Rain turns season into a damp squib

CRICKET:


THERE is a huge irony surrounding the appalling weather which has wreaked havoc with the 2012 Lake Garage CLL season.

For the first time, those who advocated a two-tier system got their way.

The current Lake Garage CLL campaign will end with eight clubs qualifying for next year’s Premier Division and eight settling for a place in the Championship.

The idea of the new system was to promote more competitive and meaningful cricket.

But the entertaining local cricket many envisaged this summer has failed to materialise.

The rain - which has fallen heavily and frequently - threatens to make a mockery of the season.

Five sets of match-day fixtures have been washed out.

Two of them, from early in the season, have been put back until September. There were no free dates to play the others, so those have gone forever, which is significant.

Club captains have complained about losing points that would have made all the difference between competing in the top flight and the lower section. The weather could promote or relegate clubs - not what anyone wants.

Amid all this disruption has been the first two rounds of the Wood Cup.

Amazingly, they have survived the downpours and progress to the semi-final stage has been uninterrupted.

The Twenty20 Competition has been less fortunate. Hopefully the rescheduled final group games on Monday can be played to a normal conclusion.








Follow us on Twitter - @OldhamChronicle