Round 2 Wednesday 26th May 1920
Accrington 134, Rishton 123
Accrington reached the semi final with an 11 run win over Rishton. Without the injured George Leach, former Accrington amateur Billy Brown, now at Littleborough, stood in as professional. Brown top scored with 30 in Accrington's 134 all out. J. Grisedale (29) and Tom Smith (16) added 36 for the 7th wicket after Percy Nixon had taken 5-39 for Rishton. The light deteriorated when Rishton batted and the visitors were soon in trouble at 62-6 with Johnny Pollard taking 4-35 and Alec Jackson 3-22. Late resistance by Roach (31) and Sanderson (21) took Rishton to within sight of victory but Alan Walmsley (2-27) dismissed them both and then Jackson clean bowled the last two batsmen to give Accrington victory.
Round 1 Tuesday, Thursday 14th, 16th June 1927
Rishton 110, Accrington 251
Accrington hit their highest Worsley Cup score to date in a convincing 141 run win at Rishton.
Alec Jackson top scored with 70, including 12 boundaries with Francis Sproul hitting 56, Stan Smith 32, skipper Jimmy Ramsbottom 30 and professional Hedley Verity 19 as Accrington made a huge 251 all out. Rishton professional Jack Curtis took 4-97 and then hit 54, but good bowling by Jackson (3-22), Smith (2-25), Verity (2-41) and John Hargreaves (2-9) restricted Rishton to 110 on Thursday evening in just 78 minutes after Accrington had added 19 runs for the loss of their last 3 wickets.
Round 1 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 1st, 2nd, 3rd August 1933
Accrington 130-3, Rishton 113
Accrington took three nights to defeat a dour Rishton side that batted for the best part of 67 overs in scoring 113 runs in reply to the home sides 130-3 suspended. Opener Jack Marsden was the main culprit, batting through the innings for an unbeaten 46 against some good bowling from Dick Whittaker, who took 5-39. Whittaker began the second evening by reeling off 7 successive maidens as Rishton struggled along, closing just short of the century mark with 3 wickets in hand. Accrington soon polished Rishton off on Friday to end the agony for the patient spectators as the weather closed in. The match had begun in sunshine on Tuesday evening with professional Alan Fairfax hitting 55 and Bill Finney an unbeaten 41 for the home side, who had Rishton at 14-1 at the close. Rain prevented play on Wednesday so the game continued on Thursday with the bowlers firmly in control.
Round 1 Tuesday, Wednesday 29th, 30th May 1934
Accrington 127, Rishton 128-1
Accrington were soundly beaten by Rishton in a match that spanned two weekday evenings at Thorneyholme Road. Accrington's total of 127 was built around a 2nd wicket stand of 57 between Bert Walker (39) and Tom Walmsley (34) after Rishton professional Bill Hunt had removed Bill Finney for 6. The only entertainment that the home crowd had after the stand was broken was when professional Dick Tyldesley hit three boundaries in a last wicket stand of 16 with Bill Hartley. Hunt took 6-33 for Rishton who began batting on the second evening. Accrington's only breakthrough came when skipper Johnny Pollard dismissed Jimmy Nixon (27) at 57. Opener Jack Marsden made his way untroubled to an unbeaten 59, adding 72 with Hunt (41) as Rishton eased to a 9 wicket victory.
