THE bubble finally burst for Haydock firsts as they travelled to Hesketh Bank for their third round Sandhurst Shield tussle.

Victory would almost certainly have put them into the sudden death quarter-final stage. Right from the start the Haydock bowlers were put under pressure culminating in a succession of wides and no balls which did not help the cause. For the home side J Edwards produced an innings of quality although some indifferent bowling certainly helped him to a fine 69. P Barton 19 and D Nelson 11 chipped in as Hesketh Bank reached 150-9.

M Clarke (3-26) was Haydock's best bowler although Dave Burrows (2-17) did not disgrace himself.

Haydock had a shock in store with the early dismissal of Pickavance with just a few runs on the board. Exemplary bowling and fielding from a Hesketh Bank saw Rob Burke run out for 26. And when Naf Din 13 retired hurt after taking a blow to the head the writing was on the wall for the visitors. Batsmen came and went as Haydock made just 70 all out. S Francis (5-19) was top dog for Hesketh.

In contrast the second eleven must now have progressed to the quarter-final stage of the Pochin Cup following their fine 135-run win over Hesketh Banks seconds. Batting first the Haydock openers, lan Lever and Chris Nuttall were quickly on the front foot and found runs easy to come by.

Lever, in particular, batted beautifully for his 43. Nuttall dashed the Hesketh bowlers hopes with a flurry of shots on his way to a fine 50. Kev Parkinson (28) chipped in after a late call-up, and Gareth Bourhill once again proved what a danger he can be in the middle order as he stroked his way to 87. Ian Brown 23 made a useful contribution as Haydock reached 264-9.

Hesketh Bank made a useful reply as R Cropper 21 and A Kitchin 28 struggled manfully. Paul Johnson rolled back the years with a fine bowling display, the control he demonstrated was an example to all as he put Haydock back in the game taking 4-27 from just eight overs. Dave Jones showed he had a flair with the ball his 2-28 was good while Gareth Bourhill 2-40 rounded his day off in style as Haydock had an easy win restricting the visitors to 129 at stumps. Both third eleven's suffered defeats, although in each case dropped catches proved to be their undoing.

Sunday was a big day for Haydock as the first team played host to St Helens Recs in the Abbotts Ale Cup, in a game sponsored by Wigan Beer Company.

Batting first, Recs made an excellent start, D Toll 85 and Ian Huyton blasted 56 as Recs raced to 232 at tea. It was always going to be an uphill struggle. N Din 28no held his own as wickets tumbled and things looked a little grim for Haydock, unfortunately the rain came down with 20 over gone with Haydock on 68/4, leaving Haydock to reflect.

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