By Peter Stafford (March 2006) Back
At Egerton on the evening of September 3rd, Farnworth clinched their 11th
championship title, and their first for 21 years, when they successfully chased
the home side's 184, winning the all-important game by five wickets.
Appropriately, the two batsmen at the wicket when the winning hit was made were
Chris and Tint Barrow who, together, had contributed 98 wickets and over a
thousand runs to the championship cause. Along with Lee Childs, who hit 653 runs
and took 37 wickets, the 'Barrow boys' were at the heart of the side's amateur
strength. Chris in particular enjoyed a memorable season, and never more so than
during Hamer Cup Final weekend. On the Saturday against Tonge his unbeaten 73
almost single-handedly transformed a likely defeat into a knife-edge victory
with seven balls to spare, whilst the following day his undefeated 82 guided
Farnworth to the Hamer triumph which proved the springboard to their league and
cup double. For this he received the Man-of die-Match award, and, at the
season's end, he was justly voted Player-of-the Year.
Each of the other amateurs played his part at some stage or other. Michael Daley
batted his side out of trouble in the first round of the cup and played a major
part on Final day. Martin Axford, Dave Tonge, Falgun Patel and wicket keeper
Simon Booth all played important innings, Paul Grundy supported the main bowlers
well, and mention has to be made of the heroics displayed by Andy Patterson and
Neil Hyde towards the end of the nail-biting Hamer Cup quarter-final against
Walkden.
But towering over them all was professional Brenton Parchment. Starting as he
meant to carry on, he opened with a first day century against Horwich. During
the course of the season he added four more (in consecutive innings in July)
along with 11 fifties, and on the title-winning day at Egerton described above,
he sailed past Rod Bower's 1984 run-total of 1,535 which had been so influential
in Farnworth's last league triumph. In all, the Jamaican ended the season with
1,565 runs, to which he added 63 wickets and 26 catches, the highest number in
the League. At the end of the year, it was hardly surprising that he became the
club's sixth recipient of the Professionals Prize.
Indeed, Farnworth's championship was based very largely on the side's batting.
Over the whole season they averaged 27.24 runs per wicket, exceeding 200 on 11
of the 27 times they batted. Their success was all the more remarkable when one
takes into consideration the fact that in 2001, 2002 and 2003 they had finished
bottom of the league. In 2004 they had moved into mid-table respectability, but
no-one was prepared for the total domination that was to follow.
Westhoughton made an early bid to repeat their success of 2004, topping the
table for most of May. Included in their promising start was an unforgettable
win at Egerton when Ian Pilkington's unbeaten 123 inspired a successful run
chase of 276 for 6 after Dheeraj Jadhav had hit 158 for the home side. But a
very ordinary mid-season spell during which only two wins materialised from nine
matches scuppered hopes at the Tyldesleys, and their final six games (won three,
lost three) just about summed up an up and down season in which they had to
settle for mid-way in the table.
Whilst Mayers, Pilkington and Steve Parker scored runs on a regular basis (a
joint 2,350), the bowling was nowhere near so effective as it had been in their
previous double-winning season. Mayers and Hart's combined figure of 154 wickets
in 2004 had shrunk to 89, and there simply wasn't enough variety on their
attack.
Greenmount were many peoples' fancy for honours in 2005, but they suffered a
dreadful start to the season, winning only two of their first nine games and
bowing out of the Cup at the first attempt. At that point, however, the talented
batting line-up at Brandlesholme Road rediscovered their taste for runs and, as
the result, 200 points accrued from their next 11 games to elevate them into a
challenging position close to Farnworth and Walkden. Their title hopes fell by
the wayside during the run-in as the result of fairly narrow defeats at the
hands of Horwich and Walkden, and in the end they had to settle for third place,
with a Lancs KO trip to the Old Trafford Final as no small consolation.
Farnworth Social Circle had their moments, winning half their games, while
Kearsley and Little Lever also improved considerably on their 2004 league
positions. In Sajid, Ganga and Wilkinson, they had superb batting professionals
who aggregated almost 2,500 runs at a joint average of over 40, but none of the
three sides was able to put together a winning run capable of challenging the
leaders.
