By Peter Stafford (March 2005) Back
Fifty years ago the three Ws, Weekes, Worrell and Walcott, were one of the
main talking points in cricket. Last season in the Warburtons Bolton League a
different three W's provided much of the discussion in the local game a to where
the honours would end up. The Three W's in question were Westhoughton, Walkden,
and Which one?
In the end, of course, the 'one' turned out to be Westhoughton, who came to
within touching distance of the unbelievable treble of Warburton, Hamer and
Thwaites trophies.
After a blip in the season's first match, a very undistinguished losing draw at
the hands of Greenmount, Steve Parker's side embarked on an astonishing run of
12 League and Cup games of which they lost only one That, tellingly, was at home
to their main rivals Walkden. It was a match that was Westhoughton's for the
taking when, chasing 239, they had reached 178 for 3 with skipper Parker and
Antonio Mayers each having passed 80. From then on it became an uphill struggle
as Slater, Dave Sirdth and Ingrain took the last seven wickets for 55 runs. The
only other time they came unstuck during the first half of the season was when
Heaton's Hirward and Fearick, having taken all Westhoughton's ten wickets
between them, then shared over half the required runs in a shock two-wicket win.
Other than that, however, it was fairly plain sailing for the Tyldesleys side,
who proved themselves equally adept at chasing totals of 200-plus and bowling
sides out, and at the halfway stage the eventual champions had opened up a
15-point lead over Walkden.
The second half, however, was nip and tuck all the way, with Walkden regaining
the lead at the end of July, thanks to Westhoughton's third and final defeat of
the season at Egerton on the eve of the Hamer Cup Final.
Walkden remained at the top for another couple of weeks, but then a narrow
defeat at Tonge in spite of Karl Bates' fine half century, coupled with
Westhoughton's Mayers and Coates-inspired win over Farnworth on the same day,
edged Westhoughton back into pole position, where they stayed until they had
assured themselves of the title. It wasn't all plain sailing though.
At teatime on August 29th, Walkden had bowled Bradshaw out for 44, whilst across
town at Piggott Park Westhoughton themselves had been dismissed by Cunningham
and Eckersley for 54. Had Westhoughton lost that match, as surely they ought to
have done, then the title race would have been well and truly back in the
melting-pot with just a couple of games remaining. But Mayers (5 for 14) and
Hart (4 for 24) came to their side's rescue, unbelievably toppling Circle for
43, and that after the home side had reached the dizzy heights of 27 for l! But
then five more wickets fell with out a run being added, and Westhoughton's 20
unexpected points meant that a win at Heaton in the season's penultimate game
would suffice. For the leaders the omens were positive. Twice in the previous
four years the Warburton Cup had been presented to the winning captain following
a match at Lower Pools. On the other hand, Heaton were going into the game with
the confidence of a team who had already beaten Westhoughton earlier in the
season.
But when the home side batted first, their hopes began to sink as Mayers and
Hart carried on where they had left off at Piggott Park. Wickets fell at regular
intervals to the two bowlers, and, at 73 for 9, all seemed lost for Paul
Rayment's side. Mayers had become only the third bowler in the club's history
after Frank Harrison and Dick Pollard to take 100 wickets in a season, and his
joint tally of 154 with Paul Hart was the best by a Westhoughton pair for 62
years. It was at this point, however, that Paul Mort joined Simon Booth in what
could have proved a decisive last wicket stand.
Paul, who was drafted into the side at the last minute, hadn't played first team
cricket for the previous four or five years, but together, he and Booth added 67
to provide Hirwani with something of a total at which to bowl. Westhoughton's
batsmen would have been all too aware that back in July Fearick and his
professional had bowled them out for 104, but Pilkington, as ever in 2004, dug
deep to give his side the solid start they required, and a final flourish from
Mayers, whose unbeaten 47 came from 23 balls, heralded the club's first
championship success since 1980, when Arthur Sutton was pro and Mike Watkinson
just beginning to assert himself as a talented 19 year-old.
No-one could argue with Westhoughton's right to the title. They had won more,
and lost fewer, than any other side, and, as League runners-up on three
occasions in the last six years, they must have been heartily sick of the sight
of the Hulton Trophy!
