CAPTAIN Andrew Rushton is hoping Read can this weekend take another step closer to playing at Lord’s.

The Ribble Valley club have reached the regional final of The Cricketer Village Cup competition, after overcoming Edgeworth, Great Eccleston and Tarleton.

Their most recent victims were beaten by 148 runs, with brilliant Bradley Graham the star man with his unbeaten 184 making up more than half their total of 357-2.

And Rushton hopes the incredible knock - a new amateur club record - will help to inspire Graham to fulfil his potential.

“When I said ‘well batted’ to him, Brad said ‘the opposition was a bit poor’. But as I told him there is no such thing as a bad 100,” said the Read skipper.

“You can only play what’s in front of you.

“For him to get a score like that can be a massive confidence boost because he is one of these players who can get down in the dumps if he gets out or if things don’t go to plan for him.

“He has had a tough time growing up as his dad died young, and he went off the rails a bit, which is unfortunate but I suppose is to be expected in the circumstances.

“But he seems to be heading back in the right direction and cricket is something that can help him focus.

“He certainly seems to have enjoyed himself when he has been around the club and playing.

“He can take it badly when he gets out. But he has bags of potential, it’s just a matter of getting it out of him - like a lot of youngsters we’ve got with good ability.

“Kyle O’Connor got runs last week and Conor Lawes is back in the runs.”

It might be a weekend of rest for some, though, with Rushton trying to make sure all members of the squad are involved in the competition, with a home game against Lindal Moor next up on Sunday.

“I’m not always available every Sunday, for example, so it’s one competition I said I wouldn’t play in,” he said.

“But for those who are involved it’s a massive incentive to go all the way. Not everyone gets to even go to Lord’s let alone play there.

“A win this weekend will take us a step closer.

“It’s hard to know what to expect, not knowing the structure of the league they play in.

“We’ve just got to take it as it comes.

“Hopefully it will be a good game and we bat well again because getting 300 and odd runs proved too many.”

Of their season as a whole so far, Rushton added: “We’re going in the right direction. We’re already through in the Ramsbottom Cup and in the league we’ve got a game in hand on Settle, weather permitting. If we can win that it sets us up for when we start playing teams in our own division.

“We’ve just got to keep our winning form going.”