WHILE Lowerhouse are ready to ring the changes in their paid ranks for the rest of the season, skipper Matt Hope is calling on the rest of his side to do their bit and continue their surge up the Transco Lancashire League table.

Hope's men have won their last four games to climb from bottom spot to mid-table, just seven points behind tomorrow's opponents Colne.

They have done it on each occasion with substitute professionals due to the hip injury to Jon Kent, whose enforced return home was confirmed yesterday.

And Hope puts the improvement down to a renewed belief, as well as the efforts of Claude Henderson and Joe Scuderi, who have deputised effectively for the injured South African.

The captain said: "We struggled early on and lost four out of five when Jon wasn't fit but since then we've had a couple of good wins with Claude and Joe.

"We seem to have picked up a bit and there is more confidence there. A lot of it is down to winning, which brings confidence, and it's a good habit to be in.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence it's happened with the sub pros in rather than because Jon wasn't playing. I'm sure we would have won with Jon fully fit because he's a good player.

"One of the biggest disappointments is that we've not had Jon playing because looking at his credentials he's a good cricketer and a great prospect."

St Annes' South African professional David Callaghan steps into the breach tomorrow alongside an amateur line-up in which Chris Bleazard has been full of runs, while Dave Whalley and all-rounder John Proctor have also been in good touch. Strike bowler Jez Hope has regained his rhythm in recent weeks and with Matt making a few runs, it needs only Nicky to start scoring heavily again to have all the brothers firing on all cylinders.

Matt admits that his side is short of an opening batsman and is looking for Charlie Cottam to get back to form. But things are going well and the skipper, who has been pushed into action at the top of the order himself, is still setting goals.

He added: "There are still a lot of things people can perform for. I said at the start of the season regardless of whether it's 50 wickets or 500 run I want everybody in the team to contribute to winning three games in the season. It might even be a 20 when we need it or an 80 not out.

"I want other people, who in the past couple of years might not have done it, to do that."

Lowerhouse's run has made the Burnley club one of the form teams of the league. And Hope is keen to stay in the groove against a Colne side bidding to bounce back from last Sunday's Worsley Cup semi-final defeat to Ramsbottom.

"We are on a bit of a roll at the moment and things are going quite well for us. We are making ourselves difficult to beat again, which is what we wanted, and I think it will be a good game," he said.

"We are quite close in the league and they are having a similar season to ourselves where they have won some and then lost some they would have hoped to have won.

"But I feel that on our day, whoever the professional is, we are a good side. We haven't given up on winning the league. The chances are very remote but we want to get as high as we can."

Tomorrow's fixtures: Accrington v Church, Bacup v Rawtenstall, Lowerhouse v Colne, Haslingden v Ramsbottom, Nelson v Burnley, Rishton v East Lancs, Todmordem v Enfield.