Antonio Mayers enjoyed a memorable season, finishing a mere 53 runs away from
becoming only the third player, after Reidy and Rayment, to achieve the 1,000
run/100 wicket double. The entertainment factor was quite high, too, with his
947 runs coming from 924 deliveries faced. Ian Pilkington's 801 runs were vital
to the club's cause, too, not only in volume, but by the manner in which he
always seemed to save his best efforts for the big occasion, not least on that
final, title-securing day at Heaton when, incidentally, he went past 10,000 runs
for the club, only the third behind Brian Cole and David Morris to achieve the
target at one club. Skipper Steve Parker always led from the front, hitting 737
runs, and forming a reliable opening partnership with Pilkington, whilst Adam
Coates, Rick Parker, Alan Gaskell, and the Atherton brothers, Mark and Paul,
each enjoyed special match-winning moments.
If the bowling was dominated by Mayers and Hart the Hamer Cup brought out the
best in Ranjit Bhanabhai, whose 30 overs in the competition cost only a miserly
71 runs, and Craig McKellar who, in the final two stages took 7 for 50,
including a crucial 4 for 22 in the low-scoring semi-final against Farnworth.
All in all then, it was a genuine team effort, with regular contributions to an
outstanding double campaign from everyone within the squad.
Walkden who ran their rivals so close for almost the whole of the year, were
helped for the fourth consecutive season by 900-plus runs from a batting
professional, in this case Peter Roach, who totalled 936. Mike Bennison hit 747
and Dave Smith predictably recovered his batting form, contributing 706 runs, as
well as winning the League Bowling Prize for the second consecutive season.
Bernard Reidy, who seems to remain completely impervious to the aging process,
took 42 cheap wickets and averaged 28 with the bat.
Greenmount, the only other club to top the table during 2004, albeit only
briefly, owed much to the batting of Nishit Shetty, which was as easy on the eye
as it was effective on the scoreboard. With 1,313 runs, he became the seventh
Greenmount professional to top 1,000 runs, and the club was, as ever, indebted
to Player-of-the-Year Mark Stewart, who ended the season just one wicket short
of the hundred.
For many people, however, in spite of the achievements of the three clubs
already mentioned, Tonge would have been well in the running for any
'club-of-the-year` award. Seemingly in dire straits during the run-up to the
season, they recovered to the extent that, not only did they win the senior
Special Competition, but also finished fourth and thus qualified for the 2005
Thwaites LCB Trophy. Adil Nisar enjoyed yet another superb season. His 1,411 run
tally included a new League record individual score of 221 not out, whilst with
the ball, deserting his normal leg-spin out of necessity in favour of seam-up,
he contributed 75 wickets, easily his best ever total in a Bolton League season.
Incidentally, during his four years at Castle Hill, he has averaged 1,217 runs
per season, and needs only another 131 to enter the '5000-list' in record time.
Simon Anderton supported him to perfection, hitting 750 runs to win the League
Batting Prize, whilst Danny Rees' 457 runs and 42 wicket-keeping victims were
central to the recovery, as were Saffy Ismail's 516 runs. Two young bowlers who
came into prominence were Adam Street and Kevin Bath, who combined to take 63
wickets, whilst behind the scenes, Tonge's resurgence was due in no small
measure to the pre-season efforts of David Barlow, who, along with Simon
Anderton, devoted so much of their time to ensure the club's survival.
Elsewhere, Eagley's excellent season was a tribute to the work, on and off the
field, of their professional/ captain/ coach Mike (O'Rourke, whose 981 runs and
44 wickets reflected just a small part of his total value to the club. Steve
Foster, who has become a different bowler since adjusting his pace, finished
second only to Mark Stewart in the amateur wicket-taking stakes. His final total
of 74 was the third highest by an Eagley amateur since the League was formed in
1930, a figure only previously bettered by Jack Rogerson and Shahid Mahboob.
David White yet again compared favourably with the best with both bat and ball,
finishing with 873 runs and 83 wickets~ whilst Amal Dalugoda (708 and 69), Ryan
Cunningham (82 wickets) and Mark Price (72), performed well for their respective
clubs. Narendra Hirwani fell just three short of 100 wickets, but his 97 leaves
him with a seasonal average of 95 during his four years at Heaton.
At Egerton Gary Gamer topped 1,000 runs for the third time and wicketkeeper Rick
Northrop added 915 runs to his 38 victims. The pair's 2,000 runs will be badly
missed at Longworth Road in the coming season. Famworth's move up the table from
bottom in 2003 to midway respectability last season owed much to Chris and Tim
Barrow, who jointly supplied around 1,100 runs and 100 wickets to the cause.
