BACUP skipper Neil Wilkinson boasts a perfect record as the club captain and he is hoping that he can keep it that way.

Wilkinson has captained the side for the last three seasons and on each occasion they have won the league.

"Here's hoping it will be four in a row," he smiled. "To be fair I think I have been quite lucky, being in the right place at the right time.

"The first season we came back from a poor start and the next year we had a good battle with East Lancashire.

"Last season we won at a canter, it was comfortable and to be fair we had it won by halfway. But we still had great motivation in the squad to win every match and we were disappointed when we lost on the last day of the season to Enfield.

"We had only lost two games by then and by coincidence we start against Enfield this season so it is a good chance for an early revenge."

Having won so well last season it is little surprise that it will be same again for Bacup this time around, although Wilkinson is delighted to welcome back batsman James Cunliffe, who is back in contention having missed last season through injury.

But once again it is the bowling partnership of David Ormerod and Aussie professional Shaun Young that will spear-head the defence of the title.

"We will carry on with our policy of mainly bowling those two," said the skipper. "they are important to us and in the past we have won the league purely on our bowling.

"But I do believe that in Peter Thompson and Dominic Ayres we have got the best opening partnership in the league."

It looks certain to be a memorable season for Thompson, who is now within sight of becoming the highest run scorer in Bacup's history.

"He is only about 50 short and we had hoped he would do it last season but he didn't get any in the last match," said Wilkinson. "But he has got around 9,000 runs for the club and that is a fantastic achievement."

But while he praised both the opening batsmen and bowlers Wilkinson was keen to point out their success is a real team effort.

"It is hard to single players out because everybody has a role," he stressed. "John Chapman is a good wicketkeeper and useful bat, Terry Lord bats in the middle order and does a bit of bowling when required and we have a blend of experience and youth."

When looking for dangers Wilkinson picked out Enfield, last year's runners-up, Haslingden, if new pro Gerry Cassell performs, and Colne as he said: "We have always thought they have got a decent side."

And he admitted that he is hoping that the side can win the Worsley Cup for the first time in a decade to show that there is all round strength in the side.

"Some people say we have not got enough bowlers to win the cups but we hope to prove them wrong this time around," he said.

There is no doubt Bacup will be the side to beat this season and they are clearly determined that they won't give up their title without a fight.