Round 2 Tuesday, Thursday, Tuesday 18th, 20th June, 2nd July 1935
Accrington 232, Rishton 134
A remarkable collapse saw the last 6 Rishton wickets fall for the addition of just 4 runs after the visitors had suspended their innings at 130-4. Accrington professional Dick Tyldesley took 4-1 to finish with 7-55 as his side reached the semi finals with a 98 run win at Thorneyholme Road. The match had begun two weeks previously with Rishton making 130-4 on Tuesday with opener Jack Marsden 46 not out and David Whittaker unbeaten on 41 with Tyldesley having 3 wickets and Dick Whittaker 1. Accrington made 122-3 on Thursday with Bert Walker unbeaten on 33 and skipper Tom Walmsley still there on 21. Bill Brown had made 22 and young openers Les Pilkington (23) and Bill Barber (14) had also batted well on their promotion from the seconds. Accrington were asked to bat on after reaching the suspension mark after Billy Sunderland had dismissed Walker (44) and Bill Hartley (5), but the lower order responded well. Ronnie Laughlin (10), Tyldesley (26), Arthur Smith (18), Whittaker (25) and Francis Sproul (10 not out) all contributing to the total of 232. Marsden and David Whittaker then resumed needing 102 for victory with no hint of the drama about to follow.
Round 1 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 26th, 27th, 28th May 1936
Rishton 170, Accrington 172-5
A superb all round performance by professional Jim Bailey took Accrington to a 5 wicket win at Rishton. Bailey took 5-81 and hit an unbeaten 78 after Rishton had been bowled out for 170. Bailey took the first 4 wickets to fall before J Smith (43) and Arthur Ramsbottom (35) added 62 for the 5th wicket. The home side suspended on 130-6 with Accrington 5 without loss at the close on Tuesday. The following evening Accrington reached the same score but with just 4 wickets down. Acting captain Bill Finney batted well for 42 and Bert Walker made 19, but Bailey was the man firmly in charge. The last 4 Rishton wickets fell for the addition of 40 runs on Wednesday with Dick Whittaker finishing with 3-18 from 15 overs. Highlight of the evening was a superb tumbling slip catch by Finney. Bailey continued in fine form as Accrington passed Rishton's 170 for the additional loss of Bill Barber (8). John Walmsley was unbeaten on 13, adding 35 with his professional.
Round 1 Weekdays 31st May, 1st, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd June, 4th, 5th, 6th, 18th July 1938
Accrington 272, Rishton 276
The longest match in Accrington's history finally ended in a 4 run defeat after ten visits to the ground, 548 runs and a marathon 201 overs. A combination of the weather, mid week league games and holidays meant that the game spanned three months. Accrington made the early running when the match started at the third attempt on Monday June 20th, with professional Jim Bailey picking up the wickets of openers Jack Marsden (11) and Stephen Stapleton (1) but Edward Hacking (24) took the score up to 60 before being run out. Professional Bob Rae (45) and C Tillotson (50) took Rishton up to 130 without further loss. Accrington had made 11 without loss when play ended. The home side increased their score to 105-3 at the close on Tuesday but Bailey was back in the pavilion having made 52. Rain prevented play on Wednesday and Thursday so play resumed on Monday July 4th after both sides had been involved in mid week matches. Ronnie Laughlin and Stan Duxbury both took their scores to 26 at which point Accrington suspended their innings on 131-3. Rae and Tillotson increased their partnership to 155 when the amateur gave a return catch to Bert Walker just 8 runs short of a century. At ether close of play, Rishton were in a commanding position at 240-4. There was a big turnaround on Tuesday evening when the last 6 Rishton wickets fell for the addition of 36 runs. Rae completed his century, finally falling to Bailey for 110. The Accrington professional found considerable turn to run through the Rishton lower order and finish with 8-118 off 40 overs. Rishton batted for 99 overs in making 276. Accrington's reply lasted long enough to greet the arrival of the moon to provoke a 'Batted by Moonlight' headline in the Accrington Observer. Laughlin made 31, Les Carter 45, Harold Parmley 2, Lindon Dewhurst 39 as Accrington closed on 246-7 needing 31 to win with 3 wickets to fall. Duxbury, who was unable to resume his innings due to a septic hand until the fall of the 7th wicket, was still there on 26 with Ronnie Fitton unbeaten on 12. Rain prevented any play on Thursday and the Rishton wakes week meant that it was Monday July 18th before the match finally finished. Duxbury and Fitton added 14 runs in bright sunlight before Duxbury was caught behind off Rae. Bill Hartley joined Fitton and took the score to within 5 runs of victory but both batsmen committed suicide to be run out without addition to the score and hand Rishton a 4 run victory. Rae finished with 2-59 from 35 overs bowled out of a total of 102 overs delivered by Rishton.
