the game, of the chance to participate and improve. That, of course, has to be weighed against the counter argument which points out that young players can learn from playing alongside and watching the likes of Swift, O'Rourke, Marsh, Tucker and Farhart, not to mention the spectator pleasure that is derived from their presence on local grounds. The wisdom or otherwise behind the rule-change will not be immediately apparent. We shall need to wait four or five years before we can judge the effect that it has had on our game.
The 2000 Hamer Cup competition suffered a poor start at the hands of the weather. Five of the six First Round ties were completed at some point between Sunday lunchtime and Tuesday night, while the one between Egerton and Horwich had to be re-arranged for a later date.
Bradshaw didn't take long to dispose of Astley Bridge in spite of a defiant 46 from skipper James Shuttleworth. Potgieter took 5 for 14, and Bahutule and Nuttall the other five before the home side reached their target of 112 thanks to one of those unbroken 2nd-wicket stands between Bahutule and Morris.
Heaton's tie at Little Lever went into the second day after Rayment's 59 had helped push his side up to 170 all out, with Garner and Tim Barrow taking seven of the wickets fairly cheaply. Heaton's reply was halted overnight on 110 for 2 before Garner's unbeaten 61 completed a fine all-round performance and took his team through.
A good team batting performance by Kearsley at Dunscar left Eagley needing 194 for victory. Half-centuries from openers Brad White and Nigel Franklyn gave them the sound start they required, but thereafter they lost their way in the face of three run-outs in the middle of the innings and too many maiden overs from Mel Whittle. When the end came Eagley were only seven runs short of their target.
It was a day for the record books at Greenmount, where the home side racked up 409 for 4 against Farnworth, after O'Rourke and Anwar (143) had put on 305 for the first-wicket. O'Rourke's 181 was the highest-ever score for the Brandlesholme Road club, Jamie Horrox weighed in with an unbeaten 56, and all that remained was the question of whether or not Farnworth could reach 205, which would have created a new Hamer Cup aggregate total record. In spite of excellent contributions from the two Aussies, Anderson (74) and Childs (45), they subsided three runs short at 202 for 9.
The most nerve-racking finish occurred at Tonge where, on the Sunday, visitors Farnworth Social Circle used up all their overs in scoring 116 for 9, of which skipper Craig Lavelle hit 32. For once, Sikander and Taylor were outbowled by Steve Shepley, who took 5 for 16 from his ten overs. At that point rain ended play for the day, and when the tie resumed on Monday evening, Tonge struggled in much the same way to 76 for 5 from 29 overs. Three further wickets fell during the final Tuesday session before Tonge limped home thanks largely to Nigel Hallows and batsman Shepley, with two wickets and 33 balls remaining.
In the delayed tie between Egerton and Horwich, Egerton had McGarrell, Graham Firth and Tim Barry to thank for their all-out 187. In reply Horwich appeared to be out of it at 21 for 3, before a superb 4th wicket stand of 118 between Long (73) and White (45) turned the game on its head. After their dismissal, however, the Horwich tail subsided, and the anticipated close finish didn't materialise.
Yet again the weather played havoc with the start of Round Two, and three weeks went by before the names of the four semi-finalists became known. Two matches were somehow completed on the due day. At Bradshaw, Greenmount made a bad start, when Anwar and O'Rourke between them made 320 less than they had hit in Round One! It was left to Mark Fallon, Andy Bowker and top-scorer Mark Stewart (45) to turn things round, and a final total of 180 for 9 must have seemed a long way off at hardly anything for two. Bahutule, who had taken 6 for 90, gave the home side a good start, along with Morris and Potgieter, but once those three had gone, Anwar whittled away at the remainder, and his 6 for 55 meant that Bradshaw fell 24 short.
Over at Walkden, Egerton's 157 for 8 looked to be enough as Mike Bennison's side slumped to 34 for 5. At this point Andy Seddon and Bernard Reidy came together and, to cut a long and quite inspiring story short, the next wicket fell at 156. Both batsmen played superbly, and after Reidy had gone for 60, John Smith nicked the winning runs with three balls remaining, leaving Andy Seddon unbeaten on 51.