After nine games Farnworth had played their way to the top, and there they
stayed for the rest of the year, with the final outcome becoming more and more
inevitable as the weeks went by. Eventual runners-up Walkden grimly held on to
Farnworth's coat-tails until the end, but a one-run defeat at Egerton in
late-August, courtesy of 1qbal Patel's 9 for 111, lessened their chances.
The top two teams finally met at Walkden on the season's last day, by which time
all had been decided. Unsurprisingly, it proved to be yet another batsman's day
as Farnworth, chasing 244, reached their target for the loss of six wickets,
thanks to half-centuries from Lee Childs and Dave Tonge.
But the day belonged to Jason Swift who, during his 83, created a new Bolton
League seasonal run record, overtaking Brad Hodges' 1996 figure of 1,758. Jason
eventually finished with 1,797 from his 26 innings, having half a dozen
centuries which included an unbeaten 226 against Horwich in Round One of the
Hamer Cup, the highest individual score in the League's history. In those 26
innings he went past 40 on 19 occasions, and was only dismissed once in single
figures. (Take a bow, lan Taylor!). David Smith backed him up superbly with 864
runs, but, unbelievably, that was only the thirteenth highest run-total of the
season, a fact that says everything about current trends.
Nine batsmen went over the thousand-run mark, and one of them, Egerton pro
Dheeraj Jadhav, whose 1,485 runs included a record-sharing eight centuries,
missed seven innings due to his return to India to join the Test squad. Had he
played a full season I might well have had to re-write the paragraph concerning
Swifty's new record! Adil Nisar achieved the feat for the fourth consecutive
season, whilst two Greenmount batsmen, Nishit Shetty and Andy Kerr, along with
another pair from Bradshaw, professional Amila Wettasinghe and Mike Ward, also
reached the four-figure target.
The ninth batsman was Grant Long, whose 1,123 runs took him beyond Brian Cole at
the top of the Bolton League all-time run-scorers list. It was the seventh time
Grant has topped a thousand runs in the last 17 seasons, a truly remarkable
achievement.
As may have been gathered from all of this, 2005 was a record-breaking season in
several departments. More runs were scored in total than in any previous year.
The grand total of 62,677 was 139 more than that of the previous best in 1984.
117 team-scores of 200-plus were recorded, of which seven were taken over the
300 mark. Fifty individual centuries increased the 1984 total by five, although
it was not without irony that the fiftieth and final hundred was hit by a
non-Bolton League batsman, Devendra Bundela, who was deputising for Jadhav at
Egerton.
These remarkable batting statistics enhance and highlight the bowling
performance of Eagley's Steve Foster, who took 84 wickets in 2005, more than any
other bowler, professional or amateur. Steve has now captured 158 wickets in the
last two seasons, and must be wondering what sort of figures he has to come up
with to impress the inter-league selection committee! Bradshaw's Phil Dickinson
made huge strides on the bowling front, and his 52 wickets secured for him the
League Bowling Prize. That for batting went to Nick Woods, of Horwich, who
averaged 49 and enjoyed a weekend in August during which he hit undefeated
centuries against Greenmount and Tonge. If life can sometimes be difficult for a
young player constantly having to stand comparison with a hugely talented
cricketing father, then weekends like that must come in handy!
Little Lever's Adam Worrall, in only his second full season as first-team
wicket-keeper, won the League Prize, ending the season with 45 victims in all,
whilst inter-league captain David Morris, who is many, many years past his
second full season of first-team cricket, won the Catching Prize with 1C
Whilst on the subject of fielding, sincere congratulations are also due to
Horwich's wicket-keeper, Jon Partington, whose 33 victims took him to the top of
the 'career victims' list, and enabled him to become the first 'keeper to reach
the 600-mark. I write that, obviously, with gritted teeth and with something of
a scowl on my face!