Kearsley's professional Zander De Bruyn's season terminated at the end of July
with 502 runs and 49 wickets to his credit, and it is interesting to speculate
as to what his final figures might have looked like had he completed the
programme.
Finally, Grant Long's form at Horwich continued unabated. He hit almost 800
runs, and remains in contention with Mike Bennison to take over Brian Cole's top
position in the list of all-time run-scorers. On the same topic, Jon
Partington's Prize-winning 52 victims takes him to within four of the top in the
corresponding list of wicket-keepers. Ever thought of ending your career in the
Bolton Association, Jon !
The first round of the 2004 Hamer Cup competition offered plenty of outstanding
individual performances, but little in the way of close finishes. The two most
overwhelming defeats came at Bradshaw and Heaton, where the winning margins were
1% runs and 10 wickets respectively. At the Rigbys, Greenmount piled up 268 for
6, thanks largely to Shetty's 97, before Stewart and Leach combined to bowl
Bradshaw out for 72, whilst at Heaton O'Rourke and Foster hit over half of
Eagley's all out 100, before Ward's unbeaten 57 against his former colleagues
saw Heaton home without losing a wicket. Dalugoda was the star of Astley
Bridge's win at Castle Hill where, after taking six wickets in Tonge's all-out
170, he scored 58 as his side strolled home by six wickets, with Danny Guest
contributing an undefeated 51.
A partnership of 85 for the 4th wicket between Dean Eckersley and Christian
Walsh provided the backbone of Farnworth Social Circle's 158 at Westhoughton,
but an opening stand of 88 from Steve Parker and Pilkington laid the foundations
of an eight-wicket home win. Antortio Mayers took 8 for 52 for the Tyldesleys
side. Top individual score of the round was Chris Barrow's 102 at Horwich which
included six 6's and eight 4's and rescued Farnworth from a horrendous start to
their innings. Their eventual 194 proved 69 too many for Horwich, as Street and
McGuiness took three wickets apiece and Tim Barrow returned the remarkable
figures of 10-5-14-2.
In the final tie of the round at Little Lever three players were largely
responsible for Egerton's 60-run victory. Northrop's 85 and Garner's 61 (not to
mention Mr. Extra's 40) took the visitors up to 220 for 5, after which Mark
Price's 5 for 40 proved too much for Little Lever in spite of a late rally from
Martin and Tong.
Round Two saw the start of Walkden's Hamer Cup bid, but it was a brief affair.
They were bowled out on their own ground for 122 by Heaton's Hirwani (5 for 32)
and Fearick (3 for 36), after which Fearick's unbeaten 53 saw his side home to a
comfortable seven-wicket win. In a high-scoring game against Astley Bridge,
eventual winners Westhoughton had to chase 194 to make progress, after
Dalugoda's 63 and Clegg's 50 not out had set the target. Steve Parker,
Pilkington, Mayers and Coates went cheaply, but then an excellent 5th-wicket
stand of 96 between Alan Gaskell and Rick Parker took their side into the
semi-final. Egerton's hopes were extinguished by Famworth in general and David
Tonge in particular at Longworth Road after another half-century from Gamer (50)
and another near miss from Mr. Extras (47) saw the home side just manage to top
the 200. Farnworth's reply seemed to have hit the rocks when five wickets
crashed for a handful of runs, but then a superb maiden hundred from David Tonge
coupled with a Tim Hayes half-century put their ship back on even keel. When the
winning hit was made, Tonge had reached 116 not out, the highest individual
score of the 2004 competition.
Nigel Franklyrt, Paul Blinkhorn and Mark Stewart were Greenmount's
Men-of-the-Match in their 18-run win over Kearsley at Springfield Road.
Franklyn's 42 was top score in their all-out 145, after which Blinkhorns five
victims and Stewart's 4 for 73 were the main factors as the home side were
bowled out for 127. Stephen Davies hit 42 at the top of the order, and skipper
Pete Morris 41 at the bottom, but it proved too little too late as Greenmount
moved into the semi-final.