Round 1 Wednesday, Friday 9th, 11th June 1948
Rishton 107-4, Accrington 104
Accrington went down to a 6 wicket defeat at Rishton after having the home side in trouble at 23-4 after being dismissed for 104. Professional Jim Parks top scored with 44 but he was the only Accrington player in double figures. T Benfield took 4-26 on his senior debut with professional Fred Freer taking 3-36 for Rishton. Parks hit back with a couple of wickets and he was well supported by Herbert Taylor who took 1-13 in a good 10 over spell, but Freer (42 not out) and Arthur Ramsbottom (41 not out) saw Rishton home with a 5th wicket stand of 84.
Round 1 Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday 31st May, 2nd, 15th June 1949
Accrington 102, Rishton 104-1
Accrington had that deja vu feeling as Rishton again romped to an easy win this time at Thorneyholme Road. Rain interruptions caused the match to go to three evenings. Things were not too bad at 36 without loss at the end of play on the first evening but Fred Freer took 5-11 in 39 balls to reduce Accrington to 93-7 at the end of play on Thursday. Professional Reg Craig made 45 and Lindon Dewhurst was unbeaten on 15. When the match resumed almost two weeks later, Dewhurst was out without adding to his score and Accrington quickly folded for 102. Freer took 6-48 and Arthur Ramsbottom 2-31. John Tomlinson picked up the early wicket of Edward Hacking, caught by sub fielder Alan Lund, but Freer (56 not out) and Jim Smith (40 not out) saw Rishton to victory in just 75 minutes batting.
Round 1 Monday, Tuesday 22nd, 23rd May 1950
Accrington 125-9, Rishton 123
A superb innings of 59 by professional Bob Cristofani and a hard hit 24 by skipper Lindon Dewhurst took Accrington to a thrilling 1 wicket win over Rishton at Thorneyholme Road as the home side won their first Worsley Cup match since winning the trophy 14 years previously, in 1936. Rishton made 123 all out at the close of play on Monday evening, having been 77-7 at one stage with Cristofani taking 5-71 and Frank Rushton 3-22. G Parmley hit 31 low in the order, adding 44 for the 8th wicket with E Eddleston (22) and Arthur Ramsbottom (22) also giving solid support. Fred Freer had removed Tom Thurman with the only ball of Accrington's reply on Monday when bad light ended play. Dougie Whipp (2) and Tommy Cunliffe (8) didn't last long but when Cristofani came to the crease the game changed. The Australian hit eight fours, three in succession off Ramsbottom, before the bowler took a return catch to end his innings. Dewhurst survived a chance on 7 to take Accrington to within sight of victory when he became Ramsbottom's (4-38) 4th victim.
Round 1 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th May 1953
Accrington 185, Rishton 186-3
An unbeaten 91 by Jackie Chew led Rishton to an all too familiar victory over Accrington.
Good batting by professional Narayan Nivsarkar (59) and Chew took Rishton to the suspension figure of 130-3 by the close on Monday. Accrington's first Indian professional Arjun Nayudu (Naidu), a left arm paceman, picked up the first couple of wickets, ending up with 2-45. Accrington faced just nine balls before the bright lights shining in the pavilion convinced the umpires to call it a day. Accrington had advanced to 114-5 on Tuesday and by the close on Wednesday they had been dismissed for 185. Les Carter top scored with 67, Lindon Dewhurst made 36 and Tommy Cunliffe an unbeaten 36 from a two and a quarter hour innings. Jack Kenyon took 6-58 from 27 overs for Rishton, who went into the final session on Thursday needing 54 for victory, which they achieved without further loss. Bernard Smith was unbeaten on 27.
