ATHERTON CC and Little Hulton went head-to-head at the weekend, meeting in the Bolton Association on Saturday and in the Cross Cup the following day.

Both matches produced an amazing 923 runs and included some top class batting performances.

The league clash was drawn but Atherton claimed a 53-run win in the Cross Cup.

On Saturday at the Old Vicarage, Atherton found themselves batting first after skipper Rob Clews had lost the toss.

They opened with David Charlson and Paul Walsh but Charlson was the first to go, caught for 10 with the score on 21.

Greg Dimery and Walsh doubled the score until Dimery was out lbw for 11. Phil West, back in his more accustomed number four spot, helped Walsh to raise the score to 69 and it came as some surprise when Walsh was caught for 24.

Partnership

The rest of the innings became a story of two Philips, West and Wakefield, as over the next 23 overs they took the score to 226, a partnership of 157.

Wakefield, as West had done, started steadily, taking 20 balls for his first five but both went on to pass the 50 mark, West off 70 balls with nine fours while Wakefield took four less with six fours and a six. He hit a further 21 before being caught and bowled by pro Ijaz Mahmood.

West went on to complete his own and the club's first century of the season. His second 50 came off only 30 balls and contained just six dots. In total his innings lasted 122 minutes, took exactly 100 balls and contained 13 fours and three sixes. He was finally out for 104 as the innings closed on 242-6 off 48.

When the home side batted they immediately showed that they were not going to be overawed by such a massive target.

Paul Craig and Ashley Perry raised 91 for the first wicket. Both were out without further addition for 43 and 34 respectively.

Mark Penny briefly threatened but was well bowled by Wakefield for 10, Mahmood then took over and looked likely to win the match on his own with some powerful strokes to raise the score to 170 in the 40th over. But when he was stumped for 48 and Mark Lee went for 10, it was left to Mick Edwards and Ian Lee to supply a few lusty blows to take the score to 204 at the close.

Dimery closed with figures of 3-72 and Wakefield completed an excellent match with 2-61.

On Sunday it was Higham Park's turn to host the two teams as they battled for a place in the second round of the Cross Cup.

Clews again lost the toss and Atherton were put in. With Charlson falling lbw to the fourth ball of the day, it allowed Dimery to give a master class demonstration of batting.

The Atherton pro was at the wicket four balls short of the entire innings, finishing on 165 not out, scored off 147 balls over 175 minutes and containing 19 fours and three sixes one of which dropped like a bomb through the rear window of umpire Eric Hogg's car parked well beyond the boundary edge!

His 50 came off 64 balls, his century off 122 and he moved from 100 to 165 without facing a dot ball, 25 consecutive scoring shots. He ended up two runs short of the league record set in 1938.

Deflected

He was helped along the way by West with an excellent 51. West was run out in the most unlucky of ways when one of Dimery's straight drives was deflected via the bowler onto the stumps while he was backing up.

The innings closed on 265-5 off 50 overs.

As in the league match Little Hulton were not overawed by the size of the task and had 47 on the board by the seventh over. They were always in contention as long as Ijaz was at the wicket. But when he fell for 51 to an extraordinary juggling catch by Clews, the innings fell away.

Atherton went on to win by 53 runs and will now meet Spring View at Higham Park in the second round.

This Saturday they play host to Clifton in the league while on Sunday travel to Adlington in the first round of the Lancashire KO.