Round One of the Hamer Cup followed the trend that was to become apparent for
the rest of the season, in that the 12 participating clubs averaged over 200
runs apiece. Only one team managed to win after batting first, and they,
understandably, were Walkden, who amassed 327 for 4 against Horwich. Two weeks
previously they had helped themselves to 445 for 3 in Round One of the Thwaites
LCB Trophy.
In that game Jason Swift restricted himself to a mere 182, but against Horwich
he went on to an unbeaten 226, hitting 25 fours and 12 sixes. Grant Long hit 72
as Horwich fell 140 short. At Bradshaw the home side overtook Kearsley's 207 for
9, thanks largely to Paul Rayment, who ended the tie undefeated on 83. He was
well supported by Gwilt, Ward and Wettasinghe, whilst the majority of Kearsley's
runs had come from McDonnell (75), Thomson, Monks and Pickup.
Eventual winners Famworth began and ended their campaign at Piggott Park, where
the home team, despite Michael Ashworth's 57, were restricted to 190 for 9.
Michael Daley's 64 proved the difference between the sides as Farnworth ran out
winners by three wickets. 2004 finalists Greenmount must have fancied their
chances at Egerton where they posted 204 for 9, but their hopes were dashed by
Jadhav and Paul Stafford, who put on 191 for the first wicket after tea. Both
reached centuries as Egerton came out on top. by 8 wickets, Dave Morris had
top-scored for the visitors with 50, which was well backed up by 35 from Mark
Fallon, who deserved some kind of award for having bowled the only maiden over
during the mayhem after the tea-interval, as Egerton raced to their target in 33
and a half overs!
The scores, and the manner in which they were achieved, were replicated in
Westhoughton's home tie against Tonge. The visitors, batting first, recovered
from 31 for 5 to reach 202 for 8, with Nigel Partington batting through the 50
overs for 102 not out.
When Westhoughton's reply began, Steve Parker and Adam Coates had gone at 66 for
2, but an unbroken and fairly rapid 3rd wicket stand of 140 between Ian
Pilkington (61) and Antonio Mayers (98), saw the target reached with 11 and a
half overs left unbowled. Mayers had taken five Tonge wickets, and his fine
all-round performance was equalled by that of Eagley professional Mike O'Rourke,
who took 8 for 43 as Heaton crumbled to an all-out 136 at Dunscar. After the
home side had lost two wickets for next to nothing, O'Rourke took charge again,
hitting an unbeaten 57 in the company of his brother-in-law John Conlon, who
ended the game on 71 not out.
Eagley's 'reward' was to be drawn at home to holders Westhoughton in Round
Two, when a heavy and widespread downpour interrupted each of the four games
after a couple of hours or so. Westhoughton had reached 138 for 5 when the rain
came, and the two clubs opted to finish the game the following Sunday, when the
visitors innings ended at 166. Once again Pilkington and Mayers were the leading
run-scorers with a joint 82, whilst Steve Foster's 6 for 73 ensured that there
would be no recovery at the end of the innings.
Once again O'Rourke batted his team into the next round with an undefeated 79,
adding 86 with Dave Shuttleworth, who scored 38. Bradshaw's visit to Astley
Bridge ended in a comfortable victory after an excellent team batting
performance saw Paul Rayment's side up to 212 for 6. In reply Bridge had little
or no answer to the bowling of Wettasinghe (6 for 44) and Matt Dearden (4 for 10
from 10 overs) and their last wicket fell 117 runs short of the target.
Little Lever's pro, Kamran Sajid, didn't deserve to finish on the losing side at
Egerton. After Egerton had scored 228 for 9 on the back of Jadhav's 66 along
with runs from Stafford, Clegg and Evans, Little Lever appeared to be favourites
when they moved into the 170's with only four wickets down. But they collapsed
to 209 all out in the face of some fine bowling from Tom Fairclough and Josh
Cunliffe, who finished with 5 for 33. Ian Taylor came back to apply the coup de
grace as Sajid, on 98 not out, watched helplessly from the wrong end!