Round 2 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th June 1959
Accrington 155, Rishton 170
A controversial lbw decision against Derek Rushton
(23) saw Accrington slip to a 15 run defeat after needing just 19 runs for victory with 3 wickets left at Thorneyholme Road. West Indian tearaway paceman Roy Gilchrist stepped in to replace the injured Bobby Simpson at the last minute after Gilchrist had damaged the Accrington professional's thumb playing for Middleton in a 'friendly' the previous day. Gilchrist picked up 3 wickets from 17 overs on the first evening as Rishton closed on 103-6 with Jack Chew looking in good form. Rishton added 27 more to reach the suspension mark on Tuesday without further loss but by the close Accrington had lost 5 wickets in scoring 99. Accrington suspended on an identical score to Rishton on the final evening. Chew took his score up to 62 not out when he finally ran out of partners. Gilchrist finished with 4-62 from 28 overs but it was Derek Rushton who cleaned up the tail after Chew had added 38 with John Bray (10) to finish with 4-28. Roy Dewhurst hit a valiant 64, adding 72 for the 5th wicket with his brother Lindon (34), but professional John Rutherford (4-29) and Kevin Flatley (4-57) took 4 wickets each to bowl Rishton to victory. Simpson was fit enough to resume in the next match and he went on to create a new club batting record of 1444 runs.
Round 2 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th June 1961
Rishton 145, Accrington 274
A superb all round performance by Wes Hall put Accrington in the semi finals after piling up a huge score against Rishton at Blackburn Road. Jim Smith hit 13 boundaries in making 67, with professional Murray Vernon hitting 39 in a good 2nd wicket stand in Rishton's 130-4 at the suspension. Accrington replied by making 27-0 at the end of the first evenings play. Wes Hall was unbeaten on 50 when Accrington reached the suspension figure but Rishton skipper Jack Chew asked the visitors to bat on in what would prove to be a momentous decision in fading light. Hall ended the evening with 87 to his name as his side closed on 189-5 with sound supporting knocks from Derek Mark (22), Frank Rushton (20), Derek Rushton (16) and Lindon Dewhurst (15). On Wednesday evening Russ Cuddihy soon fell for 18 and then Hall holed out off Jim Nuttall for an agonising 96 in what would be his best score for the club. A 9th wicket stand of 55 between Brian Rutter (39) and Jim Eland (18) took Accrington to 274 all out by the close. Needing 145 for victory, Rishton had no answer to an inspired Wes Hall, who took 4 wickets in an over without conceding a run, including a hat-trick as 134-4 became 134-8. Eddie Robinson chipped in with 3-42 and Hall finished with 6-30 as Rishton were bowled out for 145.
Round 1 Sunday 13th May 1962
Accrington 105, Rishton 131-7
Rishton beat Accrington in one of the shocks of the round. Without a win to date, Rishton beat the league champions by 26 runs after suspending their innings on 131-7 as the competition was played on a Sunday for the first time in history. Professional Murray Vernon hit 42 with Eric Nuttall making 28 to allow Rishton to suspend their innings on an uncomfortable 131-7. Wes Hall took 5-57 and Derek Rushton 2-24 for Accrington. Things were even more uncomfortable when Accrington batted with Kevin Flatley (5-30) and Reg Postlethwaite (4-29) ripping through the champions batting line up. Only Derek Rushton (18) made double figures of the early order and but for a 9th wicket stand of 47 between Eric Foster (26) and Eddie Robinson (19), Accrington would have faced total humiliation, edging to 105 all out.
