AN AMATEUR cricketer from Bolton-le-Sands played the game of his life- twice in two days.

Alan Cole was feeling pretty pleased with life after he scored a century with the bat as his side beat Holme in Division Two of the Cumberland View Westmorland League on Saturday.

But the sun was shining even brighter when he picked up the ball on Sunday - and included a hat trick in his 5-15 return against Cartmel.

"It was good but very lucky", says Alan, who describes himself as 'only an occasional bowler'.

"I have completed centuries and hat-tricks before but I have never done the double like that over one weekend," he adds.

Cole took Saturday's league game against Holme by the scruff of the neck as he clubbed 103 out of his side's 173 for 3 declared.

And in the Sunday's knockout cup game he clean bowled his first victim, trapped the second lbw and saw the hat trick completed when a low full toss was somehow scooped to midwicket for a catch.

Alan - a self-employed joiner and part-time firefighter - has been with Bolton-le-Sands for more than 20 years and has three previous centuries on his record, the last of them in 2001.

But he has to go back a lot further to remember when he was last a hero with the ball in his hand - his last hat-trick was back in 1984.

He told the Citizen: "It has been a long time coming. I just try my best - and I will try and do it again this weekend if I can."