WHEN you watch around 40 local matches a year, as I do, they always seem to feature two or three innings per season, which make such a big impression that they stay in your memory for a very long time, maybe years writes Peter Stafford

From 2003, I can still clearly recall in some detail, Jon Kerrigan's aggressive match-winning 90 at Egerton, and Bernard Reidy's man-for-a-crisis knock at Old Trafford that won the Lanes KO Trophy for Walkden.

Ian Pilkington innings for Westhoughton on Sunday against Monton & Weaste didn't fall into either of those categories, but as an object lesson in how to steer your side to victory in a given number of overs, in this case 20, it would be hard to beat.

It wasn't a one-man show, though, by any means. After Steve Parker had gone early, Mayers, Coates, Gaskell and Atherton each contributed a fairly short cameo role, totalling 67 between them and batting around Pilkington as he gradually eased his side towards the target.

And when it came down to six from the last four balls of the match, it was inevitably Pilkington who, reading the script to perfection, needed just the one delivery to end Monton's hopes with a tremendous six over mid-wicket.

It hadn't been easy for Westhoughton before the interval, though. After Mayers had taken two early wickets, Australian professional Dave Tueon and Navid Din took the score into three figures with a superb stand, milking the four amateur bowlers to the tune of 123 from their joint 16 overs. After Din's run out, Tueon surged on to an impressive and unbeaten 80, which included 26 from the final over. Bowling the last six balls in that situation is a thankless task, and it was Alan Gaskell who drew the short straw. He didn't bowl any noticeable bad deliveries, but when a good batsman has passed 50 and is seeing it like a football, good line and length go out of the window.

Perhaps in retrospect, it might have been preferable to have arranged things so that the last over responsibility belonged to Mayers, whose final figures of 3-17 from four overs were far and away the day's best.

The umpires were particularly vigilant with regard to wides (the two sides shared 49 extras), and Westhoughton, it has to be said, didn't do themselves any favours with some careless ground-fielding which, on another day, could have cost them dearly.

But it didn't, and now, largely thanks to Ian Pilkington, Westhoughton have just one side. Settle, standing in the way of becoming the fifth Bolton League team to appear at Old Trafford within a period of four years.

I've been very fortunate recently in that three of the last four games that I've seen have gone right to the wire.

The exception was that on Saturday between Eagley and Bradshaw, which produced some fine individual performances, but never really got off the ground as a spectacle.

From Bradshaw we had a responsible 48 from new skipper Andy Kerr, while for Eagley, Steve Foster bowled through the innings to finish with a highly creditable 25-8-51-3. But the game's highlight came from Sid DeSilva who, with his side rocking slightly at 90-5, took control before moving to an unbeaten 50 by depositing what proved to be the last two balls of the match for 10 runs.

The real nail-biter, however, came a week last Wednesday at Crompton when Lancashire over-50s beat Cheshire thanks to Mel Whittle. On his home territory, Mel, looking every bit as dangerous as he did 11 years ago at Kearsley, took the visitors final wicket with the last ball of the match, the result of which, was a personal 6-22, and victory for his side by having lost fewer wickets.

Also featuring in the game was Cec Wright, playing on the ground where he pro'd 45 years ago. Cec, who routinely bowls his nine overs for less than 20 runs, and who, in the previous match at Atherton took a running, diving catch that would have brought the house down in an U18s match, is currently skipper at Uppermill. It isn't for me to divulge his age, but when I played my first game for the over 50s back in 1985, he was opening the bowling as he is now.

Work it out for yourself.