There, they met Heaton at Lower Pools, and when 1 arrived a little late at the
ground, the scoreboard told me that Greenmount were 22 for 6, a situation from
which you wouldn't put a lot of money on a winning recovery. But recover they
did, thanks mainly to Shetty and, to a lesser extent, valuable backup innings
from Paul Blinkhorn and Ian Senior. Shetty batted beautifully for a
match-winning 67, whilst his two partners hung around long enough to post a
final all-out total of 130. Modest maybe, but still a massive improvement on 22
for & Heaton, in truth, didn't bat very well in reply with the honourable
exception of Fearick, who top-scored with 34. Stewart bowled admirably, and he
it was who trapped Simon Booth lbw to bring the tie to an end with Heaton eight
runs short and eight overs remaining. If ever a player didn't deserve to finish
on the losing side it was Hirwani, who had taken 7 for 46 before tea. The other
game at the TyIdesleys followed a similar pattern. Westhoughton, batting first,
struggled to 140 in the face of a career-best analysis of 5 for 25 from Paul
Grundy. But Mayers and McKellar made early inroads into Famworth's reply, and
only two batsmen, Tim Barrow and Tim Hayes managed to reach double figures
(apart from the in-form Mr. Extras again, who scored 34!). McKellar bowled well
for his 4 for 22, and at the end the winning margin was 46.
The Final was played at Bradshaw in front of a large crowd bathed in sunshine,
the kind of day that shows the Rigbys off at its glorious best. Batting first,
Greenmount made a much better fist of things than they had at Heaton a fortnight
previously and at 106 for 3, all was possible. But then followed a mid-innings
collapse in the face of some penetrative bowling from Hart, Mayers and McKellar.
Seven wickets fell for just 42 runs, and only a last-wicket partnership between
the Kay brothers, Neil and Martin, hoisted the final total up to a defendable
170. Westhoughton's early bats~ men didn't really get a grip on the game either,
and at 103 for 6, Greenmount, with Ryan Senior bowling well in pursuit of a
second consecutive Final Man-of-the-Match award, just about had their noses in
front. But the final phase of the game belonged to Antonio Mayers. He and Mark
Atherton added 55, Senior, who ended with 4 for 26, had bowled out. and in a
limited-over situation, Greenmount found themselves desperately short of one
more front-line bowler. Mayers ended the match on a high 85 not out from 110
balls (a bit slow for him!) and Westhoughton had completed the first half of
their double triumph. Bradshaw's organisation had, as ever, been faultless, and
the game itself one that kept the crowd enthralled right through to the winning
hit.
The remarkable thing about the 2004 2nd Team season was that the final table was
almost a facsimile of the previous year. Once again Greenmount were to be found
at its head, with Bradshaw second, and none of the other 12 clubs altered their
2003 position by more than a place or two. Greenmount enjoyed a magnificent
season. They remained unbeaten in the League, the first side to achieve that
particular distinction since Tonge in 1986. Their top trio of batsmen, Simon
Woolford, Dave Willetts and Ian Senior each averaged in the mid-forties and hit
a joint 1,687 runs, with Richard Long and Peter Crawford adding a further 716.
But it was their two leading bowlers, Neil Roberts and Chris Crawford, who
probably had most to do with the success, sharing as they did 142 cheap wickets
almost equally. The League's leading run-scorer was Bradshaw's Andy Kilner,
whose 802 included three centuries.
Graham Firth won the League Batting Prize and Simon Ainsworth that for bowling,
whilst in the field the prizes went to Mike Buckley and Simon Woolford for
wicket-keeping and catches respectively.
The Birtwistle Cup Final was contested by Famworth Social Circle and Walkden. In
the event it turned out to be a fairly one-sided affair, with Circle's 207 for 9
proving to be 139 too many for their opponents. Ian Edwards took the
Man-of-the-Match award for his 53, although he must have been pushed pretty hard
by Craig Cooke, whose seven overs resulted in 5 for 10, and skipper Darren
Mullineux, whose 51 kept the momentum going in the middle of the innings.
The annual 2nd XI inter-league game against the Central Lancs League, played in
2004 at Piggott Park, resulted in a fairly comprehensive defeat for the Bolton
side. The visitors' 198 for 8 must have looked a million miles away as the local
team's first seven wickets went down for less than a hundred runs, but
Kearsley's Chris Lomax restored some respectability and pride to the proceedings
with a late 51. The final difference between the two sides was 36, leaving the
C.L.L. 3-1 up in the series of games with one match tied.
