RADCLIFFE's bid to lift the Wood Cup for the first time in 33 years ended in tears as they fell 10 runs short of the target set by Middleton at Heywood on Sunday.

A sizeable crowd witnessed a game that ebbed and flowed throughout, with Middleton in command for the larger part of the action after being let off the hook by the Radcliffe bowling attack.

Shorn of the injured Nick Kennedy, they were to look back on rare costly spells from professional Steve Dearden and Sadar Shah, who wasn't able to celebrate being named the Central Lancashire League's Player of the Month for July after both his and the team's performances on the day.

Skipper Graham Simpson may have been left ruing the fact that he didn't give himself a longer stint with the ball after returning handsome figures of three for 22 as his main strike bowlers failed him.

Middleton were able to set a sizeable target of 242, thanks mainly to a super innings from their Sri Lankan professional Reuvin Peiris, who went on to make 104 after being dropped early on

Radcliffe openers Richard Heaton and Damien Keegan started steadily, but, as was the case throughout the Radcliffe innings, they were far too slow to get the runs on the board.

Consequently, the run rate rose and rose until the Racecourse men were left requiring over ten an over with time running out on them.

They had plenty of wickets in hand and although Keegan went on to make 87, he took over three hours to do it and it may have been a better bet to have taken a few more risks.

If they had, Radcliffe would surely have snatched the cup from Middleton's grasp as they fell just those ten runs short.

Now Radcliffe must concentrsate on picking up five points against Milnrow in the league on Saturday at the Racecourse as their main rivals for the title, champions Middleton and Rochdale play each other at Towncroft.

Radcliffe's game at Stand last Saturday was abandoned because of rain. Radcliffe had declared at 188 for seven and Stand had managed just four runs in reply without loss off three overs when the weather hit.

WOOD CUP FINAL

MIDDLETON v RADCLIFFE

MIDDLETON

M Gardner c Simpson b Holt...24

R Peiris run out...104

S Brierley c Simpson b Kelley...1

J Punchard b Simpson...45

J Ryan c and b Dearden...3

S Davey st Macauley b Simpson...11

D Norris c and B Simpson...0

R Purser not out...15

L Wolstenholme not out...5

Extras...34

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Total (for 7) 242

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50 overs

Shah 10-0-55-0; Kelley 10-3-31-1; Dearden 10-0-46-1; Holt 10-2-29-1; Lubas 1-0-16-0; Keegan 3-0-28-0; Simpson 6-0-22-3.

RADCLIFFE

R Heaton run out...18

D Keegan c Davey b Tomlinson...87

D Jones run out...21

B Cruse c Brierley b Peiris...31

S Dearden st Astley b Peiris...8

G Simpson not out...34

J Macauley not out...2

Extras...32

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Total (for 5) 233

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50 overs

Wolstenholme 10-5-27-0; Norris 8-0-56-0; Tomlinson 10-1-43-1; Punchard 5-0-24-0; Ryan 7-034-0; Peiris 10-0-41-2.