BARNOLDSWICK'S carefully laid plans are starting to bear fruit as they recover from a wretched start to the season.

The Victory Park club has put its house in order in recent weeks with three straight wins lifting them to mid-table in the Jennings Ribblesdale League.

And South African professional Mark Temple, who's now finding his feet in English conditions, puts the improvement down to a deliberate batting strategy designed to allow the bowlers to have maximum effect.

"Things are starting to come right. We had a bit of trouble when we didn't really know our batting side and strengths," he said.

"We experimented with our batting positions and just recently we have found the right balance.

"We have got a plan now and set ourselves a formula and we have got to stick to that.

"Our strengths have always been our bowling. We are a good bowling side and we should back ourselves bowling second.

"We are trying to bat first and then we honestly believe we can defend any total we can post."

And Temple is starting to play his part after moving up to open the batting with Ian Scothern.

The paid man posted a season's best 83 against Earby to kick start Barnoldswick's winning streak and another 50-run opening stand last weekend helped set up victory over Blackburn Northern. "It's something completely new as I've never opened before. I was a bit hestitant to begin with but I had a good knock against Earby and all I really needed was a bit of a confidence boost. I'm feeling a lot better now," said Temple, who has also adjusted his bowling technique to adapt to English wickets.

"I am used to giving the ball a bit of air on hard, bouncier pitches and bigger fields but here you've got to bowl it a little flatter which I have done and in the last two weeks I've had 4-19 and 3-25," he added.

Barnoldswick have missed out on six possible bonus points when failing to take the last wicket in three of their wins. But they are up to seventh place in the table and Temple is looking for the improvement to continue.

"I've always had the philosophy it's not how you start, it's how you finish. We are looking for a top-six place. The thing we have to do now is to prove to sides that we can play good cricket.

"We had three players in the league representative side last week and for a team that was second bottom of the table that speaks volumes for the quality of players we have got," he said. For 24-year-old Temple it's a first visit to England and the Boland all-rounder is enjoying his first professional's post.

He has been impressed by the cricket, if not the weather, and believes that a more open selection policy could even see some players from the Ribblesdale League get a taste of the county scene.

"The standard of the Ribblesdale League is better than I had imagined," he added. "There are some really good amateurs and if the structure of cricket in Lancashire was different I think they would get a look-in.

"In South Africa people come from nowhere to represent their Province but that doesn't happen here. They have to go through certain channels.

"I reckon if Lancashire had a look at some people in the Ribblesdale League they would be surprised by the quality."