DARCY Lever captain Jimmy Walsh-Hill believes more competition for places in his first XI this season can help fire The Levers outfit up the table.

After a disappointing season in 2018 saw Darcy finish bottom of the Association Division with just four league wins all year, they have started positively this time around with an opening-day triumph against Daisy Hill by 94 runs.

And while it may not have been an expected result by many around the division against a Daisy side that was in the top-flight last year, Walsh-Hill says the team is confident they can improve this year and he was delighted they showed what they could do last weekend.

The captain told The Bolton News: “It was a good start for us and we were pretty confident going into the game.

“It was a decent batting display and everyone chipped in.

“That was a plus for us because I expected a wet wicket after the midweek rain and saw it was in good nick.

“I won the toss, which I had hoped to lose so as not to have a decision to make but we batted and got over 200 so that was good for us.

“We know we always have a strong bowling attack and we managed to get Daisy out for just over 100 – with Dominic Gavin back to his best with his first five-for for some time.”

Batting first, Walsh-Hill (39) was second top scorer behind Jake Cooper (50).

But with batsmen all the way down to number 11, the skipper knows he has a selection headache, albeit a welcome one, as they prepare for this weekend’s double header against Eagley in the league and Little Lever in the Hamer Cup on Sunday.

Walsh-Hill added: “We added a few to the squad this winter, including Ayaz Hanif from Little Lever and professional Muhammad Imran Sadiq.

“And I believe we already have one of the best bowlers in the league in Shaukat Patel.

“It gives us genuine competition for places which we haven’t had for a while.

“You could count on one hand the number of times we were at full-strength last season.

“Now we have people vying to play and it keeps people on their toes, knowing they can’t let up if they want to play – that is a luxury we haven’t had before.”

While the aim is to do well in all competitions, Walsh-Hill says the priority is league success and admits they chose to play in the first round of the Hamer Cup this weekend, albeit with what is expected to be a changed side from Saturday’s clash with Eagley.

The captain added: “Saturday is a big one for us because Eagley have improved and will be a test.

“On our day we know we can give anyone a game and hopefully we will do that.

“On Sunday we may have a weaker team out but we still want to do well in the Hamer cup as well.”