But by far the closest game of the round was that at Farnworth where Walkden
were the visitors. Walkdn's total stood on 126 for 2 when the rain arrived and,
like the Eagley/Westhoughton tie, it was decided to carry on the following
Sunday. David Smith resumed on 69 but only scored another nine runs as his side
only added a further 58 in total to reach an all-out 184. Tim Barrow's 5 for 35
provided the best bowling figures, while brother Chris took 4 for 56 from his 20
overs.
In reply Farnworth were wobbling badly at 74 for 5, but then a stand of 81
between Parchment (84) and Chris Barrow (45) seemed to have put them back on
track. But 11 runs and 4.wickets later, including that of Barrow, whose poor
shot was probably the low spot of a fantastic season, and Farnworth's last pair,
Andy Patterson and Neil Hyde, were at the wicket with a further 19 runs still
required for victory. Patterson it was who won the tie with 18 not out as Hyde
showed an impeccable defence at the other end.
The semi-final draw paired neighbouring Egerton and Eagley at Longworth Road,
with Bradshaw taking on Farnworth at Bridgeman Park. Eagley's chances of
reaching their tenth Final seemed to have disappeared when they were bowled out
for 109. lqbal Patel took 6 for 48 as Mike O'Rourke carried on his excellent
Hamer Cup batting form with 43. Alec Robinson (27) was the only other batsman to
reach double figures, and when Egerton's reply stood on 69 for 3 with Anthony
Clegg and deputy pro Robin Morris seemingly in control, defeat for the Dunscar
club appeared inevitable. But then DeSliva dismissed Morris to end his 10-over
stint with a creditable 3 for 25, Craig Massey was introduced into the attack,
and with Steve Foster bowling with extra momentum at the other end, Eagley's
chances were revived. Eventually, with 10 runs still required, John Hinks'
excellent tumbling catch at short third man accounted for the final Egerton
wicket, and the team with only one League win to its credit were, incredibly, in
the Final!
Over at Bridgeman Park, Rayment (55), Gwilt (51) and Ward (49) had set
Farnnworth an interesting target of 190. Parchment had already taken 6 for 44,
and he it was who dominated the reply. The previous day he had hit 182 at Little
Lever, and he simply carried on where he had left off at Victory Road,
contributing 125 towards the winning total of 194 for 5. So, it was to be an
Eagley / Farnworth Final - top versus bottom!
And thirty minutes or so into the second half, with scores on the board reading
205 for 8 and 9 for 4, it did indeed have all the appearances of a onesided
affair. Except, of course, that it was Eagley who were in the driving seat!
O'Rourke had once more held the innings together, hitting 83 to take his Hamer
Cup total for the season to 262 for twice out, and Foster, Massey and DeSilva
had taken early wickets to leave Farnworth with a mountain to climb. And climb
it they did!
Parchment and Michael Daley added 87 valuable runs to haul their side out of
immediate trouble, but there still remained plenty to be done. If ever there was
a 'cometh the hour cometh the man' moment, this was it. The man concerned, of
course, was Farnworth skipper Chris Barrow, who came out to play one of the best
innings in Hamer Cup Final history. His unbeaten 82 contained 13 fours and 3
sixes, and when the target was reached for the loss of seven wickets there were
still 11 overs left unbowled.
As Peter Mensforth reported in the Bolton Evening News, it was "an almost
ridiculously comfortable margin, given the trauma of the opening overs. It was
tough on Eagley, who, for a few fleeting minutes, really looked as if they were
ready to produce the shock of the season." But they didn't, and Farnworth had
collected the first half of their double. Parchment's Hamer Cup form with the
bat had even exceeded O'Rourke's, with 275 runs in the four innings, but when
they look back at the campaign as a whole, Farnworth's players and supporters
will, hopefully, remember with gratitude the part played by Patterson and Hyde
in Round Two!
The whole day had been a wonderful advert for Bolton League cricket with the
weather, the large crowd, the spirit in which matters were conducted, the
excellent state of the ground, Circle's organisation and, of course, the cricket
itself, all playing a part in what had been a day to remember.
