Revitalised Accrington emerged from Sunday’s soggy victory at Nelson joint top of the Lancashire League with Rishton.
But a barely-noticed defeat at the same Seedhill ground in a Friday night T20 Group game might have offered even more of a pointer to the future well-being of this famous old club.
The short version of cricket is very much a young man’s game these days despite the odd anomaly such as a 40-year-old South African clobbering Lancashire to humiliating defeat at Blackpool.
And Accrington took their commitment to keeping it youthful by fielding four lads aged 16, 15, 14 and 14 as well as another debutant last Friday.
Schoolboy quartet James Lawrenson, Ryan Bond, Noah Cronshaw and Harry Cunliffe have all already played First XI league games but it was the former's first T20 outing which he marked with a catch and a wicket.
Hafiz Ahmed, 27, joined Cronshaw, Cunliffe and Lawrwnson in bowling a couple of overs - the quartet conceded just 52 runs off the eight delivered between them - and made an impressive 28 not out on his first senior outing.
The average age of the team was just 22 and though they fell short of Nelson's total of 138, it surely augurs well for the future and reflects great credit on the club’s junior set-up.
The way of cricket and family life these days means you will often see more people on the ground at places like Thorneholme Road, Alexandra Meadows and Lanehead of a Sunday morning when juniors are being coached and chaperoned than you will in mid-afternoon as the seniors play.
But hopefully as the youngsters continue their growth and development, attendances will swell to watch the more seasoned Sunday First XI who were back at Seedhill on Sunday to chalk up a fine victory in an only-slightly rain-truncated game.
On a slightly sluggish pitch the visitors compiled what may have looked a modest 176 for four from their 50 overs - the fact that Jurie Snyman, out for a rare duck on Friday, faced 85 balls making 53 with six fours, tells you it wasn't a shirt-fronter - with everyone contributing.
Nelson’s target was 173 0ff 47 after a brief shower but Jacob Clarke and Jurie imposed a stranglehold from the off and falling wickets - 31 for five after 22 overs - meant the Duckworth Lewis target on the scoreboard almost increased the pressure further till they were bowled out for 106.
Captain and pro accounted for the prolific Tyler McGladdery, caught Clarke bowled Snyman and only captain Neil Thompson offered much resistance.
If the previous Sunday’s win against Rishton was a big one, this was even more significant not least for the fact that Accrington now have as many league wins - six - after eight games as they had in the whole of 2025 when the best part of them came in the final weeks.
It’s good to have points on the board and confidence to take into the next games.
While the Great Harwood T20 home game on Friday may see more opportunities for the fledglings - “Jurie’s Juniors” perhaps - I’m looking forward to Sunday’s home game against the club I grew supporting, East Lancs and scoring with my friend Aris who is such a committed servant to the club.
I actually saw one of the once-dedicated East Lancs fans I misspent part of my youth with, fellow Rovers sufferer Keith Riley, on Sunday at Baxenden.
Neighbours Rishton were the only other outright winners at weekend, well done to another teenager Adam Hussain completing the 50 he narrowly missed out on against us the week before at Bacup and to old boy Kieran Grimshaw with a six-for.
On Sunday I watched another Accy old boy Ben Gorton smash it to all and sundry points of the compass at Back Lane as Baxenden completed a pretty comprehensive DLS win over my Cherry Tree boys.
I was with Cherry Tree all weekend and even after a short holiday in Scotland with my wife before heading home for a Friday night game against Salesbury I somehow still felt by Sunday I see more of the Cherry boys than I do of Mrs Wilkinson.
Disappointingly one of the Cherry Tree players I most enjoy watching, Mark Hadfield, misses the rest of the season through injury requiring an operation. He really is an infectious and enthusiastic cricketer who is always in the game and it won’t be the same with him on the sidelines. He’s no spring chicken but, my, I really hope we see him play in the future.
Salesbury had too much for Cherry Tree as their pro and overseas player helped post a decent total which they defended well, opening bowler and captain Lewis Pearson polishing the Cherry Tree innings off with a hat-trick. That was perhaps as well since he seemed to have miscalculated his bowling hand and if the match had gone into another over, he was the only bowler with one left!
Feat of the night in the T20 was Oswaldtwistle Immanuel pro Imran Abid bowling four maidens against Baxenden and picking up two wickets. (It seemed even more impressive after what I saw of Baxenden on Sunday.
I seriously doubt that’s ever been done before even at senior club level. Talk about shades of Brian Langford and his 1960’s Sunday League 8-8-0-0.
One hopes Immanuel had their scorebook back to record the momentous spell in. I handed their book back to a player at Atherton after scoring for them a week before and he left it there in the dressing room.
My Saturday game at Preston Old Road against Eagley was uneventful but I was rather chuffed with my reading of the pitch, not always a forte. The Eagley scoring team (two lovely people Richard and Alison) asked me in the inevitably rather cramped confines of the box what I reckoned would be a good score on the canalside club's wicket.
“A hundred and seventy,” I said.
Eagley made 180 for nine, Cherry Tree 169 for nine. Jim Wilks, wicket analyst supreme.
Veteran Jon Baldwin (I was at Primary School with his dad), one of Cherry Tree’s ex-Oswaldtwistle Immanuel camp, made 60, the highest score of the day and really ought to have been on the winning side but he could make no such claim 24 hours later when despite a good Cherry effort to make 220 for 9, splendid half-centuries for pro Min Bhada and maiden 50-maker Harvey O’Toole (surely the quickest between wickets runner in local cricket), Bash made light of the target.
Baxenden have three recently departed Cherry Tree lads in their ranks; the Ellwood twins whom they have coveted for some time and Joe Ince.
Owen bowled very well but Charlie did what he does with 68 of 65 deliveries (six fours and five sixes) as the game progressed in heavy drizzle.
You are going some to outgun Charlie in that sort of nick but Ben Gorton made a not out 100 from 67 with 19 boundaries and a six off the final ball before the umpires called time.
It was the second Sunday in succession I’ve seen a batsman on 94 hit the final ball of the game for six to reach his century. It had been carnage.
Like Church fans sighing at Levi Wolfenden’s pro-ing exploits, Accy fans must look at Ben and wish he was back in the amateur ranks but lament that it will be a long time before he is with those kind of performances.
An hour and half of utterly pointless hanging around under gun-barrel grey skies and relentless rain followed though it was clear there was no more prospect of play than there was
Of Baxenden being pegged back at 177 for no wicket with 23 overs left had equatorial sunshine arrived at half past six.
I chatted with Geoff Hayhurst as the scores kept coming through on his phone from Nelson where they somehow got 97 overs in.
His dressing room tale of Lindon Dewhurst attempting to raise cards money during a similar rain stoppage by undertaking to eat Geoff’s cricket cap can be told sometime we don’t get any cricket in.
I enjoyed his anecdote about Aussie fieldsman extraordinaire Bob Simpson recommending positioning for slip catching. “Weigh up where you think you should stand, make your mark and stand there. Then move forward a yard.”
Earby on Saturday, Accrington Sunday for me. No Friday night game as me and Mrs Wilks are off to a gig in Liverpool. Sorry, cricket fellas, love, duty and sweet, sweet music come first occasionally.
Quiz-last week’s answer - Ian Birtwistle.
This week - I enjoyed a chat on Twitter regarding former Accy pro Eddie Barlow this week.
What Lancashire League curiosity particularly links Eddie with fellow former professionals Kerry O’Keefe, Learie Constantine, Aftab Baloch, Dan Marsh and Joe Scuderi- as well as Burnley amateur David Brown?
