THE Bolton Association is into the second half of the season and it is still anyone's guess where the title will end up.

Atherton are in pole position at the midway point but only time will tell if they will be able to hold off the challenge of Clifton and Walshaw.

A double winning weekend left Atherton 12 points in the clear but they are the only one of the three top teams still with a free day to come.

Golborne, who along with Adlington, are the only other teams with a realistic hope of winning the title, were well and truly second best to Atherton on Sunday.

They fell well short of Atherton's 186, mainly due to more domination by the player of the season so far Greg Dimery. The Atherton pro took six wickets at a cost of just 28 runs as Golborne were all out for 113, Mike Cullen top scoring with 27.

Previously, Dimery had scored 41 and Philip West 51 with Golborne pro Ian Critchley matching Dimery's wicket-haul at a cost of 54 runs.

Trouble

Walshaw leapt back into second over resting Clifton with a winning draw against Adlington. Robin Faulkener hit 46 and Mark Forrest 43 in the champions' 157-8, Duncan McNally grabbing three wickets.

Adlington never looked like reaching the target and at 70-7 were looking in real trouble. But Mark Halliwell proved too tough a nut for Walshaw to crack and he hung around manfully to ensure his side avoided defeat.

Halliwell hit an unbeaten 40 and pro Matthew Taylor 31 with home pro Jonathan Fielding taking four of the seven Adlington wickets which fell for a total of 117 runs.

Little Hulton missed out on a chance to make it a double winning weekend when they failed to beat Astley and Tyldesley's 104 (Chris Bullock 27, Jimmy Cutt 22, Ejaz Mahmood 3-31 and Andy Sutherland 3-34).

In reply Little Hulton could only hang on for a draw at 80-9 although it was a memorable day for 15-year-old Ben Morrison who hit an unbeaten 12 in his first ever innings at senior level. A&T pro Nigel Doyle and Simon Nicklin both took four wickets for the bottom team.

Standish, who lost 24 hours earlier, enjoyed a comfortable victory over an Edgworth side which had won the previous day. Simon Maiden hit 43, Paul Hassan 37 and pro Tripathi 25 in Standish's 174-8, Gary Garner taking 4-88 and Chris Locke 3-63.

In reply only captain Nick Kernick was in form with 40 runs while Locke and pro Garner scored 22 apiece in Edgworth's 125 all out. THE Bolton Association is into the second half of the season and it is still anyone's guess where the title will end up.

Atherton are in pole position at the midway point but only time will tell if they will be able to hold off the challenge of Clifton and Walshaw.

A double winning weekend left Atherton 12 points in the clear but they are the only one of the three top teams still with a free day to come.

Golborne, who along with Adlington, are the only other teams with a realistic hope of winning the title, were well and truly second best to Atherton on Sunday.

They fell well short of Atherton's 186, mainly due to more domination by the player of the season so far Greg Dimery. The Atherton pro took six wickets at a cost of just 28 runs as Golborne were all out for 113, Mike Cullen top scoring with 27.

Previously, Dimery had scored 41 and Philip West 51 with Golborne pro Ian Critchley matching Dimery's wicket-haul at a cost of 54 runs.

Trouble

Walshaw leapt back into second over resting Clifton with a winning draw against Adlington. Robin Faulkener hit 46 and Mark Forrest 43 in the champions' 157-8, Duncan McNally grabbing three wickets.

Adlington never looked like reaching the target and at 70-7 were looking in real trouble. But Mark Halliwell proved too tough a nut for Walshaw to crack and he hung around manfully to ensure his side avoided defeat.

Halliwell hit an unbeaten 40 and pro Matthew Taylor 31 with home pro Jonathan Fielding taking four of the seven Adlington wickets which fell for a total of 117 runs.

Little Hulton missed out on a chance to make it a double winning weekend when they failed to beat Astley and Tyldesley's 104 (Chris Bullock 27, Jimmy Cutt 22, Ejaz Mahmood 3-31 and Andy Sutherland 3-34).

In reply Little Hulton could only hang on for a draw at 80-9 although it was a memorable day for 15-year-old Ben Morrison who hit an unbeaten 12 in his first ever innings at senior level. A&T pro Nigel Doyle and Simon Nicklin both took four wickets for the bottom team.

Standish, who lost 24 hours earlier, enjoyed a comfortable victory over an Edgworth side which had won the previous day. Simon Maiden hit 43, Paul Hassan 37 and pro Tripathi 25 in Standish's 174-8, Gary Garner taking 4-88 and Chris Locke 3-63.

In reply only captain Nick Kernick was in form with 40 runs while Locke and pro Garner scored 22 apiece in Edgworth's 125 all out. LADS ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE ALL STARS: Wrestler Brian Aspen MBE, former soccer legend Francis Lee, Man City's Nicky Weaver and Wanderers assistant boss Phil Brown were at Atlantis nightclub to present prizes at the Botlon Boys Federation presentation evening. Here they hand out medals to Bolton Lads Club, winners of several trophies throughout the year including the Lancashire Youth Club. Maltese star's chance to shine