BREAKING records is nothing new to Settle run machine Surendra Bhave.

So it has come as no great shock to Bhave to find himself in such prolific form in the Ribblesdale League, writes PETE OLIVER.

That doesn't mean, however, that he hasn't enjoyed each of his 611 league runs made at an astonishing average of 152.75.

"I am delighted. It's not a great surprise but it's always good to walk into a new club and score a few runs," said Bhave who previously set a new mark of 1,856 in the North Lancashire League for Vickers Barrow.

The Ribblesdale League record stands at 1,360, made by Clitheroe's Ian Wrigglesworth in 1994.

That must surely come under threat if Bhave, who hails from the same Indian hot-bed of batting that produced Sachin Tendulkar, can sustain his form with a maximum of 16 innings still to go.

Also in his sights must be the seven hundreds he scored in one summer for Vickers Barrow.

The Indian strokemaker currently has three tons to his name, two coming in his last two visits to the crease and the other against Cherry Tree in the Vaux Ramsbottom Cup - a taster for tomorrow's league clash with the reigning champions.

"We are missing three or four players but if I can turn it round with my batting and we win the game it would be a big boost for Settle," he said.

Crease occupation has been the key to Bhave's success. He has been dismissed only once in his last five knocks - and that was for 77.

"We play in completely different conditions back home so I have had to graft. If I bat 50 overs and we finish on 180-200 at least we have a chance to make a game of it," he added.

Bhave has also previously had a couple of seasons with Ryton in the Tyneside Senior League where he comfortably topped 1,000 runs. He has scored 7,000 runs in first-class cricket in India where he captains state side Maharashtra and played for India A' in 1992, scoring 80 against Sri Lanka.

Tomorrow's fixtures: Barnoldswick v Padiham, Blackburn N v Earby, Cherry Tree v Settle, Clitheroe v Whalley, Great Harwood v Read, Oswaldtwistle I v Edenfield, Ribb W v Baxenden.

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