FOR a number of years Farnworth Social Circle have had a third senior team, but until comparatively recently the idea didn’t catch on with many other Bolton League clubs.

The idea was more popular in the Bolton Association with a handful of clubs fielding teams in the West Lancs League.

Now a dozen of our 20 clubs have embraced the idea, with Westhoughton, Farnworth, Eagley, Social Circle, Darcy Lever and Astley Bridge competing in the Greater Manchester Cricket League Sunday leagues and a further six clubs in the two divisions of the West Lancs League.

Atherton are currently leading the top section of the West Lancs League, sharing the division with Daisy Hill, Blackrod and newly-promoted Bradshaw.

Recent recruits Heaton are in the lower division with Little Hulton.

For clubs considering forming another senior team, who want to see third-team cricket being played, there are a number of matches this coming Sunday.

Bradshaw are at home to Sutton, and Daisy Hill host Preston, while further afield there’s Burscough v Blackrod, Tarleton v Atherton, Haydock v Heaton and Hindley St Peters v Little Hulton.

Many clubs who have found it increasingly difficult to field under-18s teams in the weeks leading up to and during the exam period are finding Sunday afternoon 40-over cricket an ideal way to develop young players, in the same team as those with more experience.

The matches also give first and second-team players the opportunity to recover their form, and players batting down the order in the Bolton League have a chance to open or bat early in the order.

Occasional bowlers, too, have a chance to send down more overs than they would on a Saturday.

Last week was the Bolton League’s turn to be investigated by the England Cricket Board looking into clubs with overseas players in the country with the wrong visas.

The investigation was concluded swiftly when it was pointed out our overseas players had already been cleared by the ECB before the players had left their home country!

A week on Sunday the Peter Stafford Trophy resumes following an 11-week break since the group matches.

Two clubs from the Association Division made it through the group stage and Adlington will travel to Heaton while Daisy Hill have home advantage against neighbours Westhoughton.

The other matches are Walkden v Bradshaw and Kearsley v Horwich.

Earlier this week a senior player mentioned he was missing playing against friends he had made over the years who are playing in a different division.

Hopefully next season more use can be made of this competition to pit clubs against those they would not usually play.

For the past six months I have been telling everyone who would listen that the T20 finals day would be a failure as few spectators would turn up for a full day’s cricket, with long breaks between matches.

I was completely wrong as the crowd mid-afternoon comfortably surpassed the number of spectators at the last two Hamer Cup finals, and host club Westhoughton were able to handle the lull between matches.