A NEW book is set to lift the lid on a scandal which rocked Burnley Cricket Club more than 150 years ago.

A far cry from the popular perception of gentlemen in white and the gentle tap of leather on willow, the book details underhand tactics including the spiking of drinks, an early form of body-line bowling and match-fixing.

The scurrilous antics are unveiled in a book about the history of Preston Cricket Club by sports historian Andrew Atkinson.

After trawling through the archives Andrew, of Penwortham, came across the records of a match between arch-rivals Preston and Burnley in 1833. The archives reveal how, after heavy bets had been placed on the game, Burnley players rigged the match by serving their Preston guests hard liquor the night before the match.

Preston's opening batsman, a Mr Kemp, was also subjected to vicious bowling when he was hit on the ankle three times, making him unable to run more than a single run at a time. Burnley won the match by 31 runs.

Andrew said the scandal came to light in an anonymous letter sent to the secretary of the Preston club the week before the game in July 1833.

The letter reads: "Mr Secretary, I was sojourning for the night in the town of Burnley when I chanced upon a party who, I ascertained, were about to play a match at cricket with your club. From the conversation that ensued I beg as a friend of fair play that no-one at your club partake of any treats or liquors that may be offered to your players the eve of the match."

Mr Atkinson said: "It is certainly true that Burnley underhandedly approached the game and wanted to win at any cost. This sort of behaviour isn't what you would expect from cricket players."