Round 2 Sunday 9th June 1963
Rishton 174-3,
Accrington 171
Eventual finalists Rishton beat Accrington by 7 wickets in a high scoring game at Blackburn Road. Derek Rushton (59) and David Sincock (50) put Accrington in a good position after Kevin Flatley (4-60) had removed David Lloyd for 16. Flatley also removed Sincock after the Australian had hit his first half century for the club. Rushton hit eight boundaries before being dismissed by Johnny Wardle, who then ran through the rest of the Accrington batting line up, taking 6-68 in a 25.5 over spell to dismiss the visitors for 171. Brian Rutter tried his best to hold the tail together with an unbeaten 24. It took Rishton just 33 overs to pass Accrington's score with Eddie Robinson conceding 69 runs in picking up Keith Kennedy for 23. Sincock removed Eric Nuttall (45) and skipper Jack Chew (38) but Wardle continued his dominance of the game, hitting an unbeaten 50 to see his side to the semi finals.
Worsley Cup Final
Sunday 13th August 1967
Accrington 102, Rishton 104-5
Soccer style chanting greeted Rishton's 5 wicket Worsley Cup Final win over neighbours Accrington at Thorneyholme Road after a low scoring match played in cool damp conditions.
It was Rishton's fifth cup win in seven finals whereas the home side have just one win in four attempts to date. All in all, the better side in all departments won after bowling Accrington out for 102 in the first 36 overs per side final.
Rain on Saturday and Sunday morning before the final meant that a new wicket had to be cut. Rishton professional Johnny Wardle decided it was a day for bowling seam up which he did with much success. Wardle and Flatley bowled right through, sharing the wickets with Flatley conceding 41 off 17.4 overs and the professional 56 off 17 overs.
Flatley made the breakthrough in his second over, knocking back Derek Rushton's off stump with the total on 5. Lindon Dewhurst did most of the scoring in the first 10 overs in partnership with skipper Russ Cuddihy, but the left hander was next to go caught by the juggling David Lomas at second slip off the brisk medium pace of Wardle, having made 18 out of 21 on the board.
The Accrington skipper was next to go when Flatley removed his middle stump for 2 and Brian Rutter quickly followed, bowled by Wardle for 1. Veteran Jackie Hope made 10 when he holed out to Jim Smith at mid wicket to give Wardle his 3rd wicket.
At the halfway point the home side had made 42-5 but worse was to follow when Accrington professional Frank Misson was stumped by Eric Whalley off Wardle for 18. An entertaining 22 by Eddie Robinson brightened the gloom for the home crowd, but after Wardle had snapped up his fifth wicket in young Peter West and Flatley removed Geoff Woodcock, the Accrington leg spinner was dismissed at 86-9. The last pair of Alan Worsick and wicketkeeper Jack Collier added 16 to take the score on to 102 when Collier was caught by Wilkinson to give Flatley his fifth wicket.
The sun broke through for the first time when Rishton set about their reply with Bernard Hurst and Keith Kennedy putting on 10 before the home side made a bowling change. Leg spinner Eddie Robinson trapped Kennedy in front with his googly to bring in Jack Chew. The hero of the 1964 final at Burnley soon got into his stride, pulling Worsick to the mid wicket boundary for four. Worsick had some revenge later in the same over when Hurst snicked one to Collier and Rishton were 23-2.
Accrington skipper Russ Cuddihy frequently changed his bowlers and two more wickets soon fell. Woodcock removed the dangerous Flatley and Misson bowled Eric Nuttall for 1 and Accrington were back in the game at 56-4. The home side couldn't budge Chew though. After battling steadily along, he began hitting boundaries and in partnership with Wardle, Rishton edged nearer. Chew was finally bowled by Woodcock for 33 with the score on 60 but Jim Smith joined his professional and these two took Rishton to victory. Wardle finished unbeaten on 29 and Smith made 14.
