South Africa to the rescue

CRICKET: LUKE Procter's absence from the Royton ranks will be covered by a trio of South Africans.

Michael Swart (Bootle), Roelof Hugo (Heyside) and Pieter Malan (Barrow) are the men pencilled in as deputy professionals while Procter continues on Lancashire duty.

Swart and Malan have already played for Royton this season, while wicketkeeper/batsman Hugo makes his Paddock debut against Crompton on Saturday.

Procter is in the Lancashire squad for this weekend’s trip to Durham, but the Twenty20 season gets under way the following weekend so there is a good chance he will be rested from the county set-up and given the opportunity to return to Royton.

Royton cricket secretary Bernard Wade said: “Hopefully – from our point of view anyway – Luke will be available for a few games in June.

“Alan Durose (skipper) and I have kept a week ahead in sorting stand-in professionals, so it has not been too bad so far and the pros who have come in have been good lads.

“But when Luke is not available, it looks like we will be using one of the three South Africans.”


ROYTON seconds threatened to do to Radcliffe what Unsworth’s second string did against Oldham.
Oldham were bowled out for only NINE in a league match at the Pollards earlier this month and, at one stage in Sunday’s Burton Cup tie at the Paddock on Sunday, Radcliffe were four for six!

They recovered to the relative respectability of 69 all out - 71 runs shy of Royton’s total.


LAKE Garage CLL officials have stressed that the decision to award Ashton the points following the postponement of the recent second X1 game at Oldham came about following a suggestion from the host club.
The game was initially cancelled because of a fairground on the Pollards pitch and the CLL’s ruling that the game could not be played at Glodwick, as Oldham had wished.

An alternative date, May 15, was suggested by the league but, as Oldham had a third X1 fixture on that day, they could not muster enough players,

The same scenario arose for a proposed date in August so, on Oldham’s initiative, the league reluctantly agreed that the game should be cancelled and maximum points awarded to Ashton.