FAMILY holidays are having to be postponed after Farnworth booked a place in the Lancashire Knockout final.

The Lavender Road outfit beat Monton and Weaste in the semi-final on Sunday to set up a final showdown against Denton West of the Greater Manchester League.

That game will take place on Sunday, September 11 at Middleton Cricket Club.

After winning the toss on Sunday, Monton elected to field.

Dinuka Hettiarachchi set out to make the visitors rue the decision with a knock of 49.

Imran Mirza added 43 and Ian McLellan chipped in with 23. Skipper Simon Booth entered the crease late on and knocked a huge 51 not out from 35 balls, which included one four and five sixes, to boost the tally up to 248 before they were bowled out.

Monton’s reply was limited due to the fine bowling of Hettiarachchi (1-15), Mirza (1-17) and Chris Wilson (1-16) and they posted 66-3 as the rain fell.

The weather failed to lay off and the match was unable to continue so Farnworth were awarded a 33-run victory on a Duckworth-Lewis ruling.

The result left captain Booth delighted, but he has been forced into making swift rearrangements for a family holiday booked on the same day as the final on Sunday, September 11.

“We are buzzing,” Booth said. “We’re all looking forward to it already. We did really well with the bat and it was enough on the day to get the job done.

“I had booked a family holiday and we were due to fly the day of the final but I will have to postpone my flight until the next day now.”

Lancashire’s showpiece amateur cricket final was traditionally played at Old Trafford but has been moved to smaller grounds in recent years.

Missing out on playing at the iconic home of the Lancashire county side has disappointed Booth, but he says it will still be a memorable day for all involved.

He added: “It’s a bit disappointing that the final has been moved to Middleton. No disrespect to them but it should be at Old Trafford.

“I’m sure Middleton will put on a fantastic event though and it will be a great occasion for all involved.

“It pits the Bolton League against the Greater Manchester League and is a great advert for both leagues.”