SIMON Booth hailed unsung heroes Iain McLellan and Nakash Qamar for getting Farnworth over the line in Sunday’s nail-biting Lancashire Knockout first-round tie against Todmorden.

Chasing 227 in 45 overs at Bridgeman Park, Farnworth slipped from 84-2 to 159-6 before McLellan and Qamar shared 48 in nine overs, hitting 26 and 28.

But that was not the end of the drama against the Lancashire League outfit who included former England all-rounder Chris Schofield as their professional.

With Farnworth needing two to win, they slipped from 225-7 to 225-9, losing Dan Higham and Qamar.

That left number 10 Matthew Hicks to hit the winning runs to secure a one-wicket triumph with 3.5 overs remaining and set up another home tie against Palace Shield side Penwortham on June 10.

“What a game to watch, but it was horrible for me!” said Booth.

“We were cruising and then pressed the self-destruct button like we do. But I’ve said before, we genuinely bat to 11. Our number 11 (Neil Hyde) has got a 230 in the second team and 90 in the firsts.

“Iain and Nakash won us that game. They were sensational.

“Everyone looks at Mirza and the pro, Leighton Friend got 40-odd. So nobody really talks about them. But if you are going to win things, you need everyone to perform.”

Booth went on: “I was always confident given our batting strength. Matthew Hicks also has a second-team double hundred and a first-team 80. To win it, he’s probably hit the shot of the day, blasting the bowler back over his head for four.”

New signing Friend top-scored with 49 from number three, while pro Noman Ali hit 42 and opener Ross Sutton 32.

Booth said: “Leighton batted superbly. He’s a South African who isn’t our overseas due to having a UK passport. I signed him at 7 o’clock on the Friday before the start of the season.

“He should have been playing at Clitheroe, but the Lancashire League revoked his registration because he was overseas at Unsworth the year before.

“In the Lancashire League, you have to have 12 month’s grace (between being overseas and UK amateur).

“So, whilst coaching the kids, I got a call saying ‘There’s a lad who wants a game. He can’t play in the Lancashire League or the GMCL, he just wants some petrol money?’

“So I made a couple of calls, one to Andy Kerr at Heywood, who told me he was a good cricketer - bats, bowls, good in the field. I said ‘Right, we’ll have him’. We made a conscious decision not to have an overseas.”

Sunday’s win eased the disappointment of Saturday’s 21-run defeat to Horwich when they finished on 202-9 chasing 224, gained a bonus point and are still top of the league.

On Sunday, Schofield hit 86 in Todmorden’s 226-6, while Friend’s seamers returned 3-45 from nine overs, including Schofield’s wicket.

“They were a good side,” added Booth. “They had a young lad (Bilal Abbas) who also got 80-odd.

“I don’t know a lot about Penwortham, but I’ll do my homework. They just beat Read, who we thought were going to win. Penwortham knocked off 240.”