Pivotal weekend for top Association trio
6:00am Friday 10th July 2009 in Sport By Guy Haynes
WITH the Bolton Association’s top three sides only separated by 13 points — one win — the season enters a pivotal stage this weekend.
It is especially crucial for Little Hulton, who by the end of next weekend could find themselves either top of the pile, or out of the title race altogether, as they start back-to-back fixtures against their other main challengers when they entertain Walshaw tomorrow.
The fixture earlier in the season saw Walshaw, the home side, win narrowly, and it is difficult to imagine the game being anything other than close. However, should Little Hulton win easily, they could join Walshaw at the top of the table.
Either way, it is vital for Darren Mullineux’s men that they get positive results against their closest challengers.
They have been the nearly men in the league for two seasons now — just missing out to Daisy Hill last year and to Edgworth in 2007 — and although they won the Cross Cup last season, Little Hulton will feel a league title is long overdue.
In recent years they have built up a terrific squad of players, with enormous strength in depth (their second XI is consistently among the strongest in the league as well) complemented by a couple of influential imports.
Not only are Little Hulton’s top four — Hasnain Abbass, Ashley Perry, Mark Penny and Abir Chippa — at least as strong as any in the league, they also bat right the way down to 11.
When Edgworth played them a couple of weeks ago, Mullineux — a man with many first team 50s to his name in both Bolton leagues — batted at 10, and Neil Jarvis — one of the most destructive tail-enders around — at 11.
Mullineux would walk into most clubs’ top five, while Jarvis would make a more than useful seven or eight elsewhere. They are, in my opinion at least, comfortably the best batting team in the league.
Although their bowling probably lags a little behind Walshaw’s, they have a very balanced attack, with all members able to contribute on a consistent basis.
Penny has returned from Australia a better bowler, capable of hitting the pitch hard and bowling good lines, and with two spinners who can spin the ball into and away from the bat in Chippa and Abbass, they are rarely lacking in control or penetration.
The back-up bowling, from Neil Jarvis and Ian Lee, is accurate.
There is no doubt that Little Hulton have the personnel to win a league title; now it is simply a case of performing in the big games.
Wins against Walshaw tomorrow and Darcy Lever the following weekend would be a good place for them to start.
It is difficult to see any other teams breaking into the top three, but the race for the final Lancashire Knockout place is a tight one, with four teams chasing that coveted fourth spot. Of those four, Blackrod and Edgworth have each won their last five league fixtures and are the form teams in the league.
All four play against each other this weekend, with Standish playing Edgworth, and Blackrod coming up against Elton.
On Sunday, I will certainly be at Astley Bridge to watch the inter-league match between the Bolton League and the Association.
The Association have picked a good team that is capable of doing well, but they must learn the lessons of the last three games, all of which the League have won at a canter.
First of all, they must bat well as a unit, and understand the value of partnerships. Secondly, they must find a way past the Bolton League left-handers, Luke Perry and Chris Barrow.
In the last two games, Perry has won the game for the league; in the previous match, Barrow’s ferocious hitting was decisive.
For some reason there are a large number of very good left arm spinners in the Association. Chippa and David Bowden are playing, while Iain Critchley and Pete Walters are unlucky to miss out. In the past, left-arm spinners have been neutered by the left-handers and, because of this, the selection of Mo Fazil from Blackrod is a good one, not only because of his batting, but also because of his ability to spin the ball away from the left-handers.
Like everyone else who comes to watch, I hope it is a good contest played in good weather.
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