Adlington and Atherton continue the Bolton Association's Cross Cup final at Walshaw tonight.

Yesterday the match was called off for bad light with Atherton needing 56 to win with nine overs remaining and six wickets in hand.

The match was held up at the start because of a heavy downpour but good work by the Walshaw officials kept the delay to a minimum and Adlington got off to a good start.

Mark Halliwell kept the runs flowing hitting 70 before he was trapped leg before by Jonathan Fearick. At that stage Adlington were 108-4 and a 200 total looked possible. Yet once Geoff Pilgrim had gone for 45 they lost the intitiative to an Atherton bowling attack missing the influential role of skipper Steve Walsh, who was injured the previous day, and they collapsed from 163-6 to 180-9.

Superb catch

The start of the Atherton innings was marked by a four off the first ball hit by Greg Greenough and a superb diving catch by Adlington wicketkeeper Mick Flatters off the bowling of Duncan McNally to dismiss David Charlson.

Yet that brought Atherton pro Andy Hall to the crease and he and Greenough started to punish the bowling.

Adlington countered that by bringing on pro Matthew Taylor allowing Mike Howard to switch ends.

Greenough's response was a straight six off Howard but with both batsmen playing and missing to Taylor the game entered it's most crucial stage.

Taylor bowled four overs for one run while Howard had his revenge by bowling Greenough and he wrapped up his ten over spell by removing Fearick to finish with 2-14.

That left Atherton at 43-3 and rain drove the players off but when they returned Hall and Philip West managed to play out the remaining overs in Taylor's spell.

Taylor finished with figures of 0-20 off ten but after that the two batsmen took the score to 130 until West was caught by Taylor of Haddon for 43.

Atherton then took advantage of the umpires' offer of bad light and when play resumes tonight much will depend on whether Hall, unbeaten on 53, can dominate the Adlington bowling in the remaining overs.

The match is scheduled to start at 6.30. Adlington

M Halliwell lbw Fearick...70

M Rawlins t Wakefield b Fearick...15

S Rawlinson c Hall b Charlson...0

D Hitchen st Williamson b Walsh...9

G Pilgrim c Brown b Nuttall...45

M Taylor c Charlson b Brown...4

D McNally b Nuttall...5

E Haddon st Williamson b Brown...12

G Hurst run out...5

M Flatters not out...2

M Howard run out...0

Extras...18

Total...185

Bowling: Greenough 5-0-20-0, Fearick 10-0-22-2, Nuttall 10-2-45-2, Charlson 10-6-14-1, Walsh 9-1-40-1, Brown 5-0-25-2, Wakefield 1-0-9-0.

Atherton

G Greenough b Howard...22

D Charlson c Flatters b McNally...7

Hall not out...53

J Fearick b Howard...0

P West c Taylor b Haddon...43

I Nuttall not out...0

Extras...5

Total (for 4)...130

Continues tonight 6-30