The following week Kearsley saw off Heaton in a fairly unremarkable game. Heaton owed a lot to Tim Barrow's 40, finishing on 127 for 7, a total that never really offered much of a challenge to the champions elect, who passed the winning post with five wickets in hand. A further fortnight had elapsed before Westhoughton and Tonge were able to bring Round Two to a conclusion. A Shahid Mahboob half-century got Westhoughton away to a decent start, but Sikander's grip on the middle order contained the Tyldesleys side to 138 for 8. Three wickets for Mahboob kept his team in the hunt, but a final partnership between Simon Anderton and Jim Aspden eventually carried the day as Tonge cruised home by five wickets.
The weather relented briefly for the semi-finals for which Greenmount were drawn away at Kearsley, whilst Walkden entertained Tonge. Bearing in mind that Walkden had demolished Tonge the previous day, and that Kearsley were going into the game on the back of seven straight wins, one of which had been an emphatic victory over Greenmount, anyone could have been excused for making the two home sides firm favourites, but it didn't work out that way.
At Kearsley Mike O'Rourke rediscovered his form from Round One and hit a superb 126 out of 224 for 7 to put Greenmount firmly on the victory trail. Two other players made major contributions to the win. Mark Fallon scored 32 and took 4 for 22, which included the priceless wicket of Jason Swift, and Saeed Anwar took the other six for 21, leaving Kearsley more than a little shell-shocked by their 158-run defeat.
Tonge, too went past the 200, just, with eight of their batsmen reaching double figures in a final total of 202 for 8. Anderton, with 52, yet again played a captain's innings when it mattered. When Walkden got to the crease only Dave Smith, with 70, managed to get to grips with Sikander, who ended the game with 8 for 71 from his 19 overs as the chances of an exciting finish diminished just about as rapidly as they had at Kearsley.
So it was to be a re-run of the Tonge v Greenmount Final of 1990, when Tonge came out on top at Bradshaw. It was to be played at Horwich, the venue for the first of Greenmount's previous three unsuccessful ventures into Hamer Cup Final territory. On this occasion, however, they had the best of all possible starts, getting rid of Hallows and Anderton with the game only minutes old. After that, Tonge's batsmen never really appeared settled as Stewart, Anwar and Fallon nagged away at them. The final wicket fell at 133 with one ball remaining, and Anwar had taken 5 for 49 to give him a total Hamer Cup haul of 20 wickets for 194 runs from the club's four ties. What seemed on the surface to be a reasonably easy target, even taking Taylor and Sikander into account, suddenly assumed more ominous proportions as Greenmount's first three wickets, those of Andy Williams, skipper Gary Chadwick and the dangerous O'Rourke, went down for 15 runs, all to the Tonge professional. Another wicket at that point, especially that of Anwar, and Greenmount would have been in serious trouble, but Saeed dug in, and, ably assisted by Jamie Horrox, gradually pulled the innings round. The new rule which allows only one bowler to exceed ten overs came to their help when Taylor was removed from the attack after conceding just 12 runs, and as Anwar began to open out, it became apparent that Greenmount's Cup Final hoodoo was at an end. Horrox went for an invaluable 27 and it was left to Mark Fallon to keep his professional company as the final few winning runs were gathered in the light rain which had now begun to fall as if determined to have the last word. Iqbal had bowled unchanged at one end, and his final figures of 23-9-34-3 were not those of a man who deserved to finish on the losing side.
But the day belonged to his compatriot Saeed Anwar, left undefeated on 78, only the fifth player in the 71 years of the competition to complete a Hamer Cup Final double of 50 and five wickets. Greenmount's success was fully deserved. In the final couple of rounds they had been faced with opposition of championship quality and had come through with flying colours. Now all that remained as a happy Gary Chadwick was handed the trophy was to thank the Horwich club for the excellence of their arrangements on a day when they weren't blessed with the kind of weather they would have chosen.
Most of the headlines in 2nd Team cricket were created by Farnworth Social Circle, who won the championship, and Heaton who came out on top after a splendid Birtwistle Cup Final at Tonge.
By the halfway stage Social Circle had become involved in something of a dogfight with Bradshaw, Eagley and Kearsley, but a couple of weeks later they moved to the top after beating Bradshaw, and there they stayed until, with four programmes remaining, they had built up a seemingly unassailable lead of 42 points. At this juncture they suffered the embarrassment of being bowled out for 41 by Kearsley, but the following day they bounced back at Egerton, and the championship was safe.
