Dawson eyes rapid response

ANOTHER ONE FOR THE TOTAL: Aquib Zulfiqar walks back to his mark after umpire Nigel Tench signals a wide in Crompton’s Wood Cup semi-final. Zulfiqar misses tomorrow’s derby game against Werneth. Picture by Alan Ryder

CROMPTON will be looking to banish the pain of their John Willie Lees Wood Cup, semi-final defeat with a double-header against Werneth.

The local rivals will probably be sick of the sight of each other by the end of this weekend as they go head to head twice in less than 24 hours at The Coppice.

They meet in the rain-delayed John Willie Lees Twenty20 Competition tonight, while they duel in the Lake Garage CLL tomorrow.

Crompton captain Glen Dawson admitted it will be a test of character for the Glebe Street outfit after last Sunday’s defeat by Rochdale when they tossed away a great chance of reaching their first Wood Cup final since 1980.

Dawson said: “What happened on Sunday still grates, but we must pick ourselves up, regroup and get ourselves back on track.

“There were a lot of positives to come out of the game, despite the defeat, and we must build on them.

“Darren Lee, Aquib Zulfiqar, Mohammed Zaman Khan and Chris Boschoff all batted well.

“We are not far from being a decent side but we must stop pressing the self-destruct button as we did on Sunday.

“When opposing batsmen build a partnership we start to do our own thing and don’t play as a team. And when we bat and things go wrong we panic instead of keeping our nerve.”

Crompton are without Zulfiqar tomorrow. The opening batsman and bowler, along with Majid Khan, are attending a wedding. Carl Taylor and youngster Jason Lutener have been called into the side.

Werneth are on a high after an impressive victoryat Middleton, where they amassed 317 for eight.

ROYTON also face two games in as many days.

They are in Twenty20 action tonight before playing host to basement boys Radcliffe tomorrow.

Captain Barry Woodward views it as a chance to rid the demons after last Saturday’s nightmare against Norden, for whom South African professional Jean Symes scored a record-breaking 268 not out from a total of 381 for three declared.

Woodward thought Symes looked nothing special early on as he was troubled continually by young left-arm bowler Matthew Hodson.

He said: “We fancied our chances of getting him out cheaply, and he rode his luck at times, but after he reached his 100 he went from strength to strength.

“Wherever I placed the field he found gaps or he hit the ball over the top. There is little you can do in those circumstances.”

Woodward believed it was ironic that more than 600 runs were scored in the match on a wicket which usually suits the bowlers.

David Wilson wins a recall in the absence of teenage bowler Joe Lovell.

OLDHAM, who are in league action tomorrow at Middleton, will be hoping for an improved display after they lost by eight wickets at Heywood, where they were bowled out for just 94.

They hope to have Neil Inkpen and Ian Chadwick back, but Imran Aslam will again be unavailable.

Fixtures —

Tonight, Twenty20 Cup: John Willie Lees Wood Cup, quarter finals: Werneth v Crompton, Littleborough v Royton, Unsworth v Heywood, Norden v Clifton.

Tomorrow: Clifton v Heywood, Middleton v Oldham, Milnrow v Monton & Weaste, Norden v Ashton, Royton v Radcliffe, Unsworth v Littleborough, Walsden v Rochdale, Werneth v Crompton.