The year 2010 will live long in the memory as the Lancashire and Ribblesdale leagues went down to the wire and Darwen achieved a fine fourth in the Northern League. Here we take a sideways look at the A to Z of the summer of fun.

A is for Anwar Ali

Colne’s fearsome Pakistani paceman tore through sides and when he demolished Ramsbottom’s top order as the Horsfielders won the Worsley Cup it was truly special. And Cherry Tree’s batsmen are still reeling after Ali took six wickets in 10 balls against them while filling in for Ribblesdale Wanderers.

B is for balls

Earby professional Ali Azmat has lost plenty this season as did Padiham pro Kashif Siddique and one hit by Brenton Parchment at Rawtenstall almost demolished Ilex Mill. It was a fair poke.

C is for Clitheroe

Peter Dibb’s men are Ribblesdale League champions – and that is some effort just a year after finishing second from bottom. They have also provoked more debate than most on the Lancashire Telegraph website.

D is for debut

The first day of the season brought about what is still one of the most memorable moments. The April sun shone down as Salesbury made their Senior League debut in the Ribblesdale League as years of hard work was finally rewarded. They played Edenfield at their lovely ground – and won. The season went on to be tough for the new boys – but Salesbury are a more than welcome addition to the circuit.

E is for exports

THE area is well represented around the county circuit with the likes of David and Michael Brown, Keith Barker, Jack Simpson, Jon Clare, Lee Daggett and Vishal Tripathi plying their trade in the county game. The only two representing their own county are James Anderson – occasionally – and Tom Smith. The rest have slipped through the net.

F is for Faf

Francois du Plessis won friends at Ramsbottom as he filled in at Acre Bottom and his fielding was a thing to behold.

G is for giraffe

Lancashire’s mascot is Lanky Giraffe...a giant stuffed creature with a long neck. You really do wonder at times.

H is for Haslingden

Graham Knowles’ men are a fearsome side – but suffered the pain of finishing runners-up for the second year running. They lost Knowles to injury for a crucial spell in the mid-season but still battled on and Steve Dearden set a new mark for wickets taken in a season.

I is for ice

Ice was the order of the day in the early part of the season as the sun shone down and cold drinks were devoured throughout the leagues. But as the season drew to a close the only ice in use was in the buckets containing the champagne.

J is for Joe

Joe Bolton of Cherry Tree is a real up-and-coming star, while Joe McLuskie of Bacup is also on the up...even though his appearance at the Lancashire Telegraph Trophy final between Church seconds and Bacup seconds led to rolled eyes from Lanehead skipper Tim Farragher and whoops of excitement from many females.

K is for knife edge

The title race in the Lancashire League went down to the penultimate weekend, the Ribblesdale League went down to the very last day. Exciting, dramatic; league Cricket at its best.

L is for Lowerhouse

Liverpool Road is still a boistrous experience and the clubhouse is also a treat and when England lost to Germany in the World Cup there was only one place to watch the match.

M is for Madsen

South African Wayne Madsen filled in for Ramsbottom just a couple of days after blasting a huge County Championship ton for Derbyshire. He failed with the bat and didn’t bowl – but was sensational in the field and his energy and enjoyment was there for all to see. A class act.

N is for Nutter

Two Nutters have been heroes this season. Colne’s Justin Nutter was a deserving winner of the man of the match award in the fairytale Worsley Cup final win, while Barnoldswick’s barnstorming batsman Matt Nutter had another explosive year...even hitting a ton the day after his birthday. A real top effort from a top man.

O is for ouch

Burnley’s Michael Brown, now of Surrey, has not played at all this season thanks to a shoulder and elbow injury. Brown is a class act and will, hopefully, make his return to action next season.

P is for pies, especially when served with peas

Cricket tearooms have long been associated with fine food and this year has been vintage. Treats galore have been on offer but the pie and peas at Enfield were top of the league this time around...the business.

Q is for quackers

This year saw the demise of Rawtenstall’s plastic duck Duckworth Lewis. Players who failed to trouble the scorers for Rocky had to down the alcoholic contents of Duckworth...but that has been retired to be replaced by a dodgy tie often worn this season by Keith Roscoe.

R is for Ramsbottom

Rammy won the league and the T20 but lost the Worsley Cup final. Jon Fielding became the first amateur in 71 years to get 100 wickets in a perfect season.

S is for sledging

A lot of people say there is no place for sledging but some of it is just plain brilliant and some is just daft. It can also be funny just as when Haslingden travelled to Bacup and greeted a late-arriving home fan with ‘come on lads, we can start now’.

T is for Turners

With Paul Turner now playing as a professional would it be possible at some stage to see East Lancs field a team full of Turners? They had four in one game this season.

U is for umpires

The men in white coats have often been at the centre of attention this year...some are good, some are not the best. But we do need them and more ex-players should take up the job when they put away their whites.

V is for Vinny Hanson

The Rawtenstall skipper has led his men to the tag of most improved side of 2010. They play the game with a smile on their face and celebrate every win in the right way...and he also had loud words when a cricket reporter distracted his vice-captain on the boundary edge.

W is for wicket-keepers

Church stumper Sam Tucker broke his club’s wicket-keeping record this year...at the age of 25. Tucker has been behind the West End stumps since the age of 13 – and could go on to set any sort of mark with years and years of cricket ahead of him. Joey Marcroft had another fine year for Haslingden.

X is for X-rated

The dislocated finger suffered by East Lancs’ sub-pro Rudi Hugo when he filled in for Brendan Nash was nasty. Hugo was keeping wicket but calmly popped the finger back in and carried on...and then scored a ton against Colne pro Anwar Ali...and greeted one of his team-mates at the wicket with ‘the sun is out, let’s score some runs’. Maybe his pain killers were good.

Y is for yawn

Lancashire’s repeated failure to perform is getting boring now. Continuous under performing in all forms of the game has led to disillusionment among the fans...but at least Old Trafford will get a makeover next year and all games will be played at outgrounds.

Sadly none in the Lancashire League though and that is as much of a shame as the Red Rose displays during an often pitiful season.

Z is for Zimmy

Darwen pro Mohammed Zaman Khan, left, has been a sensation this year in the Northern League and the Birch Hall boys have already signed him up for next year. Zimmy has been a real tonic for Darwen as they scorched into next season’s Lancashire Cup spots.

ZZ is for Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cricketers can rest easy for the 208 days until the season starts again.