Whilst Gary Murphy, Adam Green and, in particular Ian Edwards batted well over the season, it was the bowling attack that did most to bring the Howarth Cup to Piggott Park. Tony Bradley and Jon Mulligan each took 64 wickets at 13's, Andrew Ogden and Ian Edwards shared another 47, and all four finished in the top dozen in the final averages. As I said in the second paragraph of this article, championships are won by bowlers, and Tony Bradley, with 230 wickets in the last three years, has been Mr. Reliable in that department of the game. Wicketkeeper Simon Booth, too, had an outstanding season adding 31 scalps to his 304 runs.
He didn't quite match Heaton's Gareth Carson, however, who won the League Prize with 36 victims, adding 710 runs for good measure. Winners of the Batting and Bowling awards were Little Lever's Gary Pilling, who hit 1,046 runs, and the evergreen Chris Lomax of Kearsley, whose 66 wickets came at ten runs apiece. Nigel Duxbury finished only 72 runs behind Pilling, and the third-highest runscorer, Steve Butcher, enjoyed a day to remember when, in the Birtwistle Cup semi-final at Greenmount, he hit an unbeaten 210 out of a total of 397 for 1 to take his side into the Castle Hill Final.
In the Final Tonge made an excellent start when Rob Rawlinson (79) and Alan Bradbury (44) put on 109 for the first wicket, but the introduction of Paul Mort into the attack swung the game around. Tonge's ambitions were severely pegged back when he took four wickets in 11 balls, and it was his eventual 5 for 40 that did most to restrict the home side to 221, rather than, as looked possible at one stage, somewhere around 250.
Heaton's start, however, was as bad as Tonge's had been good. 11 for 2 was improved to a certain extent by Steve Butcher's 45, but it was Mort, in partnership with Andy Patterson, who yet again came to his side's rescue. Together the pair took Heaton to within sight of victory, and when Patterson was run out for an excellent 58, Nigel Smith came in to hit an undefeated 36, ending the match with a six over mid-wicket. It later transpired that Smith had broken a finger during the course of his innings, but he hardly noticed, such is the adrenalin of a cup final. But it was Paul Mort's unbeaten 50, and his general air of authority, which had proved Heaton's trump card, and the Man-of-the-Match award which followed was as inevitable and hard-earned as had been the one he won three years previously at Little Lever.
The Inter-League season, sadly, was only spread over two matches. The first, against the Northern League in Round One of the M.E.N. Competition at Eagley, appeared to be going the way of the home side as the Northern League struggled to 104 for 7 in the face of some accurate bowling from Shahid Mahboob, Chris Barrow, Matt Parkinson and Dean Eckersley. But then Leyland's Brian Tennant played the first of his two match-winning hands. Coming in at No. 9, he completely turned the game on its head, hitting an unbeaten 62 as a further 89 runs took away the Bolton side's control over its destiny.
Chasing 194, the Bolton League had started to bring the match back on to an even keel at 52 for 2, when Tennant stepped in again to destroy the middle order and put the target out of reach. Five wickets fell for one run, and although Taylor, Shepley and Barrow, at 9, 10 and 11, combined to hit a joint 82 runs, it was a lost cause, and the final losing margin was one of 45 runs.
Episode Two of the inter-league story, the Trinity Cup, had an altogether happier ending from the League's point of view. It was played at Adlington, and the whole day was made memorable by the atmosphere, the standard of cricket played, the large crowd basking in a picturesque setting, and the superb arrangements made by the host club's officials. Unlike their Horwich counterparts on Hamer Cup Final day, they had the advantage of ideal weather conditions, and so too, did the League's batsmen. They were given first use of a wicket that looked full of runs, and Gary Garner and Sairaj Bahutule duly cashed in with scores of 66 and 78 respectively. However, the real fireworks came from the prolific Saeed Anwar, whose 100 arrived in just 58 minutes from 62 balls, and an eventual total of 295 for 6 meant that, in real terms, the game was virtually over by the tea-interval. There was still time, though, for yet another outstanding innings from the Standish professional Arindam Sarker, who hit 95 of the Association's 195 for 8. Whilst never reaching the heights as a contest, the day had, in every respect, been one to enjoy and to remember.
On the final Sunday of the Season a ground-breaking 2nd XI Inter-League match was played against the Central Lancashire League at Tonge. The Bolton side, batting first, was given a decent start by Steve Butcher and Gary Pilling, who added 58 for the first wicket, of which Butcher hit 44. With 10 overs remaining, the score had reached 122 for 3, but from that point the last seven wickets fell for only another 22 runs. On the face of things, 144 seemed to be an inadequate total to have to defend, but Brendan Biggar bowled well to take 3 for 29 from his ten overs. Paul Mort took another couple with consecutive deliveries, and at 76 for 6, the home side were having things their own way.
