UMPIRES were the centre of attention this weekend as the Bolton Cricket League were challenged by the weather.

Matches in the Greater Manchester Cricket League and Pennine League were abandoned on Friday but the Bolton League left the decision up to the two clubs and umpires for each individual match on the day of the game.

The resulting decision meant seven of the 10 encounters took place.

Local teams have since laid praise upon umpires who had the tough task of deciding if a pitch was safe to play, while some clubs reported that umpires also pitched in to get the grounds fit for play.

League chairman John Hutchinson says he is “heartened” by the response to the umpires' decisions and admits it was a difficult decision to not call the ties off early.

He said: “It is very heartening to hear that clubs have credited umpires for helping to get the games on.

“Obviously we are pleased we got seven games on. It shows the efforts from the clubs and their groundsmen.

“It was a tough decision, but based around the fact we are more to the west than the Greater Manchester League and the Pennine League where the bad weather was, we decided to give the games a chance to take place.

However, there was scrutiny surrounding the decision to abandon play between Farnworth and Heaton.

Hutchinson claims he has received complaints regarding poor consistency between officials, but he was quick to dismiss the claim.

He added: “It's a very important point that the umpires are getting too much stick for calling the game off between Farnworth and Heaton and I was told that there was no consistency in the decision.

“I believe that consistency is measured in two ways, either over the course of the season or over the course of a couple of seasons.

“As long as the same umpires make the same decision to the same standards next week then there cannot be a problem.

“You will never get every umpire to agree to every decision, especially in doubtful conditions. It's a fine line between playable and not and it is down to the umpire's subjective judgement.”