THE Lancashire League’s historic Worsley Cup competition is known throughout cricket as a tournament to savour.

There is something special about the prestigious knockout. Players want to win it, they want the chance to play in front of the big crowd that the final always attracts.

West Indian Test man Brendan Nash cited not playing in a final as a great regret from his time at Todmorden and East Lancashire; Jonathan Fielding says it is the biggest cup competition league cricket has to offer – and having watched a few finals in a few different leagues over a good few years I find it hard to disagree with the Ramsbottom captain.

There is a special atmosphere around Worsley Cup ties, teams cast adrift in the league can lift themselves and have a shot at glory.

Colne showed that when they won the competition two years ago when professional Anwar Ali bowled the sort of fast spell that will still have some batsmen waking up in cold sweats in the middle of the night.

Colne’s cup adventure ended in the first round on Sunday – but holders Ramsbottom, finalists for the past three years, were stunned by East Lancs and Haslingden knocked out many people’s cup fancy Todmorden.

A few weeks ago someone suggested to me that the Worsley Cup should be reorganised or even scrapped. They said there was too much cricket in the Lancashire League and interest in the cup was waning.

The excitement caused by Sunday’s results certainly suggested there is life in the old dog yet.

And I certainly can’t wait for round two.

* ENGLAND completed their Test win over the West Indies but Andrew Strauss and company learned a salutary lesson during the five-wicket win at Lord’s – and it is a lesson they must take on board if they are to be classed as a truly great team.

There was an air of over confidence from the England team. Michael Vaughan touched on it. The former England skipper was also critical of the attitude in the field.

You just can’t afford to take your eye off the ball in a Test series. I know some people took the attitude that England only had to turn up.

That attitude was responsible for a wobble that could have left England faces matching the egg and bacon ties of the MCC members.

* STAYING with the Windies and they have brought Tino Best back into the squad after Shannon Gabriel went home with a bad back.

Best is the man who Andrew Flintoff famously told to mind the windows and is one of cricket’s characters and is a welcome addition to the series.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was due to be professional at Barrow this season. You do wonder how he would have coped with a season in the Northern League.