That was the full extent of their success, however, as Welsby and Butterworth, whose joint 6 for 57 before tea had caused the Bolton collapse, answered their team's call for a second time with an unbroken stand of 71 to win an inaugural match which, hopefully, will become an annual event.
Four of our five entrants came through the first round of the Thwaites L.C.B. Trophy unscathed. The exception was Westhoughton, who went down at Blackrod largely thanks to an excellent performance by the former Kearsley all-rounder David Morris. A fine innings of 120 from Simon Anderton saw Tonge safely through against Leigh, whilst half-centuries by Tim Barry, David Smith and Bradshaw's David Morris were important as their sides beat Golborne, Dalton and Cheshire Lines respectively.
Bradshaw's progress came to an end at Little Hulton in Round Two, however, as did Tonge's at Northern. Walkden easily survived the trip to South West Manchester, thanks to 50s from Mike Bennison and Matt Parkinson, and Egerton won by 60 runs after having batted first at Southport Trinity. A productive opening stand between Keith Hornby and Johnny Mills, each of whom hit 40, had given the visitors a good start towards their eventual rather disappointing 146, but three cheap wickets apiece for Barry and the two Hornsby's ensured Egerton's progress into Round Three, at which point they were well beaten at Netherfield by 101 runs.
Walkden's win at Walshaw owed almost everything to a sixth wicket stand between Tony Keays, who was run out one short of a deserved half-century, and Bernard Reidy, who was unbeaten of 45 as Walkden got home with four wickets and five and a half overs to spare. Skipper Mike Bennison's all-round value to his side was underlined in this game, in which he opened the bowling and took 2 for 11 from his quota of nine overs, not bad figures for the club's indoor wicket-keeper!
Left to carry the Bolton League's flag alone in the quarter finals, Walkden made further progress by beating Padiham, thanks to a 50 by Keays and supporting runs from Bennison and Reidy. Padiham made a good start in pursuit of a target of 178, but Parkinson's five wickets took out the Ribblesdale League club's middle order, and another three from Reidy saw Walkden comfortably into the semi-final, where their progress was due to come to an end at home to Ormskirk. That they came unstuck was principally due to an excellent all-round performance from David Snellgrove, whose bowling caused a middle innings collapse as Walkden struggled to 128 all out. He then hit 51 as the Liverpool Competition side won by seven wickets. Walkden had been hampered by an injury to David Smith which prevented him from bowling and restricted his batting, and they owed a lot to Tony Keays for his early 45 and to John Hinks, who played well towards the end of the innings.
The inaugural Finals Day of the newly-established Lyddon Cup was held, as ever, at Little Lever on the last day of the season, and was notable for two reasons. Firstly, for the fact that 945 runs were accumulated in the day's play, almost certainly a record number, and secondly, that at the 24th time of asking, the host club finally managed to win the competition. That Little Lever should win the Lyddon Cup was as appropriate as Astley Bridge's 3rd Team winning the Reuben Mather Memorial Trophy earlier in the season, and for the same reason.
In the semi-finals Little Lever beat Horwich by 32 runs. Justin Orchard scored 89 out of a total of 173 for 8, whilst for Horwich Andy Taylor replied with an unbeaten 62. Kearsley bowled Westhoughton out for 131, 17 short of their target, and it was remarkable on such a high scoring day that, in the two semi-finals, four bowlers, Darren Preston, Justin Orchard, Mel Whittle and Mike Crookson, each took four wickets for less than 30 runs.
Orchard repeated his batting heroics in the Final, hitting 87, whilst Mark Martin added an undefeated 42 to a total of 179 for 4. In fading light Kearsley were in deep trouble when Jon Partington (40) joined John Ratledge (84), but together they added 105 for the 4th wicket, to take their side to the brink of victory. But by now the light had gone completely, and despite a valiant effort from Mel Whittle in the last over, Kearsley were five runs short at the end.
Stephen Lyddon presented the Cup to Anthony Hilton, Justin Orchard was rightly named Man-of-the-Match, and it was disappointing that the whole thing had to end in poor light and drizzle after such a tremendous day's cricket.