Semi Final Sunday 5th July 1970
Accrington 173, Rishton 74
Accrington reached the final by beating Rishton by 99 runs at Thorneyholme Road. Accrington batted first and totalled 173 with Bruce Francis once again top scoring with 93, including eight fours and a six. Things didn't look promising at the halfway point for the home side with just 50 runs on the board, but Francis who had a life at 30 when he was dropped off Ronnie Smith with the score on 45, began to open up. The powerful Australian was particularly severe on his opposite number Ken Higgs with the former England paceman conceding 84 runs in 14 overs. Bobby Ratcliffe made 30 and Russ Cuddihy 17 with Smith picking up 5-64 as wickets fell in the chase for quick runs after Francis was third out with the total on 158. Rishton were soon in trouble with David Chew run out in the first over without scoring. The visitors never came to terms with the Accrington bowling with Alan Worsick taking 4-27 and Ian Birtwistle 3-1 as Rishton were bowled out for a disappointing 74 in the 34th over.
Round 2 Sunday 22nd June 1975
Accrington 177, Rishton 178-6
An unbeaten century by Rishton professional Aftab Baloch ended Accrington's Worsley Cup hopes at Thorneyholme Road in front of a huge crowd. Accrington's total of 177 never looked enough on a flat wicket with the prolific Pakistani Baloch in prime form. Opener Geoff Hayhurst top scored with 43 before getting out to a wild stroke after barracking from the crowd had influenced his shot selection. Skipper Peter West returned to form with 25, Malcolm Taylor hit 33 and professional Alan Worsick 20, but all got out when looking set for a big score. Bob Hutchinson did the damage for Rishton with a career best 5-52. The match looked to be heading Accrington's way after Ian Birtwistle (3-39) and Worsick (3-46) had reduced Rishton to 77-5 but Baloch found an ally in Peter Whelan, who made 24 in a 6th wicket stand of 70 before giving Worsick a return catch. Baloch went on to hit the winning run to complete his century to the delight of the Rishton supporters who chaired their hero from the field. Accrington went on to lift the league title for the first time in 14 seasons.
Round 1 Sunday 6th May 1984
Accrington 211-8, Rishton 126
David Lloyd marked his cup debut as Accrington professional with a superb innings of 121 in his sides 85 run win over Rishton at Thorneyholme Road. Lloyd's century contained 14 boundaries from 136 balls and it was his first for the club. When he was seventh out in the final over at 209, he had added 74 for the 2nd wicket with Billy Rawstron (31) and 37 for the 5th wicket with Malcolm Taylor (13). Ian Procter took 4-74 for Rishton who lost wickets on a regular basis to finish on 126 all out. Skipper Alan Worsick took 4-42 and Lloyd 3-31 with John Ainscough top scoring with 66 for Rishton before being last man out. One unusual dismissal was that of visiting professional Peter Rawson who was caught by Andy Gardener off Worsick via the head of Taylor at short leg.
Round 1 Sunday, Saturday 1st, 7th June 1986
Accrington 204-4, Rishton 93
An unbroken 5th wicket stand of 92 between professional Rod Tucker and David Lloyd, now playing as an amateur, took Accrington to a match winning score against Rishton. Tucker hit five boundaries in an unbeaten 88 with Lloyd hitting three in an unbeaten 54 as Accrington made 204-4. Professional Winston Davis conceded 99 runs in taking the early wickets of Billy Rawstron (2) and Paul Barratt (10). After Graham Lloyd had fallen to Robbie Walsh for 9, Neil Jones (33) added 79 with Tucker for the 4th wicket. Rishton had made 20-3 in reply with Mark Aspin (2-11) taking 2 wickets. When the game resumed the following Saturday, Alan Worsick (3-22), Tucker (2-17) and Ian Birtwistle (2-18) soon reduced Rishton to 56-8. Late hitting by Neil Yates (21) took the visitors to 93.
