THE two most successful sides in Worsley Cup history meet at Seedhill tomorrow aiming to recapture past glories.

East Lancs visit Nelson with the pair having triumphed 27 times in the competition to date, with East Lancs having 18 titles, but neither have tasted cup success since the pair won it in consecutive years in 2006 and 2007.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Mark Bolton skippered the East Lancs side to victory eight years ago in his first season at the helm and would dearly love a repeat come August in his final year as captain.

“I wouldn’t say our season rests on this weekend and the cup competitions but it’s pretty close,” said Bolton, who is nursing a hamstring injury.

“I was captain the last time we won it and it would be great to do it again, but we are not getting carried away with anything.

“We have a lot of work to do to get to that stage.

“Nelson are a very good side and we know it will be a tough game.

“We had a great match with them last week in the league and they will be in a similar situation to us in that they will want to get to the semi-finals as well.

“We are going well in the Twenty20 and we want to progress in that as well.”

Bolton knows a cup run, in either competition, would be compensation for what has so far been a disappointing league campaign this summer.

East Lancs are currently languishing in 11th place having managed only three victories from their 12 Senior League games.

The weekend trip to an Accrington side one place and three points better off represents the halfway point of the year, and gives Bolton’s boys the chance to instil some second-half-of-the-season momentum.

“We have to be disappointed with the way it has gone,” said a realistic Bolton.

“The T20 form and a bye in the Worsley Cup first round have masked a lot of it so far, which is why this weekend is a big one for us.

“Obviously two wins in the cup would be great but if we can get a win on Sunday against Accrington, who are always a tough team to beat on their own ground, then perhaps we can kick on.

“Our professional looks like he is coming into form now with the bat and ball and if we can get our strongest XI out then we can compete with everyone. Unfortunately we have been struggling a bit with availability and that is the case again this weekend. We are patching a side together.

“If we want to finish in mid-table then we are going to have to win some games, that’s the bottom line from now on.

“I never expected us to win the league but I do think we should be a top-five or a top-six team.”

Tomorrow’s Worsley Cup fixtures: Burnley v Ramsbottom, Enfield v Lowerhouse, Nelson v East Lancs.

Sunday’s Lancashire League fixtures: Accrington v East Lancs, Bacup v Colne, Haslingden v Church, Lowerhouse v Rawtenstall, Nelson v Ramsbottom, Rishton v Enfield, Todmorden v Burnley.