The inter-league side's season consisted of just three games, with the success
rate being limited to one and a half of those outings! In the first round of the
MEN Inter-League Trophy, the North Lancashire League were annihilated at Furness
where a second wicket partnership of 162 between Dave Parkinson and skipper
David Morris laid the foundations of a final total of 263 for 6. Paul Stafford
(25), Chris Barrow and Peter Kay also made significant contributions, the latter
two combining to hit a joint 45 from just 20 balls!
The home side eventually managed to claw their way up to an all-out 118 after
having been 68 for 8. Chris Barrow returned the outstanding figures of 6-3-9-4
which, when added to his unbeaten 30, must have made him a strong contender for
the Man-of-the-Match title which was awarded to Parkinson for having given the
League the kind of solid start which set them on the way to a place in the
semi-finals. Kay, Tim Barrow, Ryan Senior and Matt Parkinson took the rest of
the wickets. Each of them, along with the wicketless, Jon Fearick, bowled well,
but the day's down side was provided by Matt Parkinson, who had to be helped off
the field during his third over following an injury which was to keep him out of
the inter-league side for the rest of the season.
The semi-final against the Ribblesdale League at Read went even better - until
the tea-interval, that is! The Bolton side batted first and raced up to what
would prove a winning total ninety-nine times out of a hundred. We were given
the perfect start by Dave Parkinson (50) and Paul Stafford, the Egerton player
plundering 56 from 32 balls, including three consecutive sixhits. The momentum
was kept going by Paul Rayment (61) and jon Kerrigan, who hit 37 from 19
deliveries, and a final score of 296 for 9 heralded a happy tea interval for the
Bolton League's players and supporters. Moreso when the home side lost a wicket
without a run on the board, but that was the point in the game, and indeed in
the season, when the Bolton celebrations came to an abrupt halt.
From that moment on, the Ribblesdale batting was sensational. A succession of
fast-scoring partnerships kept up the asking rate of over a run a ball, and when
the winning runs were hit, five wickets still remained, with one over left
unbowled. The Bolton bowlers didn't seem to bowl badly, no chances were put down
- it was just a brilliant display of batsmanship to which you simply had to take
your hat off and applaud! All the more ironic, then, that in the Final against
the Saddleworth League at Moorside, the same batsmen stuttered and stumbled
their way to 157 all out in the face of a much less demanding target of 1901
In the 35th (and last) Trinity Cup match against the Bolton Association, the
League's run of five consecutive successes came to an abrupt and fairly
humiliating end. Playing within Little Lever's fairly short boundaries and
containing as they did five batting pro's who had combined to hit over 8,000
runs during the season, the two sides were confidently expected to produce the
kind of scores previously unheard of in Trinity Cup cricket. In the event that
didn't happen. Only one of them, Davendra Bundela managed to reproduce his
league form (or in his case, his Association form!) and his 66 at the top of the
visitors' order turned out to be the match-winning innings.
The Association were bowled out for 201 with three of the 50 overs remaining. As
he had been last year when he took 5 for 14, Tim Barrow was the League's most
successful bowler, finishing with 4 for 29 from his seven overs. The League's
reply was totally unconvincing from the word go. Faced with the devastating pace
of Faisal Alfredi, the home side struggled to 59 for 3, at which point a further
three wickets went down without a run having been added! Jason Swift had hit 30
of them, but after that only a last wicket stand of 24 between Ryan Senior and
Dale Jones saved a few League blushes, but still couldn't prevent them tumbling
to 109, their lowest ever score since the competition began.
One of the few outstanding moments during the game was the wonderful diving
catch taken by Darcy Lever's Dominic Gavin to get rid of the League captain,
David Morris. From 2006, the two leagues will be playing for the Anthony Axford
Cup. Hopefully, it will provide us with as many memorable moments and matches as
has its predecessor over the past 35 years.