Walkden carried all before them yet again in the Anthony Axford Indoor Competition, winning it for the third consecutive year before going forward into the various national finals. On the domestic front they disposed of Egerton, Farnworth Social Circle and Eagley without too much trouble, before meeting Astley Bridge in the final. The new-look Bridge side pushed them hard all the way, but in the end it was the bowling of the Smith brothers that proved the difference as Walkden edged home by 11 runs. Both clubs qualified for the Old Trafford L.C.B Finals, thanks to Walkden having won the Manchester Competition yet again.
In the Indoor Centre semi-finals, Astley Bridge lost theirs to MSJ Combined, whilst Walkden once again beat Haslingden by 37 runs to underline the fact that they seem to have taken over the top spot in the county from the Lancashire League club.
In the Final MSJ were trounced by 44 runs, a huge difference in the indoor game. Walkden's total of 140 for 3 contained fine innings from Bennison and Parkinson, whose running togather was spectacular, to say the least, and a late unbeaten 27 from Dave Smith, all of which left their opponents with much too high a target.
In the North of England Finals, again at Old Trafford, Walkden, as last year, faltered at the last hurdle, losing to Bradford League champions Pudsey Congs by 10 runs with an over remaining, when Dave Smith's desparate dive for safety was marginally beaten by a brilliant throw. In the two previous rounds Walkden had seen off the champions from Derbyshire and Staffordshire and once again the side consisting of Karl Bates, Phil Ingram, Matt Parkinson, David and John Smith and Skipper Mike Bennison, had been a credit to the Bolton League, both on and off the 'field'
At the League Presentation Dinner, Little Lever's Alan Lansdale bacame the third member of his family to be awarded the Hubert Pendlebury Memorial Trophy for his services to the League. As a one-club player, 8,000 runs and almost 400 wicket-keeping victims says all there is to say. As a captain, he guided Little Lever to two cup and league doubles, and to success at Old Trafford in the Lancashire K.O. Trophy. And as a very active committee-man he has worked tirelessly on and off the field on behalf of a club which has occupied a very large slice of his life. No club or league would survive without people of Lanny's quality and character, and the award was timely and well-merited.
The greatest upheaval during the winter months has undoubtedly been the withdrawal, albeit a reluctant one, of our long-standing sponsors, Fort James Ltd. It has been a genuine partnership which has spanned 13 years, possibly the longest such arrangement in Lancashire cricket, and we as a league will forever be indebted to Graham Yardley, Peter Clinton, Philip Beale, Eric Hutchinson, Gerry Atherton and the rest of our friends within the company. We have gained immeasurably from their support, and hope that they, in return, have felt the association to have been a worthwhile and enjoyable one. To move seamlessly into a similar arrangement with another sponsor was not something we visualised as being a simple matter, but thanks in part to Graham Yardley, to the time and effort spent by Vice-Chairman Derek Kay and his sub-committee, and to the initiative of our new sponsors themselves, just such an arrangement is in process of being put into place.
All the signs and omens are good. Warburtons is a highly respected local company. They are also cricket minded in their outlook, a fact borne out by the Warburtons Cricket Experience venture, which, on its travels around the county, has become a familiar sight at schools and cricket grounds.
In 1930, when the Bolton League was formed, Ald. Henry Warburton, the company's founding father, was invited to be our first League President, and he, in turn, provided us with the Warburton Cup, the 1st XI Championship Trophy which our clubs have contested now for over 70 years. The wheel, it might be said, has turned full circle, and we look forward to a long and mutually rewarding liaison between company and league.
Our thanks are also due to Anthony Axford Ltd. for their continued sponsorship of the Indoor Cricket Competition, which has been up and running now since January 1978. The competition is unique in the county and for all I know, in the country. It is hugely enjoyable for players and spectators alike, and for that (and for other reasons), we remain indebted to Tony an Martin, and to Fred Elmore, who organises the 'indoor' on an annual basis.
Thanks also to the clubs who so efficiently organised and hosted the various cup finals and inter-league games last season, and also to two people who have been neglected in this article over the years, Bernard Potter and Eric Smith, for looking after our trophies and making sure they are always where they should be. To them, to the groundsmen, players and officials, to the umpires who will have further responsibilities in the coming season due to the new laws both silly and sensible (that's the laws, not the umpires!).
To all of you... under our new banner, the Warburtons Bolton Cricket League, have an enjoyable season.