IT could be a landmark weekend for Bradshaw bowler Steve Foster as he nears a wicket milestone.

The 43-year-old is just four wickets away from 1,000 victims in the Bolton League and he could surpass that when The Rigbys outfit entertain Westhoughton tomorrow.

Hitting four figures would put Foster in some esteemed company in the list of top wicket takers in the league's history.

It would put him in 12th place behind Les Bulcock, who has 1,009, but he would need another 52 victims to move into the top 10 above Walkden's John Smith.

Foster believes Smith's total is catchable but is not looking beyond this weekend's clash with the Howfeners.

And he is focusing on the task in hand rather than his own personal milestone.

He said: "Everyone keeps asking 'when will you reach your 1,000th wicket?' but I try to put it to the back of my mind and focus on the next match.

"I think I would probably be able to catch John Smith who has 1,052 wickets at present."

Foster edged nearer the 1,000-wicket mark with an impressive haul of 7-29 from his 14 overs as Bradshaw beat Astley Bridge by a whopping 172 runs last weekend.

It was the perfect response to the previous weekend's defeat to Walkden and was a seventh win in 10 games.

The Rigbys men currently sit fifth in the table – level on 53 points with tomorrow's opponents.

They are just 13 points behind league leaders Greenmount and Foster believes they can still trouble the teams above them in the second half of the campaign.

He concedes they could have done better so far this campaign and been even higher at this stage.

He said: "Certain games we could have done a lot better but key players just haven't come to the fore and showed their class."

Foster and skipper Nick Lester will hope for more consistency now starting with tomorrow's crunch clash against Westhoughton as they look to gain ground on a top four who all face away trips this weekend.

Greenmount travel to Kearsley while second-placed Farnworth visit rock-bottom Tonge and Egerton in third go to Walkden.

Reigning champions Farnworth Social Circle, who are fourth, are at Little Lever.