For the senior inter-league side, however, the season, like that of 2003, was
one of unmitigated success. Both the Trinity Cup and the M.E.N.Trophy were
retained and, truth be told, there was never a moment in the four matches played
when the Bolton League's domination was seriously challenged.
In the first M. E.N. game at Prestwich the League, batting first, racked up 291
for 5, the highest total ever achieved by a Bolton League side. An opening stand
of 96 included a rapid 32-ball half-century from lqbal Patel and a rather more
sedate one from his Egerton team-mate Gary Gamer. After Morris and Kerrigan had
come and gone, Gamer was joined by a third Egertonian, Rick Northrop, and
together they began to take the game away from the Lancashire County League.
Then came Paul Rayment, whose 50 came from a mere 31 balls, and Chris Barrow,
who added a quickfire 32. Rayment's final 66 not out ensured that, for the first
time, four League batsmen had hit half centuries in the same innings. The home
team made a spirited reply, thanks to a century partnership in mid-innings, but
were 92 runs short when lan Taylor took the final wicket. The Heaton pairing of
Dale Jones (3 for 42) and Rayment, who completed a good day's work with 2 for
26, were the League's most successful bowlers.
The Egerton theme was carried into the semi-final at Clitheroe, for in addition
to the League's quartet of Gamer, Patel, Taylor and Northrop, the Ribblesdale
side featured Stuart Hornby and Paul Stafford. Taylor, Jones and Patel shared
eight wickets as the home team were dismissed for 176, after which the game
developed into a two-man show. Gamer and debutante Andy Bowker shared a superb
and chanceless opening stand of 152 which effectively put an end to the tie.
Garner, who ended the game unbeaten on 93, had done all this before, but Bowker,
drafted into the side on the day of the game in place of the injured Fearick,
was tasting inter-league cricket for the first time. Nevertheless he seemed to
have few problems, merely adjusting his good club form to the higher level to
hit an excellent 57.
Our old enemy, the Northern League, awaited us in the Final. During the 30 years
of the competition's history, we have played them on 17 occasions Twelve of
those were pre-Final ties, of which we won eight, but the fact that our five
previous Finals against them had all been lost gave Dave Morris' side an extra
incentive. When the League batted first it was Morris himself who led from the
front. Supported in turn by Garner (22), Northrop(40) and Rayment (31), the
skipper moved to a match-defining 50, and the eventual total of 215 for 9 had
put the team into a comfortable, if not unassailable position. In fact the
situation was looking far from unassailable when the Northern League had reached
90 for 1, but at that point the introduction of Tim Barrow into the attack swung
the game Bolton's way. He quickly got rid of Aspinall and Riley, the two
entrenched batsmen, Dale Jones took two wickets at the other end, and then Chris
Barrow pouched a sensational catch on the square-leg boundary to provide Tim
with his fourth wicket. Fearick and Taylor wrapped things up as the Northern
side finished 30 runs short, Tim Barrow was rightly named Man-of the-Match, and
the battle between the two leagues had evened out at eight wins apiece.
And that, sadly, is how it will remain, as the Northern League have now pulled
out of the M.E.N.Competition to be replaced by the Manchester Association. The
Northerns primary reason for withdrawal was that they had experienced some
difficulty in raising fully competitive sides. Over the years, you could have
fooled us!
If the League's progress to the M.E.N. triumph had proved reasonably
straightforward, the Trinity Cup win was even more so. One of the most one-sided
games the series has produced was virtually won and lost by the tea interval
after the Association had been bundled out for 82. Neil Bannister, centurion
hero of their M.E.N. tie against the Saddleworth League, and Ijaz Mahmood,
Little Hulton's high-scoring batting professional, were both run out early in
the innings, after which Tim Barrow once again took control for the League. In
the space of ten accurate overs, Tim became only the ninth bowler in the 34-year
history of the competition to take five wickets in an innings. His final figures
of 10-6-14-5 were, on the day, the difference between the two sides, and rounded
off a splendid inter-league season for the Farnworth all-rounder during which he
had taken 11 wickets for 110 runs from his 33 overs.
With Adil Nisar in the kind of form that had brought him a hundred two days
previously at Little Lever, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. He hit an
unbeaten 56 out of 84 for 2 as the League stretched their lead in the series to
22-10. It had been the second time in three years that Darcy Lever CC had staged
the game, and whilst the general hospitality was everything that could be wished
for, the groundsman in particular deserved a huge pat on the back for having the
wicket and the ground ready for a prompt start after the horrendous weather of
the previous 24 hours.
