INJURY-plagued and relegation threatened Hicks suffered another defeat as high-flying St Annes romped to a convincing 4-1 win.

The Clitheroe club's season has been severely hampered by the lose of several keys players and a string of injuries.

Now the battle to stay in the division begins, with Hicks in a slightly better position than rock-bottom Blackburn Northern in the fight to beat the drop.

Hicks' preparation for the visit of Lytham St Annes, currently in fourth place in the league, was hit when another two players had to drop out.

And while four of their five players lost, Hicks at least had their trusty captain Dave McKenzie to rely on to prevent a whitewash.

McKenzie has won roughly half of his matches this season - which is not a bad record considering the club's current plight.

However it appeared he was going the same way as his team-mates when he trailed Peter Oates 2-0 in the best of five sets match.

But McKenzie is made of stronger stuff and after pulling back to 2-2 he completed his fight-back in emphatic style by winning the fifth and final set 9-0.

However it was little more than a consolation for Hicks who have won just twice all season.

Earlier Henry Farrar went down 3-0 against Roy Whitehouse while Andy Rothwell fared slightly better before losing 3-1 to Terry Hennigan.

McKenzie's win in the third match gave Hicks a glimmer of hope but that ended when Brian Hayward lost 3-1 against Neil Mitra.

The match finished with Chris Bywater losing 3-0 against Dave Bradbury.

On a brighter note, Hicks captain McKenzie is confident his side can stay in the division as only one side goes down and they hold a four point lead over Northern. CONTACTS: Hicks Health and Raquets Club 01200 426887; Blackburn Northern, C Heyes 01254 247370; Reedley Squash Club, C Blackadder 01282 871188 or F Lucas 01282 421514; Burnley Squash Club, Graham Bateman 01706 873516; Hyndburn Sport Centre, 01254 385945. Did you know:

Squash developed from the game of rackets at Harrow School in the early 19th century.

It did not become an international game until the formation of the Squash Rackets Association in 1928.

The squash world championships were first held in 1976.

Pakistan's Jahangir Khan is the sport's most successful player having won the World Open six times and reached the final a total of nine times. He also won the British Open for 10 consecutive years.

The most effective shot is the tickle boast, a delicate shot that hits the side wall near the front wall and designed to drop low into the front of the court.

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