SOME of the players from Tonge's glory years got together to celebrate the 70th birthday of the man who led them to success, Ray Eccleshare.

Nigel Partington, Bobby Waller, Dion Taljard, Gary Garner and Simon Anderton all met up with their former team manager to raise a glass to him and talk cricket.

Tonge were all-conquering for several years in the late 1990s and talk inevitably got round to the difficulties their old club now find themselves in – which saw them finish bottom of the Bolton League last season without winning a game and start this season with two straight defeats.

"We are all very saddened to see what's happened there," said Partington who played for Tonge for more than 20 years during three stints.

"There's a lot of feeling for the club but there's also the feeling of what can we do about it?

"Looking in from the outside things look really bad. There's no junior set-up, no second team and the first team are struggling.

"They need to get the junior side of thing going again but that takes money."

The old players held their reunion at Heaton Cricket Club – where the birthday boy is currently first-team manager – and Partington said the Tonge years were special times at a special club.

"We had a great team, but it wasn't just on the field where it was special, it was off the field too.

"We played for each other. We all went out with each other for a drink too. We were like a family, we did everything together and that showed on the pitch with the spirit.

"Ray got us together, the part he played in that team can't be spoken too highly of. He managed us brilliantly and deserves a lot of credit for bringing the success, as does Frank Baldwin who ran the club. He had so much feeling for the club that you wanted to play for him.

"He was so downhearted if we lost that it hurt you.

"He cared so much. The same can be said of Paul and Gillian [Schofield] who run the club now, they're doing a good job but it's difficult."