Six of our clubs gained entry to the 2004 Thwaites LCB Trophy Competition. Three
of them, however, didn't survive Round One, which put an end to the hopes and
ambitions of Bradshaw, Horwich and Greenmount. The last-named went out at Huyton,
who hit over 240 for 5 thanks to centuries from their Australian pro and an
overseas amateur who became the subject of a mild protest from the Brandlesholme
Road club. However it turned out that the New Zealander in question qualified as
an ex-pat, and so Greenmount went out in spite of spirited replies from Shetty
and Nigel Franklyn. Bradshaw were fairly comprehensively beaten by Leigh after
having hit 198 for 9, Dave Morris top-scoring with 42. Leigh hit back decisively
with 200 for 2 featuring, somewhat ironically, two local players, Tim Rees and
Gareth Cross, at the crease when the match ended.
For Horwich, David White's all-round performance of 74 and 4 for 20 ought really
to have guaranteed for him a place on the winning side, but it didn't.
Wallasey's 202 for 8 proving 31 too many for Grant Long's team. On a brighter
note Walkden disposed of Great Eccleston without too much trouble. David Smith's
5 for 26 restricted the Palace Shield side to 130 for 8, after which an
undefeated 63 from Peter Roach saw the holders home by seven wickets.
Westhoughton's win at Woodbank was similarly straightforward. The home side's
151 for 7 proved nowhere near enough as the eventual finalists overtook it for
the loss of five wickets with Pilkington's 40 the main contribution. Steve
Parker's side progressed through to Round Three by the easiest possible route
when Croston conceded the second round tie.
Kearsley's campaign didn't last too long when they were well beaten by a Darwen
team for whom professional Keith Semple's match-winning half-century was the
game's highlight, and Walkden made progress at the expense of Penwortham when
centuries from Bennison and Roach, batting first, made their opponents' task an
almost impossible one.
Sadly, in Round Three, the lottery of the balls in the bag brought together our
only two remaining representatives with Walkden drawn to travel to the
Tyldesleys. Westhoughton batted first, and, at 36 for 3, 72 for 5 and 89 for 6,
the tie seemed to be swinging Walkclens way. A handy 34 from Mark Atherton
pushed the final score up to 144 for 9, at which point you wouldn't have gambled
very heavily on the home side's chances. You would, however, when Walkclen had
slumped to 6 for 3, with Mayers having dismissed Roach, Dave Smith and Ingram.
Bennison and Sam Reidy pulled the situation round to 85 for 3, only for three
more wickets to go down for 9 runs. Yet again the game swung as Karl Bates and
Bernard Reidy added 35, and with a mere 16 needed Walkden had become odds on
favourites. But now the game produced its final ironic twist. Alan Gaskell, once
of Walkden, and not noted as one of the League's leading bowlers, had been put
on, and he it was who finished the game off, ending up with 4 for 20 from 44
deliveries, leaving Walkden ten runs short with ten deliveries remaining.
In the quarter-final Monton & Weaste were the visitors to Westhoughton for what,
thanks to the weather, was to prove a 20 overs per side contest. Monton, thanks
to a fine partnership of 97 from Australian Pro Dave Tueon and Navid Din,
totalled 153 for 4, leaving the home side with a far from easy task, given the
reduced overs. But, cometh the hour, cometh the man, and the man on that
particular day was Ian Pilkington, whose unbeaten 57 was an object lesson in how
to steer your side to victory in a shortened match. With his team-mates having
batted round him, he ended the game with a huge six over mid-wicket with just
three deliveries remaining.
Once again bad weather proved to be a factor in the semi-final at Settle. The
Ribblesdale League side batted first, although with Paul Stafford, Robin Morris
and the two Hornby's, Keith and Stuart, at the top of the order, all of whom
have played in, and for, the Bolton League, supporters from Bolton could have
been excused a little confusion! Morris hit 71 in Settle's 255 for 7, and Mayers'
4 for 24 took his remarkable figures thus far in the competition to 12 for 73
from 31 overs. At this point the rain twice drove the players from the field,
and the umpires and scorers were eventually forced to turn to Vera Duckworth, to
work out Westhoughton's target, which turned out to be 238 from 42 overs. Yet
again Ian Pilkington proved to be the main man as he led the way with 77. Mayers
(34) and Coates (25) kept things ticking along, and the end came after Rick
Parker and Mark Atherton had shared an unbroken 66-run partnership in poor light
and against all the odds to win the game with 10 balls not bowled.
