STANDISH skipper Sam Heeley understands why the smart money is on Atherton or Flixton slugging it out for the championship but he has no intention of being a spectator at a two-horse race.

The Wiganers go into tomorrow’s home game against Little Hulton third in the table 21 points behind second-placed Flixton, who are a further 14 behind leaders and Cross Cup finalists Atherton.

And while Heeley is quick to acknowledge they are the two strongest sides in the Association, he is determined to give them a run for their money – encouraged by becoming only the second team to beat Atherton in a tense contest a fortnight ago.

“They might well be the top two teams at the end of the season because they have been the most consistent sides so far,” he said.

“Atherton have two top-drawer overseas players (Jimmy Damjanovski and Jamar Griffith) and Flixton’s top seven batsmen are all top players.

“But they will lose games before the end of the season and we are going to try to stick with them as long as we can.

“We’ve proved we can beat the best teams after beating Atherton and we have every reason to be confident going into the second half of the season.”

Heeley readily admits Standish have exceded expectations in the first half of the season, having set a top-half target for his young, new-look side.

Nevertheless, they have been good value for their top-three position, which would have been even more impressive had they not contributed to their own downfall on occasions.

“Things have gone much better than we imagined,” he said.

“We were looking for a top-half finish but now we are aiming to stick around that top four and are determined to get a Lancashire Knockout place.

“The frustrating thing is in the games we’ve lost teams haven’t beaten us, we’ve given them the game by our own mistakes.

“But there is no reason why we can’t stay in that area.”

After finishing fourth bottom last season, Standish opted for a change in personnel this time round, bringing home-grown product Dave Bowden back to Green Lane as professional after his stint ar Walshaw, and bringing in Niall Burke.

Both have made big contributions, taking wickets and scoring runs, but Heeley speaks just as enthusiastically about the success the club has had in promoting youngsters from the junior ranks – most noteably 17-year-old Nick Smith, who has secured a regular first-team spot in a side that has an average age of around 22.

“Young players like Chris Gunn, Jack Heath and Jack Ashurst have shown that they can be future first-team players but Nick Smith has played all season, batting in the top four and has scored runs for us, some important runs at that,” Heeley added.

“There’s a really good buzz around the dressing room. There’s a good banter and the lads are staying behind after games having a drink or two.

“There’s a good spirit and that’s what you want. Dave Bowden’s only 24 and Niall Burke 22, but they have given the young lads a lot of help.”

As confident as they are on the back of nine wins from their 14 league games, Standish will be taking nothing for granted tomorrow when they look to avenge a defeat at the hands of Little Hulton on the second wekend of the season.

But Heeley believes the formbook (Little Hulton are seven places below them in the table) and conditions should favour a home win.

“Like ourselves Little Hulton can beat anyone else on their day,” he added. “They were the better side when they beat us at the start of the season, although we didn’t play as well as we know we can.

“But the track will be a good batting wicket that we will look to use to our advantage and we have a good bowling attack, who ran roll teams over very cheaply.

“It’s not going to be a walkover by any means but it’s a game we will go into confident of winning.”

Tomorrow’s fixtures: Adlington v Astley & Tyldesley, Bury v Atherton, Daisy Hill v Blackrod, Elton v Walshaw, Edgworth v Golborne, Darcy Lever v Flixton, Standish v Little Hulton.