THE Bolton League will play their MEN inter-league final against the Ribblesdale League on August 12 at Edenfield's ground.

That was decided last night after the sponsors had earlier rejected the Ribblesdale's appeal to play the game at Ribblesdale Wanderers.

That was the scene of their 30 run semi-final win over last year's winners, the Lancashire County League, and they were keen to go there again for the final.

The ground, however, is in Clitheroe and well outside the 15 mile radius of Manchester in which the sponsors say the final should be staged.

That left Edenfield as the only option, as it is the only ground in the Ribblesdale League that comes close to fulfilling that criteria - but only just.

Three years ago the Bolton Association had to go there to play the Ribblesdale but went on to record their only win in the final of the competition on the small and compact ground.

Ribblesdale secretary Rod Slater admitted that the Ribblesdale Wanderers ground was their first choice for the final.

"We would have happily played there but the sponsors were against that and under the rules they set, Edenfield was the only ground where we could stage the final."

It was only late this week that Edenfield agreed to take the match, otherwise it would have been on a Bolton League ground, but the Ribblesdale League were keen to continue their run of home games.

They played and beat the Central Lancs at home at Baxenden in the first round and they have since been drawn at home in the semi-final and final.

The Bolton League would naturally have preferred to stage the game on one of their own grounds and Walkden was the next on the big match rota.

Talking point

Yet their concerns are probably more for the make-up of the side rather than where the game will be played.

They beat the Northern League convincingly in the semi-final at Bradshaw last week but with a side shorn of the talents of players from Tonge and Kearsley, who were involved in Thwaites Lancashire Knockout matches.

The Castle Hill trio of Simon Anderton, who is the skipper of the side, striker bowler Ian Taylor and all rounder Dion Taljard were all missing but will the selectors change a side that accounted for the strong Northern League, reputed to be the strongest in the competition?

All will be revealed when the selectors announce the team to play in the final. A selection that will no doubt prove a talking point in pavilions throughout the League.