The Old Trafford Final, against a Bootle side containing eight players with
experience of county, 2nd Xl, Minor County and professional cricket, was always
going to be difficult in the extreme. And so it proved, as David Snellgrove
(111) and Graham. Lloyd (54) produced a 118-run partnership for the 2nd wicket
which put their side firmly in the driving seat at the tea interval, which
arrived with Bootle having amassed an ominous looking 239 for 5. Yet again,
Pilkington looked assured, but, other than Gaskell, who went in at 41 for 3 and
was still there when the final wicket fell at 112, no one was up to the task as
the target in turn became difficult, then unlikely, and finally impossible.
In the five Thwaites matches, Pilkington had hit 233 runs at an average of 58,
and whilst the disappointment of Old Trafford was keenly felt by players and
supporters alike, it must have been almost tangible to the one batsman who had
contributed so much to getting them there. However, in the broader picture,
Westhoughton, in 2^ had played 35 matches in League, Hamer Cup and Lancs KO. To
have won 25 of them and lost only four was a magnificent achievement. To have
accomplished it with a side of whom more than half had played all their junior
cricket at the club was even more remarkable.
Of the four teams to contest the Dennis Lyddon Trophy Finals Day at Little
Lever, Eagley were first to bow out when Egerton overcame them in the first
semi-final. David Shuttleworth hit 40 of his team's 105 for 9, after which Cary
Gamer led his side to a comfortable 6-wicket victory with 49 not out. The second
semi-final, which turned out to be the closest finish of the day, resulted in a
two-wicket last over win for Farnworth over Little Lever. For the host club
Anthony Hilton hit a half century in their all-out 143, whilst Farnworth's Sunny
Ahmed achieved the day's top score, 72, before Martin Axford guided his side
home in the game's final over. lan Taylor proved the hero of the Final as
Egerton won the Trophy for the fourth time. When Farnworth went in first, the
Barrow brothers hit 61 out of the final total of 134 for 9. Josh Cunliffe took 3
for 20 and Taylor 2 for 21, but the latter's Man-of-the-Match award was more in
recognition of his superb and undefeated 56 after Rick Northrop's 31 had laid
the foundations. The Cup was presented to Gary Garner by Stephen Lyddon, while
Egerton's supporters were perhaps left wondering if there might possibly be a
batting Indian summer beckoning for the veteran inter-league opening bowler!
Little Lever also provided the new venue for the Antony Axford Indoor Trophy
competition in January. It was held at Little Lever Leisure Centre, and on the
first of the four Sundays a little piece of history was made when Farnworth's
Neil Hyde became the first bowler in 28 years of indoor cricket to complete a
hat-trick. Greenmount ended Walkden's five-year monopoly of the event, when Andy
Bowker top-scored chasing the former champions' 90. After having beaten Bradshaw
in the semi-final, Greenmount went on to win the Axford Trophy when they
overcame Kearsley in the Final. Pete Morris hit 30 out of Kearsley's 97 for 5,
but Bowker, who picked up the Man-of-the Match award for his runs and wickets,
saw Greenmount home and dry on 98 for 2 to register the club's first success in
the competition.
At the League Presentation Dinner in October, Elsie Waterworth became the fifth
Eagley recipient of the Hubert Pendlebury Memorial Trophy. Elsie has organised
and been involved in so many different aspects of the club's affairs in recent
years that it still comes as something of a surprise to realise that she has
still never gone out to bat at Number 3 for the first eleven! Her award is a
timely and totally appropriate one.
This final paragraph is all about thanking everyone around the clubs for their
unstinting efforts over the past 12 months, not forgetting our umpires and
scorers. Axfords for the Indoor, and, of course Warburtons, our main sponsor.
May I also use it, rather selfishly, this year, to thank you all for your kind
thoughts, phone calls, cards and general support over the difficult last three
months. People have often said that, in spite of the occasional in-house tiff,
the Bolton League is basically a large and widespread family. Only since January
have I come to realise just how true that is.