ATHERTON CC had a mixed start to the new season. Featuring in two low scoring matches, they failed by 15 runs to beat Lostock in the first Bolton Association game on Saturday while the following day they reversed matters in the first round of the National KO competition when they beat Cheshire side Davenham by five runs.

On Saturday everything seemed on course when skipper Paul Brown won the toss, put Lostock in and saw professional Mihi Diwaker clean bowl Phil Knowles in the first over without a run on the board.

With runs hard to come by and with wickets falling at regular intervals, the visitors were reduced to 87-9 in the 35th over. But a last wicket stand of 30 over the next eight overs allowed them to close on 117 all out.

The main damage was done by Lucman Issa who sliced and slashed his way to an undefeated top score of 33, including two successive top edged sixes off Mihir.

Best bowling for Atherton was provided by David Baines who took 5-23 from 13.

Even with the last wicket stand, a total of 117 looked well within reach even though Atherton were without flu victim Phil Wakefield and Karl Brown who was away at the England youth academy.

However the Higham Park boys were soon losing wickets at a faster rate than the visitors had done and a combination of steady bowling, helped by some poor batting, soon had a the home side reeling at 40-6 after 18 overs.

Repair the damage

Paul Walsh did his best to repair the damage featuring in partnerships of 25, 21 and 26 respectively with Phil Williamson, Ian Nuttall and David Baines, but fast running out of partners he tried to force Phil Hall and was bowled for the days top score of 28.

The following day Atherton lost the toss and had to bat first in a match reduced by rain to 35 overs a side.

Still without Karl Brown and Wakefield with pro Diwakar being ineligible they opened with Pauls Brown and McLoughlin. Brown was caught for five and when McLoughlin was bowled for 24 in the 13th over with 44 on the board, it was left to Phil West to hoist the score into the nineties with a top class 51 from 70 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes.

When he became the fourth wicket to fall, the remaining six mustered just a further 43 runs and the innings closed on 139-9.

The Davenham reply raced to 26 from five overs, 14 coming from three Nuttall over. But Nuttall them got his rhythm right and his next four overs conceded just seven runs while he took four wickets. With Phil West completing an excellent all-round performance by taking 2-19 and skipper Brown adding 2-26, the visitors finished five runs short for the loss of nine wickets.