DARWEN were knocked out of the Lancashire Cup by Leigh on Sunday as a result of a late collapse in the batting.

The game had started promisingly for Darwen as the Leigh innings was put under pressure from a tight Darwen bowling attack led by Semple and Hacking.

The first five wickets fell for just 46 runs with only Bailey offering any resistance for Leigh.

He managed to hit a stubborn 42 before he became the eighth wicket to fall bowled by Emery with the total on 115.

Leigh were eventually bowled out for 122 from only 35 of the allotted 45 overs with Hacking taking 3-21 from just six overs.

Darwen were soon struggling to reach the target as the wicket continued to play tricks in the damp and overcast conditions.

The first three wickets fell for 34. Gareth Cordingley then hit a determined 31 which helped Darwen make a recovery to 91-5 before he fell to Sikander.

Darwen should still have moved comfortably into the next round, but the tail was ripped out by McKiernan who took three of the last four wickets to fall for the addition of just four runs leaving Darwen stranded 16 runs short of their target.

Saturday's game at home to Netherfield proved no better as Darwen crashed to 97 all out chasing a modest total of 160.

The Darwen attack had earlier set about the Netherfield batting as Semple took three wickets and Hacking four. At one point they were on 54-5 before club professional Strydom hit 102 to ensure a reasonable target was set.

Unfortunately it was not to be Darwen's day with the bat as only John Cordingley and Parkinson got above 20 as they were dismissed in 32 overs.

Darwen Seconds were able to see of Netherfield and pick up 12 points before the rains came thanks to four wickets each for Bonner and Heys with wicketkeeper Chris Bolton accounting for five victims. Darwen were able to reach their target of 86 for the loss of just four wickets.

Meanwhile, an emphatic victory by 104 runs over championship rivals St Annes at Vernon Road lifted unbeaten Chorley to second in the Northern Premier League, just six points behind Netherfield whose win at Darwen enabled them to regain first place.

Another vintage display of batting by skipper Roland Horridge and Nigel Heaton who compiled 144 for the third wicket set up a formidable Chorley total of 233-5.

Horridge, currently in superlative form, made 95 and passed 800 runs for the season, while Heaton's 68 took his aggregate to 797.

The St Annes reply ran into early problems as they slumped to 29-4 against excellent bowling by Chorley professional Josh Marquet and Iqbal Patel.

Marquet took a stunning low return catch to dispose of home pro Dave Callaghan for 11 and, though Alan Cotton hit a defiant 41 for St Annes, Chorley were not to be denied 15 points.

Marquet captured the last wicket with six balls to spare to finish with 5- 55, while Patel picked up 3-37.

There was anti-climax, however, at Windsor Park yesterday, where persistent drizzle prevented any play in the scheduled Lancashire Knockout tie against Bolton League side Tonge and Chorley went out of the competition after losing a bowl-out in which one member of the visiting side was the only player to hit the stumps. DARWEN 97

NETHERFIELD 160

Darwen 3 pts, Netherfield 15 pts

NETHERFIELD

C Walmsley c Parkinson b Semple ... 0

T Prime c Parkinson b Semple ... 2

P Strydom b Hacking ... 102

J Moyes c G Cordingley b N Cordingley ... 4

G Clarke c and b G Cordingley ... 1

D Welbourne c G Cordingley b N Cordingley ... 3

S HOrne lbw Semple ... 29

D Wheatman b Hacking ... 3

S Clement b Hacking ... 10

M Hadwin c Hadfield b Hacking ... 2

R Wilson not out ... 0

Extras ... 4

Total (all out) 160

Bowling: K Semple 21-4-56-3; J Hacking 13.2-2-44-4; N Cordingley 9-3-20-2; G Cordingley 5-2-24-0; M Howard 3-0-16-0

DARWEN

G Jackson lbw Clement ... 0

M Hadfield b Wheatman ... 6

K Semple c Prime b Wheatman ... 3

G Cordingley c Walmsley b Wheatman ... 16

J Cordingley c Horne b Wilson ... 20

N Cordingley c Hadwin b Clement ... 14

J Hacking c Moyes b Clement ...10

G Parkinson c Moyes b Clement ... 25

M Horsfield c Hadwin b Clement ... 0

M Emery c Prime b Hadwin ... 0

M Howard not out ... 0

Extras ... 3

Total (all out) ... 97

Bowling: S Clement 11-1-26-5; D Wheatman 8-1-23-3; R Wilson 6-2-18-1; P Strydom 3-0-8-0; S Horne 3-0-21-0; M Hadwin 1.2-1-0-1

LEIGH 122

DARWEN 107

LEIGH

A Batterley c Hacking b Semple ... 27

T McKiernan c N Cordingley b Hacking ... 0

D Dove c Bolton b Hacking ... 2

N Hallows c Emery b N Cordingley ... 6

A Mullany c Hacking b G Cordingley ... 6

S Bailey b Emery ... 42

G Cross run out ... 16

R Davies c Horsfield b Emery ... 11

I Sikander b Semple ... 2

C Smith lbw Hacking ... 4

D Potter not out ... 1

Extras ... 5

Total (all out) ... 122

Bowling: K Semple 6-2-18-2; J Hacking 5.5-1-21-3; G Cordingley 8-1-24-1; M Howard 13-0-23-0; M Emery 5-0-10-2; N Cordingley 8-1-23-1

DARWEN

G Jackson c Hallows b Mullany ... 6

M Hadfield c Mullany b Smith ... 7

K Semple b Sikander ... 16

G Cordingley c Mullany b Sikander : 31

J Cordingley c McKiernan b Potter ... 6

N Cordingley c Cross b Potter ... 4

J Hacking b Davis ... 18

M Horsfield c Cross b McKiernan ... 9

M Emery c Davies b McKiernan ... 0

M Howard not out ... 0

C Bolton c Cross b McKiernan ... 0

Extras ... 10

Total (all out) ... 107

Bowling: R Davis 8-4-13-1; C Smith 7-1-17-1; I Sikander 8-4-13-2; A Mullany 1-0-14-1; D Potter 8-2-25-2; T McKiernan 5.5-1-19-3