BOWLER John Howden stole the show for St Helens Recs at the weekend.

For he claimed all 10 wickets as their 3rd XI JP side defeated Northern 3 at Ruskin Drive.

Losing the toss, Recs were asked to field by the visitors who made a slow start against the tidy bowling of Wills and Howden. And after 27 overs they were 59-4 with Howden taking all four wickets.

Howden then produced a magnificent spell taking the next four wickets in only nine deliveries and when he removed the ninth man the record books were being brought out.

In a tense atmosphere there was jubilation when Howden removed the middle stump, finishing with astonishing figures of 10-39 off 19.4 overs leaving the visitors dismissed for 78. In reply the Recs batsmen set about the bowling and with Chorley (28 not out) and Ian Orford (49 not out) they passed the total reaching 79 without the loss of a single wicket in 14.2 overs to take maximum points. Meanwhile, the first team traveled to Orrell Red Triangle on Saturday and were asked to bat first. They made a reasonable start and had reached 50-1 before Andy Ford was dismissed for 21. The middle order then collapsed, leaving Recs on a precarious 64-6.

But Galbraith and Freeman dug in taking the score from 89 to 155 before Freeman was out for a hard earned 33. Galbraith hung on to reach 47 not out as Recs declared on 191-9 off 65 overs.

In reply the Recs bowlers, without Paul Ford who was injured batting, put no pressure on the Orrell batsmen who slowly worked their way towards the target. Opening bat Everett reached 99 before he was dismissed just short of the target. Only the spin of Freeman managed to trouble the Orrell batsmen, he finished with 6-67 from 18 overs as Orrell passed the score with three overs to spare reaching 194-7 from 49 overs.

The seceond eleven played hosts to Worsley and, batting first, were soon in troubleat 49-5. Huyton produced a captain's innings to allow a small recovery.

He was the last man out for 50 as Recs reached 122 all out from 51.1 overs. What should have been an easy target for Worsley was made a lot more difficult by the bowling of Ball and Hendrick who both bowled throughout the Worsley innings.

Going into the last 20 overs Worsley had reached 56-5 leaving the game in the balance. Ball finished with 3-61 from 22 overs but it was Hendrick who finished with 6- 54 from 22 overs who provided an exciting finish. With the last ball to be bowled the scores were level with the last pair at the wicket, Worsley managed to scramble a single to win an exciting game.

On Sunday the 3rd DG XI traveled to Fleetwood Hesketh with a depleted side. Fleetwood plundered the bowling with captain Gibson making a surprise appearance as a bowler. He finished with 2-17- 3 as the home side declared on 202-4 from 36 overs. In reply the Recs batsmen always struggled against the strong bowling attack with only Cooper reaching double figures. Recs managed to reach 59 before the last man was dismissed. On Sunday the 2nd XI played hosts to Sefton in the Chester Cup. Recs batted first and made a reasonable start with Ericson (58) and Huyton (32), reaching 112 for the loss of only one wicket. The middle order again collapsed and it was left to Hendrick (49 not out) to make the score look reasonable. Captain Huyton was satisfied as Recs reached 210-9 off their allotted 45 overs. In reply Huyton was tearing his hair out as he watched his bowlers bowl wide after wide and numerous catches dropped. What should have been a challenging total was rubbished as the Recs bowlers bowled a staggering 41 wides, the only bowlers of note were Filson (2-52 -9 overs) and Stocks (2-42- 8 ). Sefton, now chasing a much easier target, passed the score reaching 214-6 with eight balls to spare.

This weekend week the 1st XI are at home to local rivals St. Helens the match sponsors being Exel Logistics and Mather and Stuart Plant Hire Services.