Bacup CC reports

After their record breaking win at Accrington the previous week Bacup entertained bottom of the league East Lancs at The Tony Pizza and Kebab House Lanehead Cricket Ground. They did so without the services of Jack Bradford who had been hospitalised with illness during the week. He was replaced by his brother Luke. 

On another lovely day for cricket, nobody was more disappointed than the Bacup professional Chirag Khurana, no doubt hoping for another lengthy innings, when East Lancs won the toss and elected to bat first. 

An aggressive approach to their innings did them absolutely no favours at all, with wickets falling quickly to the opening attack of medium pacer Lord and off spinner Khurana. After only 22.2 overs East Lancs were all out for only 59 with Lord taking 5 for 31 and Khurana 5 for 25. Lord already has14 wickets for the season and Khurana 13. Wicket keeper Collinge claimed 3 victims and Brady Boardman took two catches in an impressive Bacup fielding display. 

There were slight worries after the early losses of Adlum (0) and Gansler (9) as Bacup fell to 12 for 2. There were no further alarms however, as Bacup coasted to an eight wicket victory in just 10.1 overs. Collinge was happy to make his first real batting contribution of the season with a confident 33 not out and Khurana on 17 not out. With a maximum 12 point win Bacup move up to sixth in the table with back to back wins after their two defeats at the start of the season. 

The Second Eleven travelled to Alexandra Meadows to take on East Lancs with a severely weakened team owing to unavailability. East Lancs won the toss and piled on the runs, amassing 300 for 7 in their 45 overs. Eight batsmen made double figures with Arbaaz Khan (67 not out) and Shah (66) being the backbone of the innings. Mohsin Iqbal was the most economical bowler with 2 for 52, whilst Safir took 3 for 76. 

Faced with a mountain to climb and an inexperienced line up Bacup slumped to 71 all out. Niall Boardman with 16 not out, Iqbal (15) and Parkinson (12) were the only players to make double figures as Bacup second Eleven remain rooted to the bottom of the table. 

The Third Eleven were hosts to Colne who were rivals for the divisional title last season. They were no match on this occasion however as they were dismissed for a paltry 58. Niall Boardman picked up 4 for 40, Patrick Hickey 3 for 5, Pat Boardman 2 for 0 and Theo Goddard 1 for 7. 

Bacup raced to victory in only 15.3 overs to secure a nine wicket win, with Theo Goddard finishing on 27 not out and Hickey 21 not out as they climb to second in the table.