The 2005 Thwaites LCB Trophy competition will be remembered with anything
approaching affection by one club only. Greeninount were the only side to
survive the second round and they, of course, went all the way to Old Trafford.
In Round One they travelled to Read, where a long third wicket stand shared by
David Morris (81) and Andy Kerr, who remained undefeated on 101, guaranteed a
match-winning total of 248 for 6. Read fell 108 short, with Mark Fallon's 3 for
33 the best bowling figures, although Ryan Senior's 9-3 17-2 were by far the
most economical.
Walkden entered the competitions record books when they amassed their 446 for 3
against visiting Norley Hall. Jason Swift, just a couple of weeks prior to his
record 226 in the Hamer Cup, hit 182 from 101 balls, David Smith kept his pro
company during a 200-plus opening stand, and Mike Bennison helped things along
with 63.
In reply, the Wigan side didnt disgrace themselves, ending the game on 219 for
3, thus contributing towards a further record - the 665 runs scored being the
highest aggregate for a Lancs K.O. tie. Tonge went out at home to Northern in
spite of a fine all-round performance from Neuman Hameed, who added 4 for 35 to
his unbeaten 51. Tonge's 191 for 8 also included 41 from skipper Simon Anderton,
and only seven balls were left when Northern squeezed home by four wickets.
Horwich, batting second against League club in the space of five years to get to
Old Trafford. Lying in wait there for them, however, were Bootle, who had blown
away the hopes and aspirations of Westhoughton in 2004, and, sadly, the 2005
Final was to follow a similar pattern.
Greenmount's hopes were raised briefly when, after having put Bootle in to bat,
Mark Stewart took two early wickets. But the big partnerships between Cockbain
and Reynolds, and Reynolds and Graham Lloyd, put Bootle into the driving seat,
after which a flurry of big-hitting from John Hitchmough hoisted the final score
to 240 for 8, one run more than they had registered against the Tyldesleys side
the previous year. Stewart had come through the afternoon with tremendous
credit, having taken 4 for 27 from nine hostile and accurate overs.
When Greenmount batted, three early wickets were lost fairly quickly, and only
professional Shetty managed to put up much resistance in what was rapidly
turning into something of a rout. The end came at 94, with Shetty's 28 the only
individual score that approached respectability. There is little doubt that this
Bootle side, containing as it does a collection of former county, 2nd XI, Minor
County and professional players, is going to take some beating in this
competition in the immediate future. Nevertheless, Greenmount had done
themselves, their supporters and the Bolton League proud in their progress to
the Final, during which they played a lot of good, attractive cricket whilst
overcoming some very good sides.
For the third consecutive season the 2nd XI, Championship evolved into a
straight fight for the title between Bradshaw and Greenmount. For the Rigbys,
club it was a case of 'third time does it' when the Howarth Cup was clinched at
Farnworth with two games remaining, thanks to half-centuries from Neil and Andy
Hart. The two brothers had been the mainstay of the side's batting throughout
the season, hitting over 1,200 runs between them, whilst with the ball five
bowlers, Ainsworth, Barton-Wells, Sutton, Fletcher and Gregory, shared exactly
200 wickets.
In terms of runs, the leading 2nd Team batsman was Stephen French of Farnworth
Social Circle who hit 837, but his team-mate Gary Murphy just pipped him to the
League Batting Prize. Kearsley's Dave Mather took the Bowling Prize, with Astley
Bridge's evergreen Ian Waininan leading the list for most wickets with 70. The
two fielding awards went to Mike Buckley of Bradshaw, who thereby completed a
hat-trick of Wicket-keeping Prizes, and Greenmount's David Senior, who took 23
catches. Bradshaw completed a League and Cup double when they overcame Eagley in
the Birtwistle Cup Final at the Rigbys.
Bradshaw batted first and their eventual total of 220 for 9 was always going to
pose problems for Eagley. Neil Hart hit 82 and brother Andy weighed in with 51.
