New boys enjoying a Din-dong season

GEARED UP . . . Ben Pollard, and his Saddleworth team-mates, need to bounce back from Tanner Cup woe when they welcome Austerlands in the league tomorrow.

CRICKET: AFTER poking their noses into the top five, the next challenge for Whalley Range is to remain there.

The Kingsbrook Road crew have made a decent fist of their first season in the Saddleworth and District League, especially as they have no professional or overseas amateur.

Range have pinned their faith in young talent, namesly Abisheik Kulkarni and brothers Ejaz and Ateeq Din. Ejaz has enjoyed a particularly good campaign so far and features among the leading amateur batsmen.

Whalley Range, who arrived as champions of the now-defunct Manchester and District Cricket Association, have won six of their last seven league games. In that sequence they took the scalp of Moorside who at the time were on the heels of leaders Glodwick.

As for their opponents this weekend, third-placed Uppermill won’t want a repeat of the awful start they had against Austerlands last Saturday.

Even though victory was eventually achieved, they lost both opening batsman with only a couple of runs on the board.

Pace-setting Glodwick are sure to be gee’d up for the visit to Friarmere. Although this looks a banker bet for the lads from Warren Lane, these fixtures still have to be won and are liable to catch out teams if minds are not fully on the job.

Saddleworth must get over their Tanner Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Heyside if they are to keep in touch with Glodwick. Austerlands are the visitors to Well-i-Hole.

Heyside, in fourth, go to Droylsden, who have dropped like a stone in recent weeks after leading the table early on.

Moorside and Stayley meet again, six days after the Tanner Cup last-four tie which the former won in a

10-wicket canter.