Lancashire League: Haslingden meet their bogey side (20 Jun 1998)

20 June 1998

Haslingden meet their bogey side

Lancashire Evening Telegraph

HASLINGDEN must lay their Todmorden bogey if they are to become the first Lancashire League club to put their name on the Lees Brewery Challenge Trophy.

The Lancashire League champions and Worsley Cup holders travel to Centre Vale in the last eight of the inter-league competition tomorrow.

And skipper Mark Griffin admitted they must change the course of recent history.

"It will be a difficult game because they are our bogey side. In the last three years they have beaten us in five games out of six.

"They have a top professional in Vasbert Drakes although they have missed Ibra Ali this season.

"It's always a battle there and we will have to be on the top of our game."

Lancashire League clubs outnumber their counterparts from the Central Lancashire League six-two in the quarter-finals, although Milnrow and Rochdale will provide stern opposition for East Lancashire and Nelson respectively.

With so much 'home' interest, the competition should gain in prestige in the Lancashire League this summer and Griffin confirmed that winning it is a major target.

He believes Haslingden are well equipped given their strength in bowling resources and added: "We said last year when it first started that we would take it seriously and we wanted to be the first Lancashire League club to win it.

"Unfortunately we lost in a bowl-out in the semi-finals but last year we were going for all three and we are still in the same situation this year."

Tomorrow's Lees Trophy games: Milnrow v East Lancs, Nelson v Rochdale, Church v Bacup, Todmorden v Haslingden.

Source :: Lancashire Evening Telegraph (https://www.reednews.co.uk/let/)