THERE are signs of a resurgence in the Lancashire League.

From the pits of misery earlier in the season, the famous old league is now bringing back the memories of the good old days as we head towards the half-way stage of an enthralling campaign.

Any one of eight of the14 teams can win the league – and a couple more will fancy their chances if they can go on a major run – and there are twists and turns galore at the moment, such as Accrington being rolled over for 125 only to bowl Enfield out for 50-odd.

The league really is wide open. There is no stand-out team. It is competitive. Accrington are making a good fist of defending their title – but they are not having things their own way.

And that is great.

Perhaps the revival of interest started with Brendan Nash arriving at East Lancs.

With teams struggling to get their professionals into the country, we had the farcical state of retired ex-players pulling on the whites again to act as paid men. It was laughable.

Then, suddenly, East Lancs signed Nash.

A genuine top class Test man in the league has got to be a good thing – and now Lowerhouse have pulled another bunny out of the hat with the signature of Kiwi quickie Ian Butler.

Butler is a big name and a big character – and will go head-to-head with Nash at Liverpool Road on Sunday.

If the weather is good and the pitch is hard and dry, okay, two massive ‘ifs’, the game will be a treat.

Clashes such as the one for Sunday used to be the norm in the league. But changing times mean you don’t often see the international players gracing the likes of Lanehead, Liverpool Road and the Horsfield.

It is tough for teams to try and sign the big names. For one, the players are fans of money that when written down may at first appear to be a teenager’s mobile telephone bill.

And there is also the problem of the amount of international cricket which is played these days.

Bacup pro Ryan Broad is on an Aussie A tour and Nash himself flies back to the West Indies on Monday for the Test series with Bangladesh.

He will be coming back, which is a bonus, but if Nash was involved in the Windies one-day set-up, there is no chance that he would be in the league.

He has been a breath of fresh air – and I expect good things from Butler, while another international star, Robin Petersen, will push Nelson up the league following his belated arrival, and Colne cannot stay bottom with their quickie Anwar Ali, who has played twenty20 cricket for Pakistan.

It is great to see the bigger names gracing the league. It restores the aura of a competition which has been graced in the past by the very biggest and best performers on the cricketing planet.

* THE World Twenty20 finished in tremendous style as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final. A great game and a great display from the best one-day player around, Shahid Afridi.

Great memories, too. The Aussies getting knocked out before some teams had played their first game was funny – and I always chuckle at South Africans choking when the chips are down.

A fine tournament all around.