In the end Eagley fell 31 runs short, in spite of a fine 68
from Craig Massey, whose consolation arrived in the form of the Man-of-the-Match
award. Aaron Barton-Wells took four for 44 from his 10 overs.
At Little Lever in September Farnworth added a third cup to their cabinet when
the host club were beaten in the Denis Lyddon Trophy Final Little Levees total
of 149 for 9 seemed a healthy one in 20 overs, but thanks largely to an unbroken
partnership between Dave Tonge, who contributed 41 not out, and Felgun Patel,
whose score stood on 25 when the winning hit was made, Farnworth reached their
target with six wickets and seven balls to spare. Lee Childs and Mark Martin
each claimed four cheap wickets in the match, whilst for Little Lever Anthony
Hilton (37 not out) and Lee Baldwin (36) were the leading run-scorers.
Indoors in January Kearsley walked away with the Anthony Axford Trophy for the
fourth time. En route to the last stage of the competition they overcame Horwich,
perhaps most importantly Walkden, Little Lever, and in the Final itself
Bradshaw. Kearsley were represented by Mel Whittle, Neil Pickup, Dave Mather,
Rick Hamblett, Chris McDonnell and skippered by Pete Morris, who, during the
matches played a match-winning role on at least three occasions.
They went on to win the Lancashire competition when they ousted South Manchester
in the semi-final before narrowly beating Ashton in the Final. In the Final they
needed two runs from the game's last ball to make sure of the county title, and
again it was skipper Morris who steered them home. They lost in the North of
England Final to the vastly experienced Pudsey Congs side, bowling the
Yorkshiremen out for 99 before subsiding to 22 for 5, at which stage Dave Mather,
alone at the crease, batted superbly to hit 29 not out as he lifted the final
Kearsley total to 60 for 5.
At the highly successful League Presentation Dinner held at the Albert Halls in
November, Farnworth, as one might expect, were more than well represented, and
they had further cause for celebration when Eric Wallwork, following in the
footsteps of former Farnworth stalwarts George Bown, Ernie Hall and Alan Peary,
was presented with the Hubert Pendlebury Memorial Award in recognition of his
services to club and league over many years. Eric has been a hard-working,
popular and reliable member of the Farnworth set-up since the late 1960's, and
it was a special pleasure for Eric, and for everyone else connected with the
league, that his son Brian attended the occasion having made the journey from
Leeds under the pretext of being the club's most recent championship-winning
captain prior to 2005.
Another significant presentation was made to Heaton's James Reynard as the Most
Promising Player of 2005. james is indeed a player with a great future in the
game who is beginning to make his mark, not only at Heaton, but also at Old
Trafford, where he was named Lancashire Young Player of the Month, after hitting
two centuries in June for Lancashire Under-15's.
After eight years in office, Mike Hall resigned as League Chairman, quoting
pressure of work as the reason. During his tenure in the chair, Mike has been a
popular, conscientious and hard-working figurehead in every aspect of the job,
and will prove a difficult act to follow.
This final paragraph is usually reserved as the place in which I thank all the
various volunteers who keep the League going from strength to strength. This
year, in what we hope will be the first of many messages from our new sponsors,
Martin Axford has somewhat stolen my thunder and done the job for me. In
welcoming the Axford organisation, could 1 also, in the same breath, express a
huge vote of thanks to everyone at Warburtons, our sponsors for the past five
seasons. Since first we embraced the concept of League Sponsorship back in 1984
when Vaux Breweries led the way, we have, thanks to Vaux, Georgian House, Fort
Sterling, Fort james and Warburtons, been very fortunate in the relationships we
have shared with our various benefactors. Anthony Axford (Timber Merchants)
Ltd., is a firm with a huge reputation, to which cricket, at both local and
county level, has already been indebted for years. We look forward to a long and
mutually rewarding partnership with them. In his piece at the start of the book,
penned in February, Martin speaks of the prevailing wind and rain. I can beat
that! I'm writing this on March 12th and ifs snowing!
I wish you all a successful, run-filled and, if it isn't too much to ask,
sunfilled 2006 season.