BILLY STELLING gazed out over Alexandra Meadows and declared East Lancs' title dream over, writes BRIAN DOOGAN.

Within minutes he had added: "But it's not over until the fat chick sings."

After this result, finalised dramatically by Dave Thompson who despatched the penultimate ball for six to give Bacup victory, the fat chick can begin to clear her throat.

League leaders Haslingden, of course, lost too but that was a tiresome irrelevance in the dressing room of East Lancs.

An opportunity to apply concerted pressure - the kind exerted last season right up until the final game on Allan Donald's Rishton - had gone a'begging.

And for Stelling that was enough.

"If we had won today I would say we had a good chance because Haslingden have a tough finish and we face easier sides," he said.

"But we capitulated today and that's sad because the guys have real ability.

"On paper, we are better than any side in the league.

"We can bat and we can bowl. But we can't field.

"Today we dropped their pro, James Peterson, on 10 and again on 15.

"In the end, that's not only cost us this game, but the league title as well - our inability to take catches when it counts. "Catches win matches might be a cliche, but it's a truism too and I think we have found that out the hard way."

It was a finding-out day too for Bacup, perennial contenders in recent years, but never bona fide challengers.

The potential is there, but the killer instinct isn't and yesterday's victory - however enthralling and thrilling - did not disguise this.

When I spoke with bowler John Nuttall about 25 overs into the Bacup innings, they were cruising on 60-2 and professional Peterson and Nick Cronshaw both looked comfortable.

But even at this point, Nuttall predicted a life-and-death battle that would be settled in the final over.

"There is a tendency to under-perform when we should stuff sides," he said after claiming another five-wicket haul even though he strained a thigh muscle two overs into his spell.

"Roger Harper spent eight years trying to find out why this was.

"Where a team like Haslingden will win matches from losing positions, we will somehow manage to lose matches from winning ones."

That they didn't yesterday was as much to do with good fortune at the end of the day as it was to do with courage, but no-one could begrudge them that.

But Peterson, a tough Australian who believes victory should be grasped not chanced upon, was in a realistic mood. "It's strange, a victory like that I should be animated," he said.

"But I'm not because I thought we didn't do it the way we should - we dug holes where there was none to be dug.

"Guys have got to stay at the plate - Dave's a dependable guy, but it shouldn't have been left to him."

Not when East Lancs, at one point, languished on 38-5 after Stelling had been trapped by Nuttall in the 20th over.

They recovered to 134, but Peterson's mis-hook in the 32nd over of his team's reply was the turning point. From 91-2 they fell to 98-7 before Terry Lord and Thompson brought them to 126-8. Nuttall was eliminated before Thompson struck his defiant blow.

"I knew it had gone as soon as I hit it and we say at Bacup not to run and spoil your shot - so I didn't!" he enthused.

It was surely one of the most crucial shots of this year's Lancashire League.

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