County pride is left down to Lancashire League pair (From Lancashire Telegraph)

County pride is left down to Lancashire League pair

10:13am Wednesday 21st April 2010 in Talking Cricket column By Matt Donlan, Sports reporter

TWO Lancashire League sides starred on Sunday as they flew the flag for cricket’s most famous league.

Yet there remains a possibility that Ramsbottom or East Lancashire could scratch themselves from the Lancashire Cup because of scheduling difficulties.

Ramsbottom eased past Blackrod, while East Lancs were involved in a thrilling encounter at Heyside.

That was a good game and went right down to the wire - and the players of both sides really enjoyed their battle.

And that’s the point, as a cricketer you want to pit your wits against the top sides from other leagues.

You want to try your hand against the Northern League, the Bolton League, the best of the best.

The Ribblesdale League embraces the Lancashire Cup. So do most other leagues.

Yes, I know the Lancashire League’s traditional Sunday scheduling makes life difficult. But is there scope for the odd game to be re-arranged?

The debate about which league is best has raged for years.

The only way that argument will be decided once and for all is if the best teams in each league battle it out.

The fans would love it, that’s for sure, and the players – at least the number I have spoken to – would be fans of the idea.

You get the chance to play different teams and go to different grounds and there is, of course, the added incentive of a nice bit of silverware.

Anyway, the Lancashire Cup goes on the back burner for a while now as the Lancashire League starts this weekend.

Ramsbottom play Accrington on Saturday in the Ron Singleton Trophy before the season proper swings into action on Sunday.

I watched an absolute cracker last weekend as Salesbury won on their Ribblesdale League debut in dramatic style.

So no pressure on Rishton and Lowerhouse this weekend.

I want 500 runs, 19 wickets and 99.5 overs please.

Whatever happens, you can follow proceedings on Twitter now as well.

Twitter.com/Donlancricket is the place to be, where you can find out which player forgot about a game and also discover the identity of the captain who calls his cricket bat Annabell.

Anyone following may also be informed of the events on the field at Blackburn Road.