THE winter rounders season got off to a good start with 12 teams lining up in two divisions in the Halliwell League.

By splitting the league in two, there is a slight reduction in the number of games, giving a three week break over Christmas and finishing before Easter.

Under the new system, St Mary's had a 10 run start against Lower Pools and lost by just six runs, but Westhoughton & District still managed to overcome a 30-run handicap to beat Fox Trots by 66.

Smithills had a 20-run start against Darcy XI, but lost by 102 runs. That may have been the result of a wrong handicap, or Smithills failing to put the names of their players on the scoresheet.

The Division Two match between Hulton Lane Ladies and Beer Monsters had a scratch start and a difference of just 12 runs on the first innings, but good play by Beer Monster, and careless mistakes by Hulton, resulted in a 59 run win for the Monsters.

A great summer season for Future XI resulted in them having to give Young Darcy a 20-run start, but they started where the left off a few weeks ago and won by 10 runs.

Bolton Castle's excellent summer form deserted them against Three Pigeons, and their 10-run start had little effect as they crashed to a 54-run defeat.

The Farnworth League starts at Harper Green next Sunday with five matches scheduled for 10.30am. There are 11 teams in the League this year, so there will be just two weeks off at Christmas and the final match will be after Easter.