Little Lever captain Josh Gent says his side will not be going into the unknown when they face Padiham in Sunday’s Hamer Cup final, something he believes was a factor when they lost to Read last year.
Little Lever have qualified through to their second successive Hamer Cup final. Last year, they lost at home to then Championship leaders Read, who will in turn play hosts to this year’s showpiece, starting at 1pm.
This year, Gent and Co face Premiership rivals Padiham, a regular foe. For example, this will be their third meeting in a fortnight having met in the Birtwistle Cup T20 semi-final and the league. Little Lever won both. They are third in the Premiership and Padiham fourth.
“We were really poor in last year’s final, weren’t we,” said Gent, whose side were bowled out for 100 in a nine-wicket defeat. “We were well off the mark.
“Looking back, Read were a better side than we thought. A hell of a lot better.
“They’ve proven that this year. They are chasing the Premiership title with pretty much the same side that won the Championship last year.
“But we know Padiham, and they know us.
“They’re a good side who will be fancying themselves. But so are we.
“I think it’s got the makings to be an absolute cracker.”
A victory over the 2023 Hamer Cup champions on Sunday would give Little Lever the honour of becoming the first club to complete the set of NWCL major honours; the Premiership league title, the Birtwistle Cup T20 crown and the Hamer Cup.
Read would also complete the same achievement in September should they go on and win the Premiership.
“To be honest, I hadn’t thought of that,” said Gent.
“Yes, it would be a proud moment, but I don’t want to think too much about it now because we’ve still got a lot of work to do.
“I’ve been playing in the Bolton League and the NWCL since I was 10 or 11, and I’ve only played in three Hamer Cup finals. They’re hard to qualify for and even harder to win.
“It would be a great achievement for us, but let’s do it first.”
Padiham beat Read in their semi-final and Little Lever saw off Blackrod last month by 88 runs on the back of a 259-4 total. Earlier in the competition, they had beaten Astley Bridge and Tonge.
While the Victory Road side have found consistency in the cup competitions in 2025 - only losing to Read in the T20 final last month - they have struggled to find that in the league and sit mid-table after 15 games, winning seven and losing eight.
“The standard’s a lot better, for a start,” reasoned Gent. “Everyone’s beating everyone this year, more so than before.
“I know everyone struggles for injuries, and they’re part of the game. But we have had a couple of really important ones.
“Curtis Anderton has been one, and you all know how many wickets he’s taken. He broke his ribs, but he was back at the weekend, which is a massive thing for us.
“The other one is Mukhtar Nasir, who obviously bats at three for us and opens the bowling. He’s dislocated his shoulder and is out for the year.
“I think as well, we’ve played a lot of cricket. We’ve had the league, the Hamer Cup, we got to the T20 final and also played in the Lancs Knockout. As far as any team in this league goes, I reckon we’ve played more cricket than anyone else.
“The one I would say is that even though we’ve had that inconsistency, we’ve won some big games. We beat Read in the league, we’ve beaten Farnworth Social Circle.
“We’ve turned up against some really good sides.
“I’m hoping that’s the story on Sunday.”
Should a reserve day be required for the final, that will take place on Monday, August 25.
Share