Ribblesdale League round-up

PICK up a hefty copy of the 125th edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Thumb through the chapters to page 273. Nagpur, India, October 31, 1987.

The heat and fury of World Cup struggle. India v New Zealand and a semi-final place against England at stake.

For Blackburn Northern professional Chetan Sharma it was THE magical moment of 12 distinguished years in the Indian elite.

Sharma carved his name into cricketing history as the only player to claim a hat-trick in the World Cup - a record which still stands to this day.

"I will never forget it and it is a feat I am intensely proud of," he said.

"I got the wickets of Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewan Chatfield with the last three balls of the 42nd over. They were all bowled - leg, middle and off stump.

"I've still got my man of the match award I shared with Sunil Gavaskar (103) in pride of place at home."

After 23 Test matches and 83 one day fixtures for India - Chetan trapped Brian Lara lbw in his last appearance in 1995 - Sharma is ready to breath new life into Blackburn Northern. The Indian all-rounder returned his best bowling return of the season last weekend.

But his 6-62 against Whalley at Pleckgate Road was in vain as rain prevented any hope of a finish.

That leaves Northern at the foot of the table with only one win to show from their first eight fixtures.

"If Blackburn Northern came to me tomorrow with a three-year contract I would sign it," said Chetan.

"I love Blackburn Northern and I am intensely happy here. In fact it is several years since I've enjoyed my Cricket so much.

"I've played league cricket in England for Morecambe and in the Bolton and Huddersfield Leagues, but playing for Blackburn has proved the most rewarding experience in this country.

"There is no bitching in the dressing room and everybody is up for the job in the camp.

"I know the importance of the professional but there are some very capable cricketers at the club. At the start of each season I always set myself a target of 85 wickets and 800 runs.

"If I can achieve that target then I don't see any reason why we can't finish in the middle of the table or maybe even the top six.

"Every professional wants to achieve something and my aim is to win something for Blackburn Northern. That would make me very proud."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.