Round 1 Saturday 23rd May 1987
Accrington
132-9, Rishton 186-8
Viv Richards rolled into town for his second visit of the season to lead Rishton to a 54 run win at the expense of the cup holders. The great West Indian hit 61 before Alan Worsick became the first amateur to claim his wicket. Worsick took 5-42 in his final cup appearance but Rishton piled up a formidable 186-8. Graham Beech (27) and new opener Nick Marsh (17) got Accrington off to a good start with a stand of 38, but Colin Kuhn (4-58) and Richards (4-36) took 4 wickets apiece as Accrington collapsed to 62-6. Paul Barratt (26) and skipper Worsick (25) added some late runs to take Accrington to 132-9.
Round 2 Saturday 10th June 1989
Rishton 188-7, Accrington 196-6
Accrington reached the semi final with a hard fought 9 run win at Rishton. Skipper David Lloyd hit an unbeaten 57 after his side had been in trouble at 122-5. Lloyd hit five fours and a six from 67 balls, adding 54 for the 6th wicket with Trevor Hatch (21) to take Accrington to 196-6. After Neil Holmes had removed home skipper David Wells for 1, Phil Sykes hit 79, but tight bowling by professional Robert Haynes (5-88) restricted Rishton to 188-7. Keith Topham (23), John Ainscough (21), professional Wayne Daniel (21) and Graham Thomson (22 not out) all got in but couldn't keep up with the run rate.
Round 1 Sunday May 19th 2013
Rishton 128-9, Accrington 127
Rishton won a thriller at Blackburn Road to end Accrington's long unbeaten run that stretched back to last August. After winning the toss on a green wicket, stand-in skipper Stuart Crabtree top scored with 29 in Accrington's innings of 127. Garth Wyse struck early to send back Andy Greenwood (2) and professional Ashar Zaidi (0) with just 7 on the board. Ali Sartaj picked up Aijaz Shah (3) at 34 and then Crabtree and Simon Hanson put on 40 for the 4th wicket. Both left handers fell in identical fashion hooking Mo Patel to Wyse who took two well judged catches. Hanson made 24 from 91 balls and Crabtree 29 from 45 balls. Patel then added another lefty to his wicket tally when Graeme Sneddon (2) presented Sartaj with a simple catch to leave Accrington struggling on 84-6. Wilson and Clarke made 14 apiece with Sartaj taking 3-23, Patel 3-19 and Wyse 2-23 along with three good catches. Professional Daniel Salpietro top scored with 41 at the top of Rishton's order before becoming one of three wickets for Clarke (3-12). Kelly Mall made 24 but as wickets tumbled it was Luke McVarish who played the match winning hand with a determined 32 from 61 balls. The match returned to the melting pot when he fell to Clarke with 3 needed for victory but Wyse rounded off a fine display by seeing Rishton home with last man Darrel Thomas. Scorecard
Round 1 Saturday May 4th 2019
Rishton 81, Accrington 86-3
Accrington skipper Ross Brown took 4-9 to help his team to a 7 wicket win at Rishton. Keiren Grimshaw also took 2-7 and Jimmy Hayhurst 2-20 to dismiss the home side for 81. Hayhurst removed openers Sajid Patel ()8) and Chris Sanderson (6) and then Brown trapped Stuart Roberts for 9. Wicketkeeper Sam Bancroft then stumped Rishton's prolific professional Mansoor Amjad for 4 to give Brown his second wicket. Brown then trapped his opposite number Brad Boddie for 1 and when Brad Juliff was caught by sub professional Tony Palladino without scoring Rishton were in trouble at 37-6. Kian Farnworth hung around for 60 balls in making 16 before being run out. Raheem Kasser took a return catch to send back Jack Hilton for 7 with Grimshaw finishing off the innings by removing Sam Kingsman-Ali (7) and Kelly Mall (4). Farnworth sent back Graeme Sneddon (2) at 2 and Jon Hayhurst (15) at 49. Grimshaw made 32 before falling to Andrew Hickey at 66 leaving Palladino (16 not out) and Jacob Clarke (10 not out) to see Accrington home in the 16th over. Scorecard