RAIN may have spoiled Saturday's action but it has not dampened Egerton's spirits as they set their sights firmly on overhauling Prestwich at the top of the Greater Manchester Cricket League.

The Blackburn Road outfit are third in the Premier Division and have won every competitive game since the opening day defeat to Clifton.

Their clash with Denton West was abandoned without play on Saturday, as were the games involving fellow Bolton sides Edgworth and Astley and Tyldesley.

Egerton captain Will Halton is delighted by his side's early-season form as they look to assert themselves as one of the Premier powerhouses.

“The season has been excellent so far but we have not been helped by the rain, especially this weekend,” Halton said.

“The standard of competition in this league is very good. Every game is very competitive and that is the reason why we joined this league to be challenged in every game.

“The transition has been fine. We lost the first game of the season against Clifton but it was a close game. Since then we have won every game in every competition.

“There's definitely no reason why we can't catch Prestwich (who sit top of the table), but we will take it each game as it comes."

One criticism of the GMCL is the distance from Bolton to most of the other grounds.

But Halton dismisses those claims and says if anything, travelling into the unknown makes it more exciting.

He added: “The travel has not been bad at all. We played Glossop last Saturday then I played there again the following day with the inter-league squad but it only takes 40 minutes to get there.

“We got a minibus when we played (former Bolton Association side) Edgworth a couple of weeks ago and we had a few beers on the way back and all the lads had a great day.

“The away days are great and it is fresh. We are visiting new grounds and it's exciting.”