A BATTLING 42 by 'forgotten man' Richard Eaton and 30s by Tulley and Hilton steered Rainford to a respectable 186-7 against Burscough in their opening fixture of the season in the Southport & District League.

Heath and Fairclough were the pick of the visiting bowlers.

In reply, Burscough scored 156-7 to earn a comfortable draw with Harrison and Curran taking three wickets each.

Match ball sponsor was Nat West plc.

The second team suffered an opening day nightmare in the reverse fixture at Burscough. With seven players making their debuts, the Rainford batting collapsed in the face of the accurate home attack, crumbling to 23 all out.

And the 10-wicket defeat was made worse by the news that skipper Phil Schofield will be